Creating/Entering a Budget in QuickBooks Online/Desktop/Pro, & Year Versions

Companies prefer using QuickBooks for making or entering a budget. By creating a budget in QuickBooks, companies are able to easily manage their revenues, track their expenses, etc. To enter a budget in this software, the Planning & Budgeting option is significant. In various versions of the software, this option can help in preparing the budget for your company. In this reading, we will be looking at how this option can be used for this purpose. Also, we will explain how to create a budget in QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online and its versions, QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks 2018/2017/2012, etc.

You can know more about the contents of this blog. The synopsis given here will help you to know the same.

What is the Budget Feature in QuickBooks?

QB provides you with a feature that assists you in creating or entering a budget. Companies choose to make a budget in QuickBooks to know their annual performance. With the help of this feature, expenses and revenues can be estimated. In multiple versions of the software like QuickBooks Online, QBOA, QuickBooks Desktop, etc., a budget can be made.

How Do You Create a Budget in QuickBooks?

For entering a budget in the QB software, the Company menu should be opened. Through this menu, you can visit Planning & Budgeting. Moving forward, Set up Budgets has to be clicked on. Now, provide the year for which you are preparing the budget. When creating a budget in QuickBooks, you can decide its type and then enter your data. If you do not have any existing data to enter in it, then you can make it afresh. Soon, you will be able to finish entering the required information and the budget will be made.

• Access the “Company” option in “QB”.
• Head to “Planning & Budgeting”.
• The “Set up Budgets” option has to be preferred.
• Input the budget’s year.
• The type of the budget needs to be mentioned. Click on “Balance Sheet”. Or, you may choose “Profit and Loss”.
• Click on “Customer”/“Job”/“Class Segment” as an optional step. Alternatively, “No Additional Criteria” may be considered.
• Decide whether the budget should be entered from scratch or on the basis of a former year’s data.
• Use the “Finish” option to complete this process.

Tip: Sometimes you may enter a budget in QuickBooks. However, after some years, you may not require it for your company. In that instance, deleting it will be of use. To find out how to delete a budget in QuickBooks, you can click here.

How to Enter a Budget in QuickBooks Desktop?

In QB Desktop, making a new budget requires you to review the data of the past year. It can be checked via Report Information in the menu titled Company. After it has been checked, the financial reports of the former fiscal year need to be reviewed. As the next step, you can start setting up the budget in QuickBooks Desktop. When you set it up, you will be able to enter or create the budget.

Let us now study the processes involved in detail. Here, we have explained how to create a budget in QuickBooks Desktop step-by-step:

• When the software is running, open “My Company” using “Company”.
• Through the symbol of “Pencil”, opt for “Report Information”.
• Confirm that the fiscal year’s first month is right.
• In “Reports”, choose “Company & Financial”.
• Click on “Balance Sheet Detail”/“Profit & Loss Detail”.
• Using the dropdown for “Dates”, “Last Fiscal Year” has to be selected.
• Press “Refresh” and memorize the financial report if required.

• In “QB Desktop”, run the menu for “Company”.
• Via “Planning & Budgeting”, opt for “Set up Budgets”.
• Tap on “Create New Budget”.
• Begin to choose a fiscal year to continue making the budget.
• Select one of the following options in “QuickBooks Desktop”:
  • “Profit and Loss”
  • “Balance Sheet”

• In case you are selecting the “Profit and Loss” option, the following choices will be given to you:
  • “Create Budget from Scratch”
  • “Create Budget from the Previous Year’s Actual Data”
  • Pick one of these as per your convenience.

Remember: On choosing “Create Budget from Scratch”, you will have to enter it from the very beginning. When the option of “Create Budget from the Previous Year’s Actual Data” has been selected, you will already have the data. Based on this data, you can make the budget for a preferred year.

• Click on “Next”.
• Now, press “Finish”.

Remember: As a budget is created in QuickBooks, it gets linked with an account. When this account is renamed, the created or entered budget will get unlinked from it. 

How Do I Create a Budget in QuickBooks Online?

You can enter or create a budget in QuickBooks Online’s versions from the Settings. You will have to start by setting a fiscal year for this purpose. Then the data for the budget can be entered using certain reports. In this way, you can prepare the budget in versions of this software like QuickBooks Online Plus and QBO Advanced.

To tell you in-depth about the steps to create a budget in QuickBooks Online’s versions, we have provided two sections below. You can read them to know more.

Option 1: Creating a Budget in QuickBooks Online Plus

As a user of QuickBooks Online Plus, you can make a budget in it for your company. As the beginning step for making the budget, you can access Settings. Using this, go to Account and Settings and choose the option that says Advanced. In Accountings, you are required to review the field of First Month of the Fiscal Year. You may prefer to edit the year as per your preference. Accompanied by this step, you can obtain the data for the budget via Reports. Soon, the preparation of the budget will reach an end.

You can get more information about how to create a budget in QuickBooks Online Plus by reading these directions:

• Set the fiscal year’s starting month.
• Log in to “QuickBooks Online Plus”.
• Choose “Settings”.
• Visit “Account and Settings”.
• The “Advanced” option needs to be chosen.
• In “Accountings”, check the following field:
  • “First Month of the Fiscal Year”

• Using “Edit”, changes can be introduced.
• To obtain the budget data, enter “Reports”.
• “Profit and Loss Detail Report” needs to be clicked on.
• Via “Report Period”, pick one of the following:
  • “Last Year”
  • “Last Fiscal Year”

• For obtaining the data of the present fiscal year, you can pick “This Fiscal Year-to-Date”.
• Opt for “Run Report”.
• Now, prepare the budget.

When the preparation of the budget is complete in QuickBooks Online Plus, you can start using it.

Option 2: Entering a Budget in QuickBooks Online Advanced

QBOA or QuickBooks Online Advanced enables you to make a budget for your organization. In this accounting software, you can enter the Settings to look for Account and Settings. Through the option of Advanced, you can provide the information of the Fiscal Year, considering the budget you are making. After this, you will be asked to opt for a budget template. When you have set it up, you can upload it in QBOA. Once the template has been uploaded, it can be assigned a name and then be used as your budget.

In this version of QuickBooks, to enter a budget, the following set of instruction will be of use to you:

• When you are logged in to “QBO”, press “Settings”.
• Choose “Account and Settings”.
• The option of “Advanced” has to be tapped on.
• In “Accounting”, check “First Month of the Fiscal Year”.
• Press “Edit” for editing the date.

• For getting the budget data, select “Reports”.
• Pick the report for “Profit and Loss Detail”.
• Click on “Report Period”. 
• From the dropdown, a time frame can be entered.

Remember: You can click on “Last Year” should you need to use the data of the last year.

• Check that the starting and ending of the year are matching with that of the fiscal year.
• For using the present fiscal year’s data, tap on “This Year-to-Date”.
• Opt for “Run Report”.
• To get the budget template, run the budget template “.CSV” using “Google Sheets”/“Excel”.
• Enter the budget for all the accounts and for every month.

Tip: Adding multiple rows/columns to the template may not be suggested. Additional accounts can be added to “COA” or “Chart of Accounts”. After this, the template can be downloaded.

• For uploading the template, click on “Budgeting” in “Settings”.
• Use “Import Budget” to go ahead.
• Press “Browse” and choose the template you have made.
• Name this budget and review it.
• Edit the budget in “QuickBooks Online” if needed.
• Now, choose “Save”.

As you can see, to enter a budget in QBO, you need to first make its template. Only then can you upload and use it.

How to Enter a Budget in QuickBooks Pro?

For the users of QuickBooks Pro, entering or creating a budget in the software is possible via the Company option. You can find this option right after running the software. Through this option, you can reach Planning & Budgeting. You will see an option that lets you set up a budget. Making use of this option, you can include the date as well as the type of the budget. Its type can be specified as Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet. Going further, you can choose the additional options if needed to complete the setup of the budget.

• Run “QuickBooks Pro”.
• Look for “Company”. Then select it.
• Go to “Planning & Budgeting”.
• Click on the “Set up Budgets” option.
• Enter the year for making the budget.

• Mention the type of the budget. You can select either “Balance Sheet” or “Profit and Loss”.
• Select “Next”.
• Click on “Finish”.
• As an optional step, tap on “Customer: Job”/“No Additional Criteria”.
• Press “Next”.
• Select one of these options:
  • “Create Budget from Scratch”
  • “Create Budget from Previous Year’s Data”

• Now, for every account and month, write the budget goals.
• Lastly, press the “Save” option.

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The steps given in this section would have explained how to create a new budget in QuickBooks Pro. While you make it, remember that all the data is correctly reviewed by you. Also, see to it that the dates mentioned in it are correct.

How to Create a Budget in QuickBooks 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018?

In the year versions of QuickBooks like 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2012, etc., preparing your company’s budget is not challenging. You can enter or create it by first navigating to the menu titled Company. To proceed, you will have to use Planning & Budgeting. This option will take you to Set up Budgets. To set it up, correctly entering the year will be suggested. Certain options will have to be chosen. These options will relate to the type of the budget you are making and other categories such as Class Segment, Job, etc. 

The remaining steps to understand how to create a budget in QuickBooks 2018, 2017, and other year versions can be found as follows:

• Start the year version of QuickBooks.
• Tap on the option of “Company”.
• A menu will open. Using it, “Planning & Budgeting” has to be picked.
• Locate “Set up Budgets”. Then select it.
• Decide the year of the budget you are making and enter it.
• When you have to enter this budget’s type, pick one of these options:
  • “Balance Sheet”
  • “Profit and Loss”.

• Now, a selection for the following options can be made:
  • “Customer”
  • “Job”
  • “Class Segment” 

Remember: Selecting the options mentioned in this step is optional. You can decide whether or not to choose them as per your preference. In case you are not selecting either of them, ensure that “No Additional Criteria” is selected.

• You can now make the budget without any data. As an alternative, you can also use the data of the past year to form it. 
• Hit the “Finish” tab.

In Short,

Here, we educated you about the methods to create or enter a budget in QuickBooks. You were also taught the steps to make the budget in QB Desktop, QBO, and other year versions of the software. While you enter the budget, keep in mind that all the dates, values, and other pieces of information are mentioned without any errors. 

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