How to Use Scenario Manager in Excel

Scenario Manager stores named sets of input values, such as Base, Upside, and Downside, and lets you swap between them and compare results. You tell it which cells change and what each scenario sets them to, then generate a summary that lines up every case side by side. It is a quick way to package a few discrete assumption sets without rebuilding the model.

What Scenario Manager does and when to use it

Scenario Manager saves snapshots of up to 32 changing cells under a name. Showing a scenario writes its stored values back into those cells so the whole model recalculates. You can flip between Base, Upside, and Downside in a couple of clicks.

Use it when you have a small number of distinct cases defined by the same handful of inputs, and you want a clean summary that compares the resulting outputs. It suits board ready Base, Upside, Downside views better than ad hoc copying.

Step by step

Suppose B2 is revenue growth, B3 is gross margin, and B20 is EBITDA. You want three scenarios.

1. Go to Data > What-If Analysis > Scenario Manager.
2. Click Add, name the scenario Base, and set Changing cells to B2,B3.
3. Enter the Base values for those cells and click OK.
4. Repeat Add for Upside and Downside with their own values.
5. Highlight a scenario and click Show to push its values into the model.
6. Click Summary, choose Scenario summary, set Result cells to B20, and click OK to create a comparison sheet.

The summary report fills in each EBITDA result automatically.

A model use case

Scenario Manager fits a forecast where management signs off on three named cases driven by the same revenue and cost inputs. The Scenario summary gives a one page comparison you can drop into a deck.

Set Result cells to several outputs at once, such as EBITDA, net income, and free cash flow, by separating their references with commas so the summary shows each line for every case.

• Up to 32 changing cells per scenario.
• Showing a scenario overwrites the live input cells with stored values.
• The summary report is a static snapshot; rerun it after changing the model.

When to prefer a switch instead

Scenario Manager hides assumptions inside a dialog, which makes audit and version control harder, and its summary does not refresh on its own. For most working models a visible switch is cleaner.

Build a single cell, say B1, holding 1, 2, or 3, then drive each input with =CHOOSE($B$1, base, upside, downside) or an INDEX across a small table of cases. The active case is obvious on the sheet, every value is visible, and results update live as you edit. Reserve Scenario Manager for quick throwaway comparisons.