Custom Excel Financial Report Template

I need a reusable Excel file that lets our team track Budget vs Actual figures and perform clear Cash Flow analysis every month. The workbook should open to a dashboard that pulls live numbers from the underlying sheets, highlights variances automatically, and visualises cash movements with simple charts.

Brand alignment is essential, so please apply my custom colour palette and our chosen heading/body fonts throughout—no default Excel green. I will supply the exact RGB codes and font names as soon as we start.

Core deliverables
• Data-entry sheet with protected formulas and simple paste-in areas
• Budget vs Actual sheet that calculates variances and percentage differences automatically
• Cash Flow sheet showing opening balance, inflows, outflows, and closing balance in a clear timeline
• Dashboard page with conditional-formatted variance flags and two or three concise charts
• Brief user guide inside the file (hidden or separate tab) so anyone can refresh or extend the report

Acceptance criteria
– All calculations use transparent formulas; no hard-coded numbers.
– Conditional formatting follows the supplied palette only.
– Workbook free of circular references and #REF! errors when data ranges are extended.
– File tested on Excel 2016+ for Windows and Microsoft 365 for Mac without broken features.

If a macro or a lightweight VBA routine makes the template smoother, feel free to include it; otherwise stick to native formulas, named ranges, PivotTables, or Power Query—whichever best fits the brief while keeping the file easy to maintain.

Share a short example or screenshot of a past financial template if you have one, and let me know how soon you can deliver a first draft.