This article explains how to use the What-if tools in Magnifi to model changes in projected results, workforce capacity, and income. You can test the impact of increasing or decreasing income, productivity, pricing, or capacity to see how financial outcomes change before updating forecasts.
Use the What-if tools when you want to:
• Model different income or cost scenarios before updating budgets or forecasts.
• Assess how workforce changes affect capacity and profitability.
• Understand how increased demand or pricing impacts your income and profit.
• Identify the balance between capacity and income.
The What-if tools in Magnifi let you explore “what would happen if…” scenarios before locking in changes. Results are for testing only and do not update your live forecasts.
If you want to return to your starting point, simply reselect the reporting period to refresh all values.
Use this What-if to test how changing income or expenses affects projected profit before updating your budget.
Select the date period From/To. It defaults to 12 months from your projection start month (for example, July 2025 to June 2026).
(Optional) Specify the month of actual results (for example, Actuals to October 2025).
If actuals are selected, Magnifi projects the full-year result using 4 months of actuals + 8 months of budgets.
Use the % field or scroll bar to adjust income or expenses and see the financial impact immediately. If actuals are selected, the % change applies only to the budget portion.
Automatic updates
Magnifi automatically recalculates linked values when you make changes:
When you change a value, any accounts calculated as a % of another account update automatically.
For example, increasing Parts Income by 50% may increase Part Purchases by 50% if this cost is calculated as a % of income.
Income Drivers
If you use Income Drivers, the income section expands so you can enter variables directly at the driver level.
For example, test a change in # units or cost per unit to see how it affects overall income.
Use this What-if to test how changes in total hours, productivity, or workforce size affect your direct profit.
Changes to workforce
To model a workforce increase, adjust Total Hours.
Example: a 10% increase represents a 10% larger workforce.
To assess the impact of adding another employee, increase the hours of a similar employee by 100%.
Hover over Total Hours to reveal the number of FTEs.
Changes to capacity variables
Apply changes to capacity variables at either a collapsed (overall) or expanded (by employee) level, including:
Overtime: enter the points change (e.g., 10% + 5 pt = 15%).
Productivity: enter the points change (e.g., 70% + 5 pt = 75%).
Sell Rate: enter the % increase or decrease (e.g., $50 + 10% = $55).
Recovery: enter the points change (e.g., 90% + 5 pt = 95%).
You can double-click Available Hours, Productive Hours, or Total Capacity to reveal the breakdown by employee.
Automatic calculations
Magnifi automatically updates related values when you adjust capacity inputs:
Changes to total hours automatically update leave hours and labour costs.
Labour cost increases are calculated from each employee’s average cost per hour (including on-costs).
Direct Profit recalculates immediately based on the new labour cost.
Use this What-if to test whether increased capacity is matched by sufficient income. This helps ensure that new capacity is fully utilised and profitable.
Assess the Current Position
Magnifi compares current Capacity with Projected Income to identify a Capacity Surplus or Shortfall.
A surplus means you are not fully utilising existing capacity.
A shortfall means you do not have enough staff to deliver the required services.
To model full utilisation, enter 100% in the utilisation box to simulate the best-case scenario.
This assumes all current labour costs are already covered, so the surplus converts directly to profit.
Increase in Capacity
When testing changes to capacity levers:
Apply % or point adjustments to Total Hours, Productivity, Sell Rate, or Recovery.
Some levers adjust in %, others in points (pt). Example: Productivity 70% + 5 pt = 75%.
Increasing Total Hours also increases labour cost (at the current average cost/hour).
Hover over Total Hours to view FTEs.
If capacity increases without a corresponding rise in income, profit will fall because additional labour cost is incurred without generating extra revenue.
Increase in Income (Demand)
Magnifi assumes 100% utilisation of the additional capacity, reflected in the Profit column.
To understand the drivers required to achieve the increased income, enter a value in the Average $/Client field. Magnifi will then calculate the # Clients or Units Required to support that income.
Hover over # Clients to see the increase required per week or month.
Hover over Profit values to view the calculation details.
Increase in Overheads
Apply an overall increase or decrease to overheads as a % of existing overheads if required.
Capacity Calculation Formula
Capacity = Available Hours × Productivity % × Sell Rate × Recovery %
Divisional Consolidation
If you have multiple divisions within a file:
Run a What-if at the Divisional level.
The % increase/decrease values will appear at the All Divisions level.
The All Divisions level shows all accounts, allowing you to make changes there and flow them back to each division.
Group Consolidation
If you have multiple files or organisations:
Use the Organisation drop-down to select the entities you want to consolidate, or select Group Consolidation for the overall position.
You can run What-ifs at the Organisation level, then open Group Consolidation to view the combined result.
After selecting the organisation, click Update Values to refresh the on-screen results.
• What-if results are for testing only and do not update your live forecasts.
• Adjust one variable at a time for clearer analysis.
• Use What-if – Projections to test financial impact, then What-if – Capacity and What-if – Capacity v Income to understand operational impact.
• Increasing capacity does not automatically increase profit unless income also increases.