> ## Documentation index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prescientai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Add `.md` to any page URL to get that page as Markdown.

# Read plan results

> How to check the goal of a finished Media Forecaster plan, see where the budget moves, track actual results, and export the numbers.

To read a plan, open a plan with the status **Ready** from the plans list. The plan page shows the settings of the plan, a row of summary cards, the **Performance Over Time** section, and the **Media Breakdown** table.

## How do you check whether the plan reaches the goal?

The summary cards at the top of the plan page compare the optimized plan with the baseline. The two cards with titles that end in **Optimized** show the modeled result of the plan.

![The Media Revenue card and the Media ROAS card of a plan, each with the optimized value, the baseline, and the actual value to date](https://docs.prescientai.com/_astro/plan-optimized-cards.BzaLZOc9_16ARRQ.webp)

1. Open the plan from the plans list.

2. If the goal has a target, read the target card.

   The card reads **Target Hit**, **Target Missed**, or **Target · Directional**. The card shows the achieved value, **Recommended spend**, and **Max budget**. A card that reads **Target Missed** can also show **Gap**.

   **Target · Directional** means that the estimate reaches the target at a spend that is more than your models have seen. Read the result as a direction, not as a firm forecast.

3. Read the **Spend** card.

   **Plan Budget** is the total spend that the optimized plan recommends for the whole period.

4. Read the two cards with titles that end in **Optimized**.

   The first card shows the modeled outcome of the optimized plan and the lift over the baseline. The second card shows the efficiency ratio that the outcome and the spend imply.

Each of the three comparison cards also shows **Actual to date**. The two optimized cards show the **Baseline** value below the optimized figure. The **Spend** card shows **Plan Budget** there, not a baseline value. The **Period** card shows the planning period and how far the period has progressed.

> **Note:** The target card can read "Target is not achievable within the modeled spend range". The settings of a finished plan are locked, so to try a different target, budget, or media, duplicate the plan.

> **A plan that started before the day of its run:** If the planning period started before the day that the plan ran and one or more past days were locked, a note below the summary cards gives the dates that were past and the spend that was recorded on them. The baseline and the optimized plan are the same for those dates, and the **Performance Over Time** chart shades them with the label **Actual spend**.

## How do you see where the budget moves?

The **Media Breakdown** table shows the baseline and the optimized values for each row, so the difference is the budget move that the plan recommends.

The controls above the table set the rows and the format of the table.

![The controls above the Media Breakdown table: the channel filter, three tabs, the % and $ toggle, Pacing, and CSV](https://docs.prescientai.com/_astro/plan-media-breakdown-controls.2d6qgHgB_Z1YhiaS.webp)

The next capture shows the **Channel** tab. The channel filter in the capture shows six of the seven channels of the plan, so the **Total** row reads **6 of 7 channels**.

![The Media Breakdown table on the Channel tab, with Baseline and Optimized columns for six of the seven channels of the plan](https://docs.prescientai.com/_astro/plan-media-breakdown-channel.CHKgxW6j_1KQVsi.webp)

1. Go to **Media Breakdown**.

2. Select the **Channel**, **Tactic**, or **Campaign** tab.

   The **Campaign** tab is available on an **Optimization** plan only.

3. Compare the **Baseline** columns with the **Optimized** columns for each row.

   Use the **%** and **$** toggle to show each change as a percentage or as a currency amount.

4. Read the **Allocation** column to see the limits that you set.

   A row with no limit reads **Optimized**. A row with a limit shows the amount. An underlined amount means that the optimizer reached the limit.

5. Expand a row to see the rows under it and the saturation curve of a tactic or campaign.

On an **Optimization** plan, the **Campaign** tab also has a marginal column, for example **Marginal ROAS**. The marginal column shows the modeled return from the next unit of spend at the recommended spend. The name of the column depends on the goal of the plan.

## How do you see the plan for each day or week?

The **Performance Over Time** section shows the plan for each day or week of the planning period.

![The Performance Over Time chart in the Compare view, with Baseline, Optimized, and Actual lines for Media Revenue](https://docs.prescientai.com/_astro/plan-performance-over-time.CA-krWxM_Zs5SdR.webp)

1. Go to **Performance Over Time**.

2. Select a view: **Compare**, **Breakdown**, or **Table**.

   **Compare** charts the **Optimized**, **Baseline**, and **Actual** series. **Breakdown** splits the chart by channel, tactic, or model. **Table** shows one row for each period.

3. Select the metric to show: the outcome, **Media Spend**, or the efficiency ratio.

## How do you track actual results against the plan?

Use the **Pacing** menu in **Media Breakdown** to compare your actual results with the plan while the planning period runs.

1. In **Media Breakdown**, select **Pacing**.

2. Turn on **Show actual-to-date columns**.

3. In **Compare actual against**, select **Optimized plan** or **Baseline plan**.

4. In **Over**, select **Expected to date** or **Full plan period**.

**Expected to date** adds up the values of the plan for each period through today. A plan that spends more in later periods is therefore not compared with an even daily split.

> **A dash in an actual column:** A row shows a dash when none of its campaigns recorded spend after the plan started. In most cases, the campaigns were paused or replaced after the reference period.

## How do you view the results for one model?

On a plan with more than one model, select a model chip in the plan header to exclude or include the model. The page then shows **Viewing a slice**. Select **Reset** to return to the full plan.

In a filtered view, the modeled results count the selected models only. Spend stays the full spend of the plan. The filter is part of the page address, so you can share the filtered view as a link.

## How do you export plan results?

Both results sections have a **CSV** menu.

- In **Media Breakdown**, select **CSV**. The menu has two headings. Below **Plan totals**, select an item to export the rows on screen. Below the daily or weekly schedule heading, select an item to export the plan for each period. The file name starts with `media_breakdown_` and has the plan name and the date.
- In **Performance Over Time**, select **CSV** to export the daily or weekly schedule. The menu has **Plan total** and one item for each breakdown that the plan has: **By channel**, **By tactic**, **By campaign**, and **By model**. **By campaign** shows when the plan has campaign rows, which is the case for an **Optimization** plan. **Plan total** and the **By** items are below a heading that reads **Daily schedule** or **Weekly schedule**. Each item downloads one file. The file name starts with `daily_schedule_` or `weekly_schedule_` and has the plan name, the breakdown, and the date. A filtered view adds `_filtered_models` or `_filtered_channels` to the name.

## Related pages

- [Plans list and plan results](https://docs.prescientai.com/reference/media-forecaster/results) lists every card, column, and menu on the plan page.
- [How Media Forecaster builds a plan](https://docs.prescientai.com/media-forecaster/how-plans-are-built) explains baseline, optimized, and actual to date.