The Budgets page lets you create financial budgets for a client, compare budgeted amounts against actuals, and analyze variances across periods, accounts, categories, departments, and divisions. You can build budgets line by line or generate them automatically from historical data.
This guide walks through every section of the page, step by step, in the order you see on screen.
Getting Here
- Open the main sidebar and select a Bookkeeping Client.
- In the client sidebar, click Budgets (under the Operations section).
The page opens to the budgets list. Across the top you will see three summary cards and a table of all existing budgets.
Understanding the Dashboard
Top Metrics
Three cards sit across the top of the page. They give you a quick read on the state of your budgets:
| Metric | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Active Budgets | How many budgets are currently active and available for reporting. |
| Draft Budgets | How many budgets are still in draft and not yet active. |
| Total Budgets | The grand total of all budgets (active, draft, and archived). |
The Budgets Table
Below the summary cards, a table lists every budget. Each row shows:
| Column | What You See |
|---|---|
| Name | The budget name you assigned. Click the row to open the budget details. |
| Period Type | A badge showing whether the budget is Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually. |
| Date Range | The start and end dates of the budget period. |
| Status | A badge: active (green), draft (grey), or archived (outline). |
| Total Budgeted | The sum of all budgeted amounts across every line and period. |
| Created By | The name of the person who created the budget. |
| Actions | A three-dot menu with View Details, Edit, and Delete options. |
Click any row to jump to the budget's detail page. Click the three-dot menu on the right for quick actions without leaving the list.
Creating a Budget
- Click the New Budget button at the top-right of the page.
- The create budget form opens with two main cards: Budget Information and Budget Lines.
Budget Information
Fill in the header details for the budget:
| Field | What To Enter |
|---|---|
| Budget Name | A descriptive name, for example "2026 Annual Operating Budget." Required. |
| Status | Choose Draft to keep the budget hidden until ready, Active to make it available for reporting, or Archived for old budgets. |
| Description | A longer note about the purpose or scope of the budget (optional). |
| Period Type | Monthly creates 12 periods, Quarterly creates 4, Annually creates 1. This determines how many columns you fill in. |
| Start Date | The first day of the budget period. |
| End Date | The last day of the budget period. |
| Notes | Any internal notes about the budget (optional). |
Budget Lines
This is where you enter the actual numbers. You have three ways to build your budget lines.
Method 1: Line by Line
The default view. Each line represents one account for one period.
- Click the Add Line button.
- For each line, fill in:
| Field | What To Enter |
|---|---|
| Account | Pick an account from the chart of accounts dropdown. |
| Period # | The period number (1 through the number of periods in the budget). |
| Amount | The budgeted dollar amount for this account in this period. |
| Department | An optional department tag for finer tracking. |
| Division | An optional division tag for finer tracking. |
| Notes | Any notes for this specific line (optional). |
- Click the trash icon on any row to remove that line.
- Repeat until all accounts and periods are covered.
For budgets with many lines, the table uses a virtualized scroll — you can scroll through thousands of lines smoothly.
Method 2: All Accounts (Bulk View)
Switch to the All Accounts tab at the top of the Budget Lines card.
This view shows every account in the chart of accounts as a row, with a column for each period. You can:
- Type amounts directly into the grid for each account and period.
- Use the Search bar at the top to filter accounts by number, name, or type.
- Only accounts where you enter a non-zero amount are saved as budget lines.
Method 3: Generate Forecast
Let the system build a draft budget for you based on historical data.
- Fill in the Start Date, End Date, and Period Type in the Budget Information card first.
- Click the Generate Forecast button.
- A dialog opens showing every account with a historical amount and a forecasted amount. The forecast applies a 5% growth factor to the previous year's data.
- Review the forecasted amounts in the table. Only accounts with a positive forecast appear.
- Click Apply Forecast to populate your budget lines with the forecast data. The amounts are spread evenly across all periods.
✓ Tip: Use Generate Forecast to get a quick starting point, then switch to Line by Line or Bulk view to fine-tune individual amounts.
Saving the Budget
- For a new budget: click Create Budget at the bottom of the page.
- For an existing budget: click Update Budget. The metadata (name, dates, status, description, notes) saves immediately. Budget lines are saved separately through the line-editing controls in the Budget Lines card.
Viewing Budget Details
Click any budget row in the list to open its detail page. The detail page has four main sections:
KPI Summary Cards
Four coloured cards show the budget's performance at a glance:
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Budget | The sum of all budgeted amounts across all periods. |
| Total Actual | The sum of all actual amounts recorded against the budget. |
| Variance | The dollar difference between actual and budgeted. Red means over budget, green means under budget. |
| Performance | The variance as a percentage. Shows "On track" (5% or less), "Needs attention" (up to 15%), or "Critical" (over 15%). |
Charts
Three charts help you visualize budget performance:
- Budget vs Actual Trend — A bar and line chart comparing budgeted and actual amounts period by period, with a variance line.
- Budget by Category — A donut chart showing how the budget is distributed across account categories (revenue, expenses, etc.).
- Cumulative Progress — An area chart tracking the running total of budgeted vs. actual spending across periods.
Top Variances
A card lists the five accounts with the largest budget deviations. Each account shows its budgeted amount, actual amount, dollar variance, and a progress bar. Red bars mean over budget; green bars mean under budget.
Detailed Tabs
Five tabs let you drill into the budget data from different angles:
| Tab | What You See |
|---|---|
| Budget Lines | A paginated table showing every budget line: account, period, budgeted amount, actual amount, variance, department, and division. Navigate with Previous/Next buttons. |
| By Period | A period-by-period summary with a progress bar for each period. |
| By Category | A breakdown by account type (revenue, expense, asset, etc.). |
| By Department | A breakdown by department tag, if you used departments in your budget lines. |
| By Division | A breakdown by division tag, if you used divisions in your budget lines. |
Refreshing Actuals
Click the Refresh Actuals button at the top of the detail page to recalculate actual amounts from the general ledger. This pulls the latest transaction data into the budget comparison.
Editing a Budget
- From the budgets list, click the three-dot menu on a budget row and select Edit. Or, from the detail page, click the Edit button.
- The edit form opens with all fields pre-filled. Make your changes.
- Click Update Budget at the bottom of the page.
⚠ Warning: In edit mode, the metadata (name, dates, status) saves independently from the budget lines. If you only change the name and click Update, your existing budget lines are preserved. If you want to change budget lines, use the controls inside the Budget Lines card.
Deleting a Budget
- From the budgets list, click the three-dot menu on a budget row.
- Select Delete.
- Confirm the deletion in the browser prompt.
The budget and all its lines are permanently removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between monthly, quarterly, and annual budgets?
A monthly budget has 12 periods (one per month), a quarterly budget has 4 (one per quarter), and an annual budget has 1 (the whole year). The period type determines how many columns you fill in for each account.
How does Generate Forecast work?
It looks at the previous year's actual transaction data, applies a 5% growth factor, and spreads the forecasted amount evenly across periods. Only accounts with historical activity appear in the forecast.
Can I have multiple active budgets?
Yes. You can create as many budgets as you need — for example, separate budgets for different departments, projects, or scenarios.
What does "Refresh Actuals" do?
It recalculates the actual amounts by pulling the latest transaction data from the general ledger for the budget's date range. Use it whenever new transactions have been posted and you want updated variance numbers.
Can I use departments and divisions without setting up classes?
Yes. Department and division are free-text fields on each budget line. They are independent of the Classes & Locations tracking system.