Budgets

Set a budget for the year on each revenue and expense account, month by month, and see it against what the ledger shows: the month, the year to date, the variance and the percent used, with a light that tells you which accounts are on track. Accounts with postings but no budget are listed too. Part of the Budgets add-on.

Steps

  1. Open Accounting → Budgets and pick the year and the month to look up to.
  2. Press New budget, pick the account and type the 12 monthly amounts. To spread a yearly figure equally, type it under Yearly figure and press Spread; to bring amounts from Excel, copy a row or a column of 12 amounts there and paste it under Paste from Excel. Press Save.
  3. Or press Start from actuals: every account without a budget gets one from what it posted last year (or this year), plus the percent you set.
  4. Read the table: a positive variance is good (less spent, or more earned, than the budget). Expenses up to 90% of the budget to date are On track, up to 100% Watch, over it Off track; revenue at 100% or more is On track and from 90% Watch. Press a row to change its budget.
  5. Download Excel for the budget and the actuals of every month, or print the page.

Tips

  • When an expense or a purchase would take its account over the budget for the year to date, its form shows a warning. It never stops you saving.
  • An expense category's budget is the budget of its account (for example Rent Expense); purchases count against the Purchase account.
  • Budgets follow the calendar year, January to December.
  • Two charts sit above the table: revenue and expenses month by month against their budgets, and the accounts furthest off their budget to date.

In the app, press F1 or ? on this screen to open this guide next to your work.

This guide belongs to the Budgets module. Learn more

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