Budget: How do transactions post against budget

tcba2016 · ‎March 19, 2019

Hello. I just upgraded to QB Desktop Pro 2019 for PC. I have created a budget and entered the budget amount for each line item in the first month (January). I'm not sure I did that correctly but that is what I determined from research. My question, and it may be elementary, is how do I get transactions that affect the budget to post? I want to be able to see either the total amount spent out of that budget or what's left in that budget at any given time.

If you need any more information, please let me know. I have attached a screen shot.

Stumped!

Robin

Anonymous · ‎March 19, 2019

There is nothing special you need to do to 'link' budget to actual - as long as both were listed in the same account/category they will appear in the Budget-Actual reports.

Since you entered only January budget numbers you will find no 'budget' amount in any single month report (except for Jan). But if you report for 'year-to-date' or 'year-to-last-month' then you will see what you expect. If you want monthly and quarterly reports that make more sence then youll need to revise the budget and spread the amounts accross 12 months - i thinks theres a function to help with this within the budget page

View solution in original post

Anonymous · ‎March 19, 2019

Hello, @tcba2016.

Allow me to chime in the conversation and help share additional information about your budget report.

In QuickBooks, any transactions posted against the budget will not be reflected in the budget report. The budget report is just an overview that shows the numbers you entered for that budget.

You'll need to run the Budget vs. Actual report to compare your company's actual revenues and expenses to your company's budgeted amounts. This will give you your variance, so you'll know whether you are over or under budget.

If you need additional information about the budget, you can check out this related article: Create a budget or forecast in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you have additional questions about what's reflected on your budget report. I'll be here to help.

View solution in original post

Anonymous · ‎March 19, 2019

There is nothing special you need to do to 'link' budget to actual - as long as both were listed in the same account/category they will appear in the Budget-Actual reports.

Since you entered only January budget numbers you will find no 'budget' amount in any single month report (except for Jan). But if you report for 'year-to-date' or 'year-to-last-month' then you will see what you expect. If you want monthly and quarterly reports that make more sence then youll need to revise the budget and spread the amounts accross 12 months - i thinks theres a function to help with this within the budget page

tcba2016 · ‎March 19, 2019

Thank you. I will investigate spreading it out through the year.

I guess my confusion is that I have posted several debits against the budget line items but they are not reflected on the budget.

Anonymous · ‎March 19, 2019

Hello, @tcba2016.

Allow me to chime in the conversation and help share additional information about your budget report.

In QuickBooks, any transactions posted against the budget will not be reflected in the budget report. The budget report is just an overview that shows the numbers you entered for that budget.

You'll need to run the Budget vs. Actual report to compare your company's actual revenues and expenses to your company's budgeted amounts. This will give you your variance, so you'll know whether you are over or under budget.

If you need additional information about the budget, you can check out this related article: Create a budget or forecast in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you have additional questions about what's reflected on your budget report. I'll be here to help.

tvefair · ‎May 16, 2019

I am needing to know where to put the amounts for my budget where it automatically adds each month and I can see where I am regarding the budget amounts I have set. I have read and can't find where to put the total for each

Anonymous · ‎May 16, 2019

Great to see you here, @tvefair,

It's nice to have you as part of the discussion. I can share some insights on how to add your budget's allocated amount.

Creating or editing a budget report can be done in just a few steps. Let me guide you on how to do that:

Go to the Company menu.
Choose Planning & Budgeting.
Click Set Up Budgets.
Click the Budget drop-down and select the budget you want to edit or click the Create New Budget button.
Fill out the fields with the amount you want to allocate per account. The system will automatically add the yearly total in the Annual Total column.
Click OK.

That should get you on the right track! Here's a great reference I've added for you: Create a budget or forecast in QuickBooks Desktop

Please keep me posted on how it goes. I'll be more than happy to help if you ever need one. Wishing you a great and productive week!

tcba2016 · ‎May 28, 2019

Wow! That made all the difference! Thank you all for your input!

Robin

Klarrabee · ‎May 24, 2020

I have 5 different budgets that include accounts across the board. How do I get the accounts to match up with the budgets?

Mark_R · ‎May 24, 2020

Hi there, @Klarrabee.

You can run the Budget vs. Actual report to match the actual amounts of the accounts. Let me guide you how.

Go to the Reports menu, then select Budgets & Forecasts and choose Budget vs. Actuals.
Select the budget you want to open from the drop-down., then click Next.
Choose a report layout for the budget and click Next, then Finish.
In the report, review each actual amounts of the accounts.

You can also export the report to Excel and compare your budgets from there. To export the report, click the Excel button in the report and select Create New Worksheet.

However, if you're trying to copy your actual amounts to your new budget, you can select the Create budget from the previous year's actual data. This way, you'll have the same data from the previous year. Here's how:

Go to the Company menu and select Planning & Budgeting, then select Set Up Budgets.
In the Set Up Budgets window, click Create New Budget.
Specify the year for your new budget, then choose either Profit and Loss and click Next.
Select Create budget from the previous year's actual data.
Click Finish.

I'm adding this article for more details: Set up a budget or forecast.

As always, feel free to visit our QuickBooks Community help website if you need tips and related articles in the future.

Please touch base with me here for all of your QuickBooks needs, I'm always happy to help. Have a good one and keep safe.

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Budget: How do transactions post against budget