DBD: Setting Up Budgets in the General Ledger

The Financial Statement printing program includes a built-in feature that allows you to print budgets alongside your actuals. To take advantage of this feature, you must first set up and enter your budget data for your general ledger accounts using the Account Balance Setup program.

This article will guide you through entering both accrual and cash-basis budget information.

Navigating to Account Balance Setup

To access the budget entry screen, follow this path within the system:

General Ledger → Setup → Account Balance

💡 System Note: The Account Balance Setup program serves a dual purpose: it allows you to enter upcoming budget information and provides a quick inquiry tool to view a summary of your existing general ledger account balances.

Step-by-Step: Entering Budget Information

Follow these steps to add budget records for your general ledger accounts:

1. Select the Account

Open the Account Balance Setup program from the General Ledger System Menu and enter the specific General Ledger Account number you wish to update.

2. Choose Your Balance Type

Select the appropriate Balance type based on your accounting method:

Click "Budget" for Accrual Basis Budgets.
Click "Cash Budget" for Cash Basis Budgets.
Click "Yes" to officially add and initialize the record.

3. Enter Budget Amounts by Period

For each financial period, enter your targeted budget amount. Keep the following system rules in mind:

Credit Balances (Minus Sign): Be sure to enter budget amounts as a credit (a minus/negative value) for any accounts that normally carry a credit balance (for example, Revenue/Income accounts).
The Period 01 Shortcut: After you key in the budget amount for Period 01, the system will prompt you with a pop-up: "Repeat all Budget Amount for all Periods" .
- If you choose Yes, the amount entered in Period 01 will automatically copy across all remaining periods for the year, saving you repetitive manual data entry.

🔴 Critical Variance Warning: Before running your financial statements, double-check that your credit-normal accounts (like sales revenue) were entered with a negative sign. If the minus sign is forgotten, your budget-to-actual variance reports will calculate incorrectly.