Why Should TM1 Documentation Be Included in Your 2026 Planning Budget?

Many TM1 issues Finance teams face trace back to unclear or outdated documentation:

• Slow model updates because no one remembers how rules interact
• Expensive troubleshooting caused by undocumented dependencies
• Audit delays linked to unclear security or process logic
• Execution risk when key team members leave
• Forecasting bottlenecks caused by uncertainty in cube flows

When documentation becomes a year-end afterthought, the operational cost shows up in Q1 and Q2.

Including documentation in the 2026 TM1 budget creates stability, reduces risk, and gives Finance teams confidence heading into each planning cycle.

What Documentation Investments Should Finance Teams Prioritize in 2026?

Here are the key areas Finance teams should include in year-end planning.

1. Map Current Documentation Gaps Before Setting the Budget

Before allocating spend, Finance leaders need clarity on:

• What’s fully documented
• What’s incorrectly documented
• What’s missing entirely
• What knowledge currently sits only in people’s heads

A structured gap assessment helps determine:

• High-risk logic
• Under-documented cubes
• Fragile feeders
• Unclear TI processes
• Areas affected by recent organizational changes

This forms the foundation for the 2026 documentation plan.

2. Treat Annual Rule Logic & Feeder Documentation as a Non-Negotiable

Rules and feeders evolve with every planning cycle.
By year-end, most models have drifted from their documentation.

Budget for:

• Annual rule logic refresh
• Feeder verification
• Consolidation logic updates
• Documenting model changes made during the forecast cycle

This reduces both execution risk and audit pressures.

3. Set Aside Time and Budget for TI Process Documentation

TI (TurboIntegrator) processes often carry the highest operational risk, especially when:

• Data sources change
• Scheduling shifts
• Parameters are added
• Outputs expand

Teams should invest in:

• Updated process descriptions
• Clear dependency maps
• Error-handling notes
• Data flow explanations

TI changes accumulate silently. Documenting them annually prevents surprises during the next budget cycle.

4. Refresh Cube Relationship Maps Before Forecasting Season

Dependencies shift every year:

• New cubes
• Changed dimensions
• Updated data sources
• Additional control cubes
• Modified aggregation flows

A refreshed cube dependency map gives Finance leaders a clean view of how the model operates — crucial for forecasting accuracy.

5. Ensure Security Documentation Is Audit-Ready

As controls tighten, auditors increasingly expect complete transparency around:

• User access
• Group structures
• Functional segregation
• Process authorizations

Planning this in Q4 avoids compliance pressure in Q2.

Practical Tips for Planning Your 2026 TM1 Documentation Investments

Here are actionable ways Finance teams can simplify and stabilize next year’s documentation workflow.

Tip 1: Don’t Document Everything at Once, Sequence It Across the Year

Many teams try to “fix documentation” in one project.
That rarely works.
Instead, sequence documentation in quarterly cycles tied to natural TM1 events.

Tip 2: Budget for Documentation Ownership

Assign a clear owner:

• FP&A Lead
• TM1 Analyst
• System Administrator

Without ownership, documentation loses momentum.

Tip 3: Centralize Documentation, Don’t Scatter It

Documentation scattered across Word files, Excel sheets, SharePoint folders, and email threads becomes unusable.
Part of the 2026 investment should be allocating a single source of truth for all TM1 documentation.

Tip 4: Reduce Manual Documentation Where Possible

Manual documentation is:

• Slow
• Outdated as soon as a rule changes
• Prone to missed dependencies
• Costly during turnover

This is where many Finance teams look for ways to automate parts of the documentation lifecycle.

Tip 5: Consider Automated TM1 Documentation Tools as Part of Your 2026 Budget

This is where a tool like Omni becomes relevant.

Automation helps Finance teams:

• Avoid hundreds of hours of manual updates
• Produce audit-ready documentation in minutes
• Maintain dependency maps without manual diagramming
• Capture rules, feeders, processes, and hierarchies automatically
• Support new staff onboarding
• Keep documentation aligned with the live TM1 model year-round

For Finance leaders building their 2026 budget, automation is no longer a luxury — it is a stability investment.

Omni does this by scanning your TM1 environment directly, generating full documentation and dependency maps in minutes, and keeping them updated as the model evolves.

Ready to Strengthen Your 2026 TM1 Documentation Strategy?

If you’d like to explore how Omni can support your TM1 documentation roadmap or want guidance on scoping the right 2026 investments, reach out anytime:hello@omnitm1.com