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Budget — User Guide

Budget — User Guide

Module: Accounting
Audience: Accountants, finance managers, administrators
Version: 1.0.0
Last updated: 2026-07-22

Overview

Accounting → Budget is where you plan expected amounts by general ledger account for a fiscal year. You can build budgets in the on-screen spreadsheet (monthly, quarterly, or yearly view), create them through a short wizard, or import from Excel. Budget figures power budget reports under Accounting → Reports.

Prerequisites

Role Typical permissions
View budgets Accounting Budget → View
Create or import budgets Accounting Budget → Create
Edit and save amounts Accounting Budget → Edit
Delete a budget Accounting Budget → Delete

A configured Chart of accounts is required so accounts appear in the grid and import.

Step-by-step: Create a budget

  1. Go to Accounting → Budget.
  2. Click New.
  3. Read the introduction, then click Next.
  4. Enter the Fiscal year and choose:
    • Profit and loss accounts (income and expense), or
    • Balance sheet accounts (assets, liabilities, equity).
  5. Complete any optional data-source step, then finish the wizard.

Expected result: The new budget appears in the Budget dropdown and the spreadsheet loads.

If a budget already exists for that year and type, you are prompted to update the existing one instead.

Step-by-step: Enter or change amounts

  1. Select a budget from the Budget dropdown.
  2. Choose a view: Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly.
  3. Enter amounts in the grid (one row per account).
  4. Click Save.

Use Clear to reset the grid before saving (client-side only until you save).

Step-by-step: Import a budget

  1. Click Import budget.
  2. Set fiscal year and budget type (P&L or balance sheet).
  3. Choose import layout: Month, Quarter, or Year.
  4. Upload your Excel file and click Import.
  5. Download the error file if any rows fail.

Account names in the file must match accounts on your chart of accounts.

Step-by-step: Delete a budget

  1. Select the budget to remove.
  2. Click Delete and confirm.

This removes the budget and all its detail lines.

Field reference

Field Description
Fiscal year Calendar or financial year for the budget
Budget type P&L accounts vs balance sheet accounts
View type How the grid displays periods (month / quarter / year)
Account rows GL accounts included for the selected type

Common issues

Symptom Likely cause What to do
Empty screen / no grid No budget created yet Use New or Import
Cannot import Missing Create permission Request Accounting Budget → Create
Import row errors Account name not found Fix names to match chart of accounts
Report shows no budget data Wrong budget or year on report Confirm budget exists and report filters
Amounts differ slightly by month after quarterly entry System splits quarters across months Normal; verify totals in monthly view

Related features

  • Chart of accounts — accounts listed in the budget grid
  • Reports → Budget — budget overview, budget vs actual, budget performance
  • Setting → General — first month of financial year affects period layout

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