Budgets
The Budgets module allows you to create budget targets for fixed asset spending, track actual expenditure against those targets, and generate variance reports. Use budgets to plan capital expenditure and monitor spending against approved limits.
Prerequisites
- You must be in the Fixed Asset Management profile (see Fixed Asset Management Profile).
- The Budgets module must be enabled (see below).
- Accounting periods must be configured (see Accounting Periods).
Enabling the Budgets Module
Budgets is an optional module. To enable it:
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open Settings.
- Navigate to Enable/Disable Features.
- Check the Budgets option.
- Refresh the page.
Once enabled, a "Budgets" category appears in the left sidebar with menu items for managing budget slots, entries, and reports.
Budget Slots
A budget slot defines the budget period and how entries are split. Budget slots are the top-level container for a set of budget entries.
To create or manage budget slots, use the Budget and Forecast Slots menu item:
Each budget slot has:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Budget Slot Name | A descriptive name (e.g. "IT Capital Budget 2026") |
| Budget Type | The category of budget |
| Split By | How budget entries are broken down: Company, Category, Department, Cost Centre, or Location |
| Start Date | Beginning of the budget period |
| End Date | End of the budget period |
The Split By setting is important — it determines the granularity of your budget entries. Choose the dimension that matches how your organisation tracks and approves capital spending:
| Split By | Best For |
|---|---|
| Company | Multi-company groups with per-company budgets |
| Category | Organisations that budget by asset type (e.g. IT equipment, vehicles) |
| Department | Organisations that delegate capital budgets to departments |
| Cost Centre | Organisations that track spending by cost centre |
| Location | Organisations with per-site capital budgets |
Creating Budget Entries
Use the Create Budget Entries menu item to auto-generate budget records based on your slot configuration.
The creation dialog asks for:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Budget | The budget slot to create entries for |
| Financial Year | The accounting year for period calculations |
| Per Period | If checked, creates entries for each accounting period (e.g. monthly budgets) rather than a single annual entry |
| Companies | Which companies to include |
| Categories | Which asset categories to include |
The system generates entries by cross-joining the selected companies, categories, and the dimension specified in the budget slot's "Split By" field.
Example
If your budget slot splits by Cost Centre, and you select:
- 2 companies
- 3 categories
- The system has 5 cost centres
The creation process generates 2 x 3 x 5 = 30 budget entries. If "Per Period" is checked and you have 12 monthly periods, it generates 30 x 12 = 360 entries.
Tip: Start with annual entries (Per Period unchecked) unless you need monthly budget tracking. You can always break down annual budgets into periods later. Generating too many entries makes the budget harder to manage.
Editing Budget Amounts
Budget entries appear as records in the Budget Totals query:
Each entry shows:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Budget Reference | Auto-generated identifier |
| Description | The budget entry description |
| Classification Fields | Company, Category, Department, Cost Centre, Location |
| Budget Amount | The target amount you set |
| Actual Transactions | Real spending (additions) recorded against this budget dimension |
| Forecast Transactions | Forecasted spending amounts |
Click an entry to edit it and set the budget amount, custodian, and notes.
Bulk Editing Budget Entries
For efficiency, use Bulk Update Budget Entries in a Single Edit to update multiple budget amounts at once rather than editing each entry individually. This is particularly useful when:
- Setting initial budget amounts across many entries
- Applying a percentage increase to all budgets
- Adjusting budgets after a mid-year review
Budget vs. Actuals Reporting
The budget system tracks three values for each dimension:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| Budget Amount | The approved target amount |
| Actual Transactions | Real transactions (asset additions) recorded against this dimension |
| Forecast Transactions | Projected transactions for the remainder of the period |
The variance between budget and actuals shows whether spending is on track:
- Under budget — Actual + Forecast is less than Budget Amount
- On budget — Actual + Forecast approximately equals Budget Amount
- Over budget — Actual + Forecast exceeds Budget Amount
Use the budget reporting queries to compare these values and identify variances. Reports can be viewed at summary level (totals by company/category) or in detail (individual transactions against each budget entry).
Tip: Review budget vs. actuals monthly as part of your period-end process. This helps catch overspending early and allows for corrective action before year-end.
Deleting Budget Entries
Use Delete Selected Budget Entries to remove budget records. This removes the budget entries only — actual transaction records are not affected.
Warning: Deleting budget entries removes the budget targets and any variance tracking for those entries. This cannot be undone. If you need to zero out a budget rather than delete it, set the budget amount to zero instead.
Related Articles
- Accounting Periods — The period structure used by budget entries
- Valuations — Financial values that inform budget planning
- Total Cost of Ownership — Using historical cost data for budget forecasting
- Multi Company Environments — Per-company budget management