This instruction covers budgeting in Controller. In Controller you can create a budget for the profit and loss statement as well as the balance sheet. Controller budgeting is suitable for all company forms. Income is budgeted with a positive value and expenses with a negative value. You can create the budget at account group level, account level or cost object level. Budget creation works with account numbers of any length.
You can open budgeting by selecting Controller > Budgeting.
CONTENT
Budget entry
The budget is a tool used to estimate the income and expenses of the financial period based on actual and budgeted values or imported accounting data.
Start creating a new budget
Select Controller > Budgeting > Create new.
Enter a name for the budget.
Define the time range for the budget.
Select whether you will enter the budget:
on an empty template, or
based on existing figures (actuals or a previous budget).
Use existing figures as the basis for the budget
Select the material to be used for creating the budget (e.g. actuals or a previous budget).
Use the latest monthly values from the selected material for each month of the budget:
If the base material or the budget being created is longer than one year, use the same values for the same months of different years.
Combine actual figures from two financial periods
First create the budget using actual figures, for example based on the 2024 actuals.
Select Import figures.
Set the time range, for example 07/2023–12/2023.
Select 2023 actuals as the data source.
In this case, use:
for january to june, the 2024 actuals
for july to december, the 2023 actuals.
Note the restrictions related to budget structure and entry
Enter budget figures as whole numbers; decimals are not supported.
Edit the chart of accounts before creating the budget:
the structure of a budget that has been created once cannot be edited
make changes to the chart of accounts for the accounts to be budgeted before creating the budget.
Manage budgets
Open the budget list in the Controller > Budgeting view.
On the budget row, select the three-dot menu.
Select the desired action:
delete budget
copy budget
select budget as primary.
The primary budget is shown, for example, first in the selection for the comparison series on the Reports view and at the top of the budget listing.
Budget status and editing
The budget can have the status Ready or In progress.
Edit the budget only when its status is In progress.
Do not try to edit a budget that has the status Ready, because it cannot be edited.
Enter a value in the budget – total column
Enter a value in the budget – total column when you want to allocate the total to the months.
Let the system split the value evenly across the budget months.
Note that any remainder is allocated to the first month of the budget.
Enter the budget with multiple users
If needed, enter the budget simultaneously with several users.
Let the system update all changed values in the budget after each value entry.
Use this so that the values entered simultaneously by other users are also visible.
Use keyboard shortcuts when entering the budget
Copy (Ctrl + C) – copy the values of the selected cells.
Paste (Ctrl + V) – paste the copied values into the selected cell and onward to other cells based on the copied range.
Cut (Ctrl + X) – remove the values of the selected cells and copy the values to the clipboard.
Fill (Ctrl + K) – enter the value of the selected cell (one cell) into the remaining cells of that row in the table. Execute the command from the cell that contains the value to be copied.
Delete – delete the values of the selected cells.
Ensure accounts are eligible for budgeting
Open the Netvisor specification of accounts and account settings.
Make sure that all accounts to be budgeted have the option "Allow budgeting for this account" selected.
In the chart of accounts, make sure that the higher-level account groups of the accounts are active so that the account will be available in the budget.
Calculate Controller manually if you have activated the account group and the accounts are in order:
otherwise the background calculation will take place the next night.
What to do if a new budget does not display accounting accounts
Check the company’s chart of accounts.
Make sure that the top rows of the profit and loss statement are not hidden.
If the top rows are hidden, submit a request to customer support:
ask to restore the entire chart of accounts to be visible
ask to have Controller calculated manually.
After this, create a new budget with empty values so that the accounting accounts are displayed.
Budget import/export
General information about importing and exporting budgets
Export budget values to Excel and import them back into Controller.
Edit values in Excel before importing them back.
Use the imported budget template, which shows in columns:
account
any cost object headers
months.
Prepare the Excel template
Do not remove cost object headers to ensure a successful import.
Budget by cost object as follows:
enter the desired cost object exactly correctly under the correct cost object header
note that accounts are matched by number and cost objects and headers by name.
If you do not want to budget by cost object, leave the row data in the cost object header columns blank.
Enter budget data row by row at account level:
data entered at account level is updated in Controller at account group level.
Check account settings before import
In Netvisor, make sure that all accounts included in the import budget have the option "Allow budgeting for this account" selected.
Note that if the option is missing, the transfer will fail with an error.
What to do in case of errors during import
If the transfer shows an error message that there are no cost objects/tracking objects and these are not used:
delete the entire corresponding column in Excel before transferring it back to Controller.
If changes have been made to cost objects:
update Controller manually before the transfer.
Export the budget to Excel and import the figures back
Open Controller > Budgeting and select the desired budget.
In the budget view, open the three-dot menu.
Select Download Excel.
Make the necessary changes in Excel.
Save the Excel file.
Return to Controller and select Import figures.
Note the impact of Excel import on existing figures
If there are already figures in the budget template in Controller:
use Excel to import additional figures for accounts/cost objects that do not yet have budgeted figures when you want to add to the budget.
If you import figures with Excel for an account/cost object that already has figures in Controller:
import all the figures to be replaced in Excel
note that the value imported from Excel will replace the value in the Controller budget template.
Entering for an account group
Enter the budget for an account group
Enter a value for an account group when you want to record the total under that account group.
The system will save the value to the first account in the account group.
Note that entering for an account group overwrites the previous values under that account.
Entering for a cost object
Enter the budget for a cost object
Open Controller > Budgeting and select the budget.
Select the cost object in one of the following ways:
select the cost object from the cost object filter, or
open the account view by clicking the account or move from a cell to the account view with the arrow key.
In the account view, select Add cost object.
If necessary, change the selected account in the account view from the menu at the top of the table.
Enter values for a cost object combination
Select the desired cost objects simultaneously when you want to enter a value for a cost object combination.
Enter the value; it will be recorded for all selected cost objects.
Note that a maximum of 3 cost objects from different cost object headers can be included in a combination.
Remember that when entering cost object budgets, the budgeted amounts also increase the total budget.
Allocating to cost objects
Understand unallocated rows
Review the unallocated row:
the row shows a value entered for the account that has not been allocated to any cost object.
If unallocated is > 0:
values entered for cost objects will automatically reduce the unallocated value.
When you delete a value entered for a cost object:
the value is moved back to unallocated, unless the unallocated row is empty
if the unallocated row is empty, it is not updated automatically.
If you allocate more than the account balance:
unallocated becomes zero
the difference is added to the account value.
Use cost object hierarchy
Check the unallocated value of a cost object header:
the value is the sum of all values for which no cost object has been set under that header.
Note that in the cost object hierarchy, there can be values at all levels:
values at lower hierarchy levels are included together with the values at higher levels.
Selecting a default header
Select a default header
Select a default header for cost objects when you want to see summary rows in the table.
Use the summary rows:
on the summary rows you can see the sum of all cost object combinations that contain the given cost object.
Remember that the default header selection is user-specific.
Note that selecting a default header does not affect the values being saved, so you can change it as needed.
Printing the budget
On the Reports tab in Controller, you can retrieve the budget and forecast prepared for your company and print these either to Excel or as a PDF.
Retrieve the budget or forecast for a report
Select Controller > Reports.
Open the search criteria in edit mode using the arrow button on the right.
Select a budget or forecast for the report
In the search criteria, find the Figures field.
Replace actuals with the desired budget or forecast.
Download the report to Excel or as a PDF
Generate the report with the selected search criteria.
From the three dots on the right side of the report, select the download function.
Select whether you want to download the report to Excel or as a PDF.
Create an actual–budget comparison
Select the actuals for the financial period in the Figures field.
Select the budget or forecast in the Comparison figures field.
Generate the report and download it to Excel or as a PDF if needed.
Frequently asked questions about budgets
Q: Can the budget created in Controller be used in accounting reports?
A: Comparison reports are generated on the Controller side and it is not possible to use budgets in accounting reports. Currently, the “profit and loss statement, budget comparison” shown in the accounting reports is a function of the old Controller, which will be removed.
Q: Can the budget be created on a weekly basis?
A: The review period can be selected as a month, quarter, half-year, year or financial period.
Q: Can the budget be created by entering a total amount that Controller allocates to months proportionally?
A: This is not possible. Figures are entered as numbers and, for the time being, it is not possible to build custom allocation rules in Controller.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How do I start creating a new budget in Controller?
A: Select Controller > Budgeting > Create new, enter a name and time range for the budget, and choose whether to use an empty template or existing figures.
Q: Why can’t I edit the budget?
A: The budget can only be edited when its status is “In progress”. If the budget status is “Ready”, it cannot be edited.
Q: Why are not all accounts visible in the budget?
A: Make sure that “Allow budgeting for this account” is selected in the account settings in the specification of accounts and that the higher-level account groups of the accounts are active in the chart of accounts. If a new budget does not show accounting accounts, also check that the top rows of the profit and loss statement are not hidden.
Q: How do I import a budget from Excel into Controller?
A: First download the budget to Excel by selecting “Download Excel” from the three-dot menu in the budget view. Edit the values in Excel, make sure that cost object headers are not removed, and that accounts and cost objects are entered correctly. Import the figures back by selecting “Import figures”.
Q: What happens if I import figures with Excel for an account that already has a budget?
A: The value imported from Excel will replace the value in the Controller budget template for the account or cost object in question. If you want to keep the previous figures, only import for accounts/cost objects that do not yet have budgeted figures.
Q: How does cost object budgeting affect the total budget?
A: Amounts budgeted for cost objects also increase the total budget for the account. The unallocated row shows the portion of the account value that has not been allocated to any cost object.
Q: How do I print a budget or actual–budget comparison?
A: Select Controller > Reports, open the search criteria and select the desired budget or actuals in the Figures field and the budget or forecast in the Comparison figures field. Generate the report and download it to Excel or as a PDF from the three dots on the right.
Q: Why does importing the budget from Excel give an error message about cost objects?
A: If you do not use cost objects/tracking objects and you receive an error message related to them, delete the relevant column in Excel before transferring it back to Controller.
Keywords: budgeting, controller, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, account group level, account level, cost object, Excel, import, export, user rights, budget allocation, cost object hierarchy, budget status, keyboard shortcuts
This article has been translated using an AI-based translation tool. The contents or wording of these instructions may differ from those in other instructions or in the software.