NOTE! Budget will be discontinued on 31 December 2027. It has been replaced by the new Controller Budget in Netvisor, read more here New Controller.
You can open the View by selecting Controller > Controller (old) and group handling > Budget.
Before you start entering the budget:
Consider at which level you want to monitor the budget (budgeting by account group or by account).
Consider whether you want to allocate the budget to cost objects, for example to cost centre level, if cost objects are used in the company.
Note that the choice affects how you enter the budget.
You can budget some account groups at account group level and some at account level.
Do not use both options within the same account group. Choose either the account group (e.g. 300 General sales accounts) or the accounts under it, not both.
Via the user interface, enter income as positive and expenses as negative figures, the opposite of accounting entries.
Budgeting preparation
If you want to enter the budget on selected bookkeeping accounts and only that account group is shown in the budget view:
Open the specification of accounts.
Open the desired account group.
Select the option "Process group at account level" for the account group.
For each key figure to be budgeted, a contra account has been defined (usually a balance sheet account group). You cannot enter a budget manually for key figures that have been defined as contra accounts.
Budget view
1. Select the budget version to be used. Read more detailed instructions about the budget version in the budgeting settings help.
2. Show the budget for the desired cost centres with the Show button. By default, the View shows the budget by accounts or by account groups.
3. Change the months shown in the View.
4. Change the financial year shown in the View.
5. Select all accounts/account groups to be budgeted at once.
6. Select the desired account to be budgeted by ticking it.
7. Open budgeting for the selected row or rows.
8. Copy actuals from the previous period.
9. Clear budget values for all key figures and object combinations. Note that once cleared, the value cannot be restored.
10. Show the actual value for the respective month (the value in accounting).
11. Show the budgeted value for the respective month.
Budget entry settings
Tax rate: The budget VAT rate affects the cash flow in the Controller section. You can create a budget forecast, in which case VAT payments and receivables are taken into account in the budget forecast.
Add value: Adds the value entered in the field to the existing value. If the field has a value of 100 and you enter 100 again, the field value will be 200 when you transfer the values to the table.
Replace value: Replaces the value in the field with a new value. If the field has a value of 200 and you replace it with a value of 100, the field will contain 100 when you transfer the values to the table.
Budgeting at account group level
Proceed with account group level budgeting as follows:
Open Budget.
Select the desired budget version.
Click Show.
In the upper left corner of the budget table, click the link "Budget all groups/accounts" to go to budget entry.
Open the budget table at the desired account group.
Entering the budget for an account group, for example 300 General sales accounts:
You can transfer the entire budget to one month or to several months.
You can easily transfer the budget for the whole year.
Enter the value by month as follows:
Enter the desired amount for the desired months.
Click "Transfer values to table".
Save so that the values are stored.
You can also enter the budget as follows:
Click the desired month on the row of the account group (e.g. General sales accounts).
Enter the desired value for the selected month.
Click "Transfer values to table".
Save the budget.
Entering the budget in the total field: In the example the budget is transferred with an even distribution for the whole year.
Activate the total column cell on the row of the desired account group.
Transfer the budget evenly for the whole year as follows:
Select the desired allocation curve (Equal distribution in the example).
Click "Transfer values to table".
Budget formation with even distribution:
The total field has a value of 1200.
100 euros are budgeted per month.
Budgeting for the account is no longer possible because the account is shown in grey text.
Budgeting for the account group adds the values to the overall budget at the higher level, in this example to the profit and loss statement section.
You can collapse opened levels by clicking the minus sign in front of the account group name when you continue entering the budget for other account groups.
When budgeting is complete:
Save the budget. Otherwise the values will be lost when you close the screen.
Save as new version: Use this when you want to create a new budget version from an existing budget.
Select "Save as new version".
Give the new budget version a name in the field that opens.
Budgeting at account level
Proceed with account level budgeting as follows:
Open Budget.
Select the desired budget version.
Click Show.
In the upper left corner of the budget table, click the link "Budget all groups/accounts".
Open the budget table at the desired bookkeeping account.
Enter the budget for an account as follows:
Enter the desired value for the account.
Select whether you enter the value by month, for a specific month or in the total field.
Click "Transfer values to table".
Use the same principle as for account group level budgeting.
After entering at account level:
Account group level entry is automatically prevented (the account group is shown in grey text).
The amount entered for the account is automatically added to the overall budget of the account group and its higher levels.
Remember to save, otherwise the values will be lost when you leave the page.
Budgeting at cost object level
Proceed with cost object level budgeting as follows:
Open Budget.
Select the desired budget version.
Do not set any other filters.
Click Show.
In the main budget View, open the desired level (account group or bookkeeping account).
If you want to transfer the budget at account group level to cost objects:
Click the name of the desired account group (in the example, account group 300 Sales income).
The View that opens is as follows:
Select the cost object header to be budgeted as follows:
Click the name of the desired cost object header on the left side of the table (in the example "Cost centre").
Alternatively, select the desired object header from the upper right corner.
In the example, 1200 euros are budgeted for cost centre KP 1:
Select the desired cost centre row (KP 1 in the example).
Enter the value in the total field, or alternatively by month or only for the desired month.
Select Equal distribution as the allocation curve if you want an even distribution.
Click "Transfer values to table".
Add to overall budget: Define whether the value budgeted for the cost centre is added behind the account group or bookkeeping account.
Unallocated: If the value budgeted for the cost centres does not match the account group or bookkeeping account, the difference is shown in the "Unallocated" section.
A budget is formed in the budget View where the same budgeted amount is also shown on the account group.
Also budget values for cost centre KP 2:
Enter the amount 2400 for the whole year.
Add the value to the overall budget.
In the View:
The sum is also calculated at account group level.
In the example, a value of 1200 is budgeted with even distribution for the whole year for cost object KP 3, but the amount is not added to the overall budget.
In this case:
The Unallocated field shows a value.
A total of 1200 + 2400 + 1200 = 4800 has been budgeted for the cost centres.
The account group has a value of 3600, so the difference of 1200 is shown as unallocated.
The Unallocated field is shown in red. Correct the situation as follows:
Find the row that causes the difference.
Replace the value if necessary.
Include the relevant rows in the overall budget.
After this, a budget is formed with no unallocated value.
Remember to save, otherwise the values will be lost when you leave the page.
Budgeting with cost object combinations
Budget for cost object combinations as follows:
Open the budget at account or account group level.
Click the account group or desired bookkeeping account (in the example, account group 300 General sales accounts).
In the example, the budget is entered for object KP 1 and specified with project 1002 from the Project cost object group:
First select the first object (for example KP 1).
Click Update.
Select the second specifying cost object header (for example Project).
The View looks like this:
You can budget for the combination KP 1 and the desired project under the Project header.
Enter the budget for the cost object combination as follows:
Select cost object 1002.
Enter the desired value.
Add the values to the combination’s overall budget.
The budget View looks like this:
Update key figure overall budget: For the cost object combination budget to update to the initially selected account group level or bookkeeping account level (depending on which was selected), remember to select this option and save.
Frequently asked questions
Question: How do I choose whether to budget at account group level or account level?
Answer: Consider in advance whether budgeting by account group is sufficient or whether you need more detailed account level monitoring. You can use different levels for different account groups, but within the same account group you cannot use both account group and account level at the same time.
Question: How do I open the Budget View in Controller?
Answer: Select Controller > Controller (old) and group handling > Budget and open the desired budget version with the Show button.
Question: How do I enter the budget for the whole year with even distribution?
Answer: Activate the total column cell for the desired account or account group, select Equal distribution as the allocation curve, enter the total value and click "Transfer values to table", then save the budget.
Question: Why is account group level entry greyed out and I cannot budget for it?
Answer: When you budget at account level, account group level entry is automatically prevented and the account group row is shown in grey. The amount entered for the account is automatically added to the overall budget of the account group and its higher levels.
Question: What does the Unallocated field mean in budgeting?
Answer: The Unallocated field shows the difference if the sum budgeted for cost centres does not match the budget of the account group or bookkeeping account. The field is shown in red when there is a difference.
Question: How do I correct an unallocated budget?
Answer: Find the row that causes the difference, replace the value if necessary and include the relevant rows in the overall budget. After this, the unallocated value disappears.
Question: How do I budget for a cost object combination, for example for a cost centre and a project?
Answer: Open the budget at account or account group level, first select the cost centre (e.g. KP 1), click Update, select the second cost object header (e.g. Project) and the desired project (e.g. 1002), enter the value and add it to the combination’s overall budget.
Question: Why do I need to save the budget separately?
Answer: Budget values are not saved automatically. If you do not save, the values will be lost when you close the View or leave the page.
Keywords
Controller, Budget, budgeting, budget version, budget view, budget entry settings, account group level, account level, cost object, cost object combination, cost centre, allocation curve, Equal distribution, overall budget, unallocated, VAT, budget forecast, save as new version
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.