Creating & Managing Budgets in Aorabook
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for creating, configuring, and entering financial data in the Budgets module using the provided Accounting interface. The Budget module allows you to set financial targets for specific periods, compare them against actuals, and monitor your organization's financial performance.
Accessing the Budget Module
Navigate to: Sidebar Menu > Account > Financial planning > Budget
Click on Budgets.
This will open the main Budgets dashboard, where you can view existing budgets or create new ones.
Creating a New Budget:
To start a new budget, click the + Add New button. You will be presented with the Create Budget form. Fill in the following fields:
Budget Name: Enter a descriptive name for your budget (e.g., Annual Budget - 2026).
Budget Type: Select the type of budget you are creating.
Period Type: Choose how you want to break down the budget period ( Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly).
Period: Select the fiscal period that the budget covers.
Format: Choose the layout structure
Consolidated: Displays all accounts grouped into summary totals, showing a simplified high-level view of the budget.
Subdivided: Displays accounts broken down into individual line items, showing detailed figures for each specific ledger account.
Reference Budget: If you want to base this new budget on existing data, select a reference from the dropdown menu.
If you leave it as "No Reference", you will start with a blank slate.
Click Next to proceed to the data entry screen.
Entering Budget Data:
After clicking Next, you will be taken to the detailed budget entry grid. This is where you assign specific monetary values to your chart of accounts.
Review Header Settings:
At the top of the grid, review the settings that you just created. You can still adjust the following:
Edit Budget: From the budget list, users can select the budget they want to edit and update its details or budget amounts.
Period: Confirm the date range.
Reference Budget: Confirm whether you are pulling data from actuals.
Batch Action: Lets users clear multiple budget entries at once with a single click, instead of clearing each account individually.
Search Box: Use the Search Account... bar to quickly find a specific ledger account if you have a long list.
View Toggle (Yearly/Quarterly/Monthly): Use the buttons in the top right corner to switch how the data is displayed. "Monthly" is selected by default.
Entering Data:
Locate Accounts: The grid displays your Chart of Accounts grouped by category. Click the small arrow next to a category name to expand or collapse it.
Input Values: Click on the specific cell under the desired month and type in the budgeted amount.
Totals: The "Total" column on the left will automatically sum the monthly entries for each account. The "Total" row at the bottom sums up the columns for all accounts.
Split the Total Amount:
Enter the total budget amount for each account manually. By clicking the Divide icon on the right side, the total amount can be automatically distributed across the monthly or quarterly periods.
Monthly/Quarterly Amount: Users can manually enter different budget amounts for each month or quarter. The Copy to Right button can be used to automatically copy the entered amount to the following months or quarters.
Saving & Managing Your Work:
Save: Click the orange Save button at the bottom to save your progress without leaving the page. A timestamp will appear at the top right.
Save & Close: Click the green Save & Close button to save the budget and return to the main Budgets list.
Cancel: Clicking the green Cancel button will discard any unsaved changes.
Exporting/Printing: Use the icons at the top right of the grid view to export the budget to a spreadsheet or print a physical copy.
Budget List
The Budgets page provides a list of all created budgets. Users can view existing budgets, create a new budget, search for a specific budget, and select a budget to perform available actions.
The budget list displays the following information:
SL: Serial number of the budget.
Budget Name: Name of the created budget.
Budget Type: Type of budget, such as Profit & Loss.
Period Type: Budget frequency, such as Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly.
Period: The start and end dates covered by the budget.
Last Modified: Shows when the budget was last modified and by whom.
Action: Allows users to select the budget and perform available actions.
Edit/View: Allows users to view the selected budget and edit its details or budget amounts when required.
Duplicate: Allows users to create a copy of an existing budget, which can then be modified as a separate budget.
Delete: Allows users to permanently delete the selected budget.
Budget VS Actual: Allows users to compare the budgeted amounts with the actual amounts for the selected period and accounts, helping identify variances between planned and actual performance.
Print: Allows users to print the budget list.
Export: Allows users to export the displayed budget data.
Column Settings: Allows users to manage which columns are displayed in the budget list.
