Planning CapEx in Power BI plays a crucial role in shaping a company’s long-term strategy, covering investments in equipment, technology, infrastructure, and more. However, too often, CapEx planning is done outside the main reporting systems, in static spreadsheets that make version control, collaboration, and visibility a challenge.
With WeWrite, you can plan capital expenditures directly inside Power BI. No switching tools. No uploading and downloading Excel files. Just clear, controlled input fields built right into your report.
🎥 Watch the video below to see how you can create and update your CapEx plans from within Power BI
🏢 What Is CapEx Planning?
CapEx (capital expenditure) planning is the process of budgeting for future investments that will benefit your business over the long term, for instance, things like machinery, office renovations, vehicles, and IT systems.
These plans often span multiple months or years, require approval cycles, and need alignment with financial goals. Having accurate, timely, and collaborative CapEx inputs is key to ensuring smarter decisions.
Why Do CapEx Planning Inside Power BI?
If your team already uses Power BI for reporting, why not extend it to planning too?
Here’s what you gain by bringing CapEx planning into Power BI with WeWrite:
- Input fields inside the report – Users can enter planned investments directly into their CapEx table.
- Instant feedback – See the impact of new investments on your forecasts, budgets, and KPIs immediately.
- Commentary and context – Add comments to each item, so your finance team understands the “why” behind each planned spend.
- Data governance – Keep everything in one place. Track changes, limit access by user role, and ensure consistency across departments.
Example: Planning New Equipment Investments
To illustrate, let’s say your operations team plans to buy three new production machines over the next 6 months. With WeWrite:
- They open the CapEx report in Power BI.
- They enter the equipment name, expected purchase date, vendor, and estimated cost.
- They optionally add a comment like “Phase 2 of expansion project.”
- The input is written directly to your database or planning table.
- Finance sees it instantly and can review or adjust scenarios.
- A confirmation process is triggered, allowing management to approve or reject proposed investments before they become part of the official plan.
🏁How to Get Started
- Prepare Your Data: Make sure your previous years’ data is complete and accurate.
- Set Up Your P&L Structure: Define revenue, cost, and profit categories relevant to your business.
- Leverage the Writeback Functionality: Use WeWrite to update your planning data in real time.
- Review and Adjust: Continuously monitor your plan against actual results and adjust where necessary.
To sum up, CapEx planning becomes far more effective when it’s integrated into your existing analytics and reporting tools. With WeWrite inside Power BI, your teams can plan collaboratively, get real-time insights, and move faster from investment idea to execution, all while staying in control of the process.
🧠 Want to dive deeper into how writeback works in Power BI and why it matters? Explore our article on the benefits and use cases of Power BI writeback.