Budgeting & Forecasting | Budget Management

Build a budget once. Track it all year.

Top-down targets and bottom-up department submissions on one grid. Spread by month, copy last year, or grow a line by a percentage. Lock a version and every actual lands against it the moment a journal posts.

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What the system does

Capability, input, output.

Capability	Input	Output
Top-down and bottom-up on one grid	Executive targets + department submissions	A single reconciled budget, version-locked
Flexible spread and copy tools	Prior-year actuals, percentage growth rules, manual overrides	Monthly budget lines without manual arithmetic
Budget version locking	Approved budget snapshot	Immutable baseline for variance reporting
Live actuals feed	Posted journal entries from the ledger	Budget vs actual updated as each journal lands
Pre-approval budget check	Spend request amount + cost centre	Remaining budget confirmed before approval routes
Multi-entity, multi-currency	Entity functional currencies + FX rates	Consolidated group budget in the reporting currency

Top-down and bottom-up on one grid

Input

Executive targets + department submissions

Output

A single reconciled budget, version-locked
Flexible spread and copy tools

Input

Prior-year actuals, percentage growth rules, manual overrides

Output

Monthly budget lines without manual arithmetic
Budget version locking

Input

Approved budget snapshot

Output

Immutable baseline for variance reporting
Live actuals feed

Input

Posted journal entries from the ledger

Output

Budget vs actual updated as each journal lands
Pre-approval budget check

Input

Spend request amount + cost centre

Output

Remaining budget confirmed before approval routes
Multi-entity, multi-currency

Input

Entity functional currencies + FX rates

Output

Consolidated group budget in the reporting currency

Standards + connections

A budget tied to the systems that run the business.

The budget lives on the same chart of accounts as the ledger. There is no remap between a planning file and the books, and no import step before variance is visible.

Regulations we work within

Chart-of-accounts alignment

Every budget line maps to the same account codes the ledger uses, so variance is a direct comparison with no translation layer.
Multi-entity consolidation

Plans inherit the entity structure of your books. Each entity plans in its functional currency and rolls up at your chosen rate, consistent with how consolidation works on the ledger.
Audit trail and version control

Each locked budget version is preserved with a timestamp and owner, so any prior snapshot is available for board packs, audits or year-on-year comparison.

Connects to

General Ledger Actuals from posted journals, in real time
Accounts Payable Committed spend and scheduled bills
Accounts Receivable Revenue actuals and open invoices
Approval Workflows Budget checks run before spend requests route

Budget Management FAQ

What buyers ask.

How does the grid handle both top-down targets and bottom-up submissions?

Finance sets the top-line targets per cost centre or department. Each owner opens their slice, enters or adjusts lines, and submits. The rolled-up total is visible to finance as submissions arrive, so the gap to the target is always on screen. When the numbers agree, the version is locked and becomes the budget of record.

Can we spread an annual number across months without doing it by hand?

Yes. Spread options include equal monthly, copy prior year, apply a seasonal profile, or grow a line by a fixed percentage. Any cell can be overridden after the spread. The annual total recalculates as you edit monthly cells, so the two views stay in step without a formula.

When does budget vs actual update?

The moment a journal posts to the ledger. There is no import step and no overnight sync. The variance column for any account reflects whatever has been posted, which means mid-period reviews work on current numbers rather than whatever was exported last Friday.

Can spend requests check the budget before they are approved?

Yes. When a spend request is raised against a cost centre, the system reads the remaining budget for that account and period and surfaces it in the approval context. Approvers can see whether the request fits the budget before they act, and policy rules can route requests that would exceed it to a higher level.

Related features

Build a budget on your ledger. Track it in the same place.

Connect your books. Set targets, collect department input, lock a version, and watch actuals land against it as journals post. No exports, no stale tabs.