Accounting Budgets Tutorial

Overview#

An Accounting Budget is a financial plan that shows expected income, costs and cash flow over a certain time, usually a year. Budgets act as a guide for a business’s financial activities, helping managers set goals, allocate funds and plan for cash needs. Key types of budgets include:

• The operating budget (for everyday costs and income)
• The capital budget (for long-term investments)
• The cash flow budget (showing money coming in and going out to ensure cash availability)

• Budgets are important for checking performance, as they allow businesses to compare actual results with forecasts and identify areas for improvement. They also help in decision-making, allowing companies to plan for growth, control spending and maintain financial stability.
• Reviewing and adjusting budgets regularly is important to keep on track with business goals.

💡These tutorials explain how to create, edit and display budgets.

How to View a Budget#

1. Navigate to Main Menu > Accounting > Budgets.
2. Select the Year to view all the available budgets for that year or select No Date to display all the budgets.
3. Click View (button).
4. Double-click the budget you want to open.

How to Create a New Budget from Scratch#

1. Navigate to Main Menu > Accounting > Budgets.
2. Select the Year you want to create the budget for.
3. Click New (button).
4. Add any Notes in the block provided.
5. Click the arrow next to the Add button and select:
   • Add/Update all Accounts, or
   • Add/Update Accounts (Profit or Loss), or
   • Add/Update Accounts (Financial Position).
6. Edit the fields.
7. Set the Status to Active.
8. Click Save (button).
   • Note: The totals at the bottom do not show a profit or loss; they show a total of all the numbers filled in.

How to Create a Budget by Copying a Previous Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Double-click the budget you want to view.
3. Click Copy (button) > Copy to new Budget to create a budget for a new year.
4. Change the Date to the new year.
5. Edit the fields.
6. Set the Status to Active.
7. Click Save (button).

How to Delete a Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Double-click the budget you want to view.
3. If the budget is blank, click Delete (button).
   • Note: If you get an error message that the budget cannot be deleted, first delete all the rows.

How to Delete Rows in a Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Click View (button).
3. Select the rows you want to delete by clicking them.
   • Use Ctrl + click to select random rows.
   • Use Shift + click to select a group of adjacent rows.
4. Click Delete (button) between Update and Add (buttons).

How to Add Accounts to a Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Click View (button).
3. Click Add (button) to add a single account. A row is added at the bottom of the budget. Select an Account in the Account column and fill in the other information.
4. Click the arrow next to the Add button to add multiple Accounts and choose:
   • Add/Update all Accounts, or
   • Add/Update Accounts (Profit or Loss), or
   • Add/Update Accounts (Financial Position).

How to Create Several Budgets for the Same Year#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Double-click the budget you want to copy to open it.
3. Click Copy (button).
4. Select Copy to Version to create another budget for the same year.
5. Edit the fields.
6. Click Save (button).

How to Edit a Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Double-click the budget you want to edit.
3. Edit individual records by overwriting the numbers in the grid.
   • Note: Use Tab to move between the fields.
4. Edit multiple records by selecting the rows to edit and then selecting an Update option next to the Update box:
   1. Adjust by:
      1. Select a % to update by:
         • Note: This feature adds the adjustment to the existing value (to add 10%, you adjust by 10%, not 110%).
      2. Select a Round to option (1, 10, 100, 1,000).
      3. Click Update (button).
   2. Set Amount:
      1. Update = Enter a value in the block.
      2. Click Update (button).
   3. Set to Average for:
      1. Enter the number of years.
         • Note: You must have data for the chosen number of years for this calculation to work.
      2. Click Update (button).
   4. Set to Highest for:
      1. Enter the number of years.
         • Note: You must have data for the chosen number of years for this calculation to work.
      2. Click Update (button).
   5. Set to Lowest for:
      1. Enter the number of years.
         • Note: You must have data for the chosen number of years for this calculation to work.
      2. Click Update (button).
5. The Total column updates automatically.
6. Click Save (button).

How to Email a Budget#

1. Display a list of budgets.
2. Double-click the applicable budget to open it.
3. Click Menu (button) > Email Excel to email the budget in Excel format.

How to See a Budget Comparison#

1. Navigate to Main Menu > Accounting > Statement of Profit or Loss.
2. Click Set > Fin Year (Months).
3. A new Budget option appears in the same row. Click the dropdown list next to Budget and select the budget you want to display.
   • Note: If no budget exists yet, there are no names to select.
4. Click View (button).
   • Note: The Statement of Profit or Loss appears on the left and a graph appears on the right.
   • Note: The budget comparison does not appear on the graph.

How to See the Percentage Change between the Budgeted and Actual Amounts#

1. Navigate to Main Menu > Accounting > Statement of Profit or Loss.
2. Click Set > Fin Year (Months).
3. A new Budget option appears in the same row. Click the dropdown list next to Budget and select the budget you want to display.
4. Click the dropdown list next to % and select Budget.
5. Click View (button).
   • Note: The Statement of Profit or Loss appears on the left and a graph appears on the right.
   • Note: The budget comparison does not appear on the graph.