> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cfo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Test a decision in a Scenario

> Create a Scenario, a what-if version of your plan, to see what a decision such as a new hire or a price increase does to cash and results before you change Main.

Use a Scenario when you want to see what a decision does before you make it, such as two new hires, a price increase, or a hiring freeze. A Scenario is a what-if version of your plan. It starts as a copy of Main, the Scenario that holds your current plan, and keeps receiving Main's updates. Your changes stay in the Scenario until you merge them. To understand how that works, see [Scenarios, Snapshots, and version history](/concepts/scenarios.md).

**Ask Ari**

Name the Scenario and describe the decision and what you want to see:

> Create a Scenario called Hire two engineers in Q1. Add two engineers at \$150,000 a year each starting in January, and compare cash and cash runway with Main.

Ari creates the Scenario, makes the changes in it, and shows the comparison. Main is not changed. Other decisions work the same way:

> Can we hire three engineers in September? Build a hiring Scenario and show the effect on payroll, cash, and cash runway.

> Create a Scenario where enterprise churn falls by two percentage points and show the effect on revenue and cash over the next year.

To keep working in the Scenario later, open it from the Scenario picker, or name it in your request:

> In the Hire two engineers in Q1 Scenario, move the start date to March.

**By hand**

**1. Create the Scenario**

Open the Scenario picker, the **Main Scenario** control in the sidebar's **Model** section, above your Pages. Select **Create scenario**, type a name, and press **Enter**. cfo.ai creates the Scenario and switches to it.

**2. Change the assumptions**

Edit the values and formulas the decision touches, on any Page. Every edit you make while the Scenario is selected is saved in the Scenario, not in Main.

**3. See the effect**

Read the Pages in the Scenario, or switch back to Main in the picker to see the plan without your changes. To see both versions on one table, [compare Scenarios side by side](/guides/compare-scenarios.md).

Creating a Scenario needs permission to create Scenarios, and it is not offered on a phone.

## If you cannot find your changes

Check the Scenario picker. Pages show the Scenario selected there. Changes you made in a Scenario, including new Pages, appear only while that Scenario is selected, until you merge it. The address bar changes when you switch Scenarios, so you can bookmark a Scenario or send a teammate a link to it.

## Next steps

* [Compare Scenarios side by side](/guides/compare-scenarios.md)
* [Merge a Scenario into Main](/guides/merge-a-scenario.md) when you decide to adopt the plan.
* [Save a plan as a Snapshot](/guides/save-a-snapshot.md) to keep a version exactly as it is today.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.