Clicking on Budgets on the Account record displays a selection window.

You have the following options. Each is described in detail further below in this topic.

Enter Each Period Budget - This allows entry of budget values for the currently displayed Nominal Account record. Individual values can be entered for each period of this year and next year.

Enter Whole Year Budget - This displays a further selection window for working with the currently displayed Nominal Accounts. One figure is entered for this year, and one for next year, these may then be distributed in three different ways to each Period.

Set to Previous Year - Clicking on this displays a selection window for calculating budget values for a range of Nominal Accounts.

Copy Current Budget/ Copy Next Year Budget - Clicking on this displays a message asking you to confirm that you want to make a copy of the Budgets.

Note: When using Purchase Control/Budget Authorisation feature, if Allow Zero Budget in the Nominal Account - Info window has been ticked, then a zero Budget for this Account will be treated as 'Authorisation Required for every Order'. If this is not ticked then a zero Budget will be treated as 'No Budget Restrictions'.'
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Purchase Control always looks at the current Budget - even if the Budget is changed part of the way through the year.

Individual values can be entered for each period of This Year and Next Year.

You may enter a total year budget for This Year and Next Year.

You are able to enter over 12 or 13 periods, depending on your selection in System Options.

Divide Evenly Between Each Period - This displays a window showing you the percentage of your total figure that will be posted into each period. You may manually re-profile the percentage for each period to take account of seasonal variations.

Use Previous Year Budget Profile - This will look back at the previous years budget to see the percentage split between each period, and then enter the same percentage into each period of the new year, so that your new budget is split down in the same manner. The profile that is calculated and displayed may then be manually tailored if you choose.

Use Previous Year Actual Profile - This will look back at the previous years actual figures to see the percentage split between each period, and then enter the same percentage into each period of the new year, so that your new budget is split down in the same manner. The profile that is calculated and displayed may then be manually tailored if you choose. Calculates the budget values for each period based on the percentage and updates the Account.

Having entered the first and last Nominal Account Code that you wish to work with, you can choose between basing the new year budget on the previous years budget figures, or the previous years actual figures.

You may then select between adding a percentage to the previous year figures or deducting a percentage from last years figures.

Displays a message to ensure you are ready to go ahead and then displays a series of working messages as each Accounts budget is changed.

You may use this option again and again making different selections for different ranges of Accounts.

This displays a message asking you to confirm that you want to make a copy of the Budgets.

Existing copy values will be overwritten.

Each Nominal Account can have a Budget set against it.

Committed Values are those of the currently batched transactions from Nominal Ledger Journals, Purchase Ledger transactions (this includes transactions that originate in the Invoice Register) and Purchase Orders.

When these transactions are entered:

There is an option on the Info window of Nominal records that will ensure that the budget is checked even if it is zero.

The option is Allow Zero Budgets and if ticked, a zero budget for the Nominal account will be treated as "Authorisation Required for every Order".

If it is not ticked, a zero budget will be treated as "No Budget Restrictions".

The Committed Values are updated by Batched transactions and accumulated against all Nominal Accounts for the Period and Year to date (Current and Next), however they will only show on Accounts that belong to Nominal Accounts (in the following Major Headings):

2 - Cost of Sales,

4 - Overheads,

7 - Fixed Assets and

8 - Intangible Assets.

i.e. Committed Values will still be accumulated for Nominal Accounts that belong to other Major Headings, so that if the Major Heading on an Account is changed, the User will then see the Committed Value if now relevant.

If Future Period Posting is switched on, then the Committed Value will be updated to the Period to which the transaction is assigned.

If the Year / Period are edited then the Committed Value may move accordingly.

The Committed Value is updated whenever a transaction is entered into the system, whether that transaction is Posted directly or is Batched. However, from a User point of view, Committed is only seen to be updated for Batched Transactions.

Batching a Purchase Order or Transaction increases the Committed Value, so this represents only what is in the Batch.

Batching a Purchase Credit Note decreases the Committed Value by the value of the Transaction i.e. it is the reverse of the original Transaction.

When Journals are entered through the Nominal Ledger:

A Debit detail line will increase the Committed Value,

A Credit detail line will decrease the Committed Value.

The Committed Value on any Contra-Account will not be changed.

The Committed Value against a Nominal account will always equal the total value of the Transactions currently Batched which reference that Nominal Account.

If a Purchase Order (or Order line) is 'Closed' then the Committed Value is reduced accordingly (at the Order Cost Price), but the Actual Value is unchanged.

The Committed Value is updated again when these Batched transactions are Posted, this usually reduces the Committed Values and increases the Actual Values.

Editing a Batched Order or Transaction to change the Price or Quantity on a line, updates the Committed Value by the value of any change in value, when saving the Order.

If the Analysis Codes on the Detail lines of the Transaction are changed, the Committed Value for the old Nominal account will be reduced and that value will be added to the new Nominal account.

Deleting a Batched Order or Transaction reduces the Committed Value by the value of that transaction.

Invoice Register: Transactions that originate in the Invoice Register for the Purchase Ledger, update the Committed Value when the Detail lines are added.

Consolidated Requests: Transactions being generated through Consolidated Requests, update the Committed Value when they are converted to live Purchase Orders.

The Actual Value is only updated by the transaction value when it is posted.

If the transaction is posted, Committed Value is reduced, and the Actual Value is increased by the posted amount.

The Committed Value is displayed at the bottom of the Nominal Account record window, and the button beside the Actual - Period to Date value displays a window listing the Period and Year totals for the Current, Next and Previous years.

Clicking on the Balance menu for the Current Year displays a menu where you can select Committed values as an alternative to showing the Balance values.

Differences in the reports are calculated as ((Actual + Committed) - Budget)

When printing a Nominal Ledger Trial Balance or Profit & Loss report, if the option to Include Budget Figures is selected, you then have the option to Include Committed Costs.