How can I set up a budget within QuickBooks Self-Employed?

I'm here to explain how it works in QuickBooks Self-Employed, Userstephaniejpayne.

The budget feature is available in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop versions only. In the Self-Employed version, the budgeting is done manually.

We have a guide to share about budgeting. It has six steps:

1. Track your spending.
2. Strive to use cash.
3. Create an emergency fund.
4. Diversify your client base.
5. Consider a business account.
6. Plan for the future.

You can check this article for more information: The 6 Step Guide to Self-Employed Budgeting. 

If you have additional questions, don't hesitate to click the Reply button below. We'll respond as soon as we can.

I am browsing QuickBooks Online, and don't see how to budget within that program either. Can you advise? Thanks!

Good day, @userstephaniejpayne. 

Thanks for joining in this thread. I'll show you the steps on how you access the budget feature in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

In QBO Plus and Advanced, you can create budgets based on your accounting data. This way, it would be easy for you to monitor, track, and compare expected income and expenses with actual income and expenses. 

Here's how:

1. Go to Settings and select Budgeting.
2. Click Add budget, then enter its name.
3. Select Next and enter your data.
4. When you're done, click Save and close.

Please take note that you'll have to sign in to QuickBooks as a user with permission to access this feature. 

After creating your budget, you can run budget reports so you can compare them to your actual sales and expenses.

1. Click the Gear icon and select Budgeting.
2. Find your budget on the list.
3. Click the Action ▼ drop-down list and select Run Budget Overview report or Run Budgets vs. Actuals report.

You can also download a budget .csv template from QuickBooks. Use it to create your budget so all of your data is compatible.

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to reach back out anytime. Just click Reply and I'll get back to you. Have a great weekend.

There is no option in QB SE to add a budget. The graphic shown does not look like my software and I have the latest. It looks like QB online not self employed. I’ve gone thru every tab, and I don’t see any budgeting capabilities.

Hi there, @clstone. 

Thanks for following along with the thread and sharing your concerns. 

At this time, the budget feature is only available in QuickBooks Online. I understand the importance of having this feature become available for users like you. With that said, I wanted to let you know that I've submitted this suggestion to our Product Development Team. This way, the feedback can be considered for a future update. 

Our Developers review each request and consider them all for future updates. Any time you'd like to submit a request, you can use the link I've included below. 

• Intuit QuickBooks Feedback 

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a good one! 

I have the self-employed subscription, I am on desktop and also can't find the budgeting tool.  Can you please let me know if this a feature included in my subscription?

Good day, luisfgarcia

Let me share some information of how it works in QuickBooks Self-Employed

Currently, the budget tool is only available in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop versions. 

QuickBooks Self-Employed, on the other hand, is designed to help you record your self-employed income and expenses, track mileage, and prepare your Schedule C.

Here are the main features for your subscription:

• Track and organize your business income and expenses.
• Maximize your business deductions.
• Enter data quickly with online banking.
• Track your business mileage and claim mileage deductions.
• Run reports to figure out your business profit.
• Calculate your estimated federal quarterly tax payments.
• Put your expenses into the correct Schedule C categories.
• Send your data to TurboTax Self-Employed for fast year-end filing.

To learn more, you can check out this article: QuickBooks Self-Employed Overview.

Feel free to get back to this thread if you have further questions or concerns. I'll be around if you need help. Enjoy a wonderful day!

the link to the page is not available, can you point me in another direction? I am trying to set up a budget with Quickbooks self-employed.

Hi there, suntwist. Let me chime in and share some information about setting up a budget.

The feature to set up QuickBooks Self-Employed budgeting is currently unavailable. However, if you want to set this up and use it to manage your budgets, you may consider using the QuickBooks Online (QBO) Plus or Advanced version instead. This program offers a variety of features that can help you manage your business.  

Furthermore, if you wish to use QBO as your partner in business, you can visit the QuickBooks Plans & Pricing page to subscribe. 

Also, here's a quick guide on how to use QBO for easier and better access: Get started in QuickBooks Online. 

Once you set up your account in QBO, you can start creating budgets for your business. 

It's our pleasure to assist you with any queries you may have concerning budgets or any other QuickBooks-related topics. You're always welcome to reach out to us at your convenience. We wish you a productive and enjoyable day!