Simulation Quick Start

Simulation Quick Start

Balancing Act is designed to let you quickly enter data and publish your simulation. This article covers the basics, but please review the topical articles for more detail and to learn about additional features. All clients will receive onboarding and unlimited technical support. 

Logging In:

When Balancing Act staff create your account, you will get a password by email. Please be sure to use the login page that corresponds with your country: 
  1. United States: https://admin.abalancingact.com/login
  2. Canada: https://admin.ca.abalancingact.com/login
  3. Australia and New Zealand: https://admin.au.abalancingact.com/login

Creating A Simulation:

Once in, click on the simulation button on the left and then "Create Simulation" on the right. 
Client Management Area
Once you have created the simulation, you will see a screen with tabs for "Revenue" and "Spending." Click these and you can then either upload your data using a .csv template (you will see a link to download a template at the bottom) or enter by hand. 

Decide What to Include:
Balancing Act is based on five basic types of data: 
  1. Category--usually a department, goal or outcome.
  2. Subcategory--what the user interacts with using either the plus/minus or scenario question types. This is usually a service or question about a service, such as funding for police or whether libraries should be open at night. 
  3. Amount--the starting value for a subcategory.
  4. More Info--optional brief narrative describing the subcategory.
  5. More Details--optional additional information that can include links, videos, pictures, graphics, and embeds.
The diagram below shows where each of these types of data appears on the simulation. 
Data Structure

Entering Data: 

Data can be entered by .csv import or by hand. The most common way to get your initial data in is by importing a .csv file that you create from your budgeting software or a spreadsheet. In almost every case, you will have much more data at a finer level of detail than what you ultimately present on the simulation so you will have to roll data up into the category/subcategory structure. The diagram below shows data that is in a format that can be imported into Balancing Act: 
data in csv
You can also enter data by hand, or edit data already on the simulation, by simply clicking on the fields and typing:
Edit screen

Previewing And Activating: 

Once you have revenue and spending data, you can preview your simulation. This is an unpublished link that you can share with others to get input. When you are ready, click activate! Your simulation is now live and you can share the link with your audience. 

Video Tutorials:

Visit our YouTube channel for additional resources. For a comprehensive presentation, try the Makers Workshop series. The first one is below. 


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