You can choose from the following budgeting methods:

• Standard - Basic monthly budgeting by individual nominal account record only. You can view your budget, actual and previous year figures. The information is also available in graphical format. 
• Advanced - Nominal Code - Similar to the Standard method, however, the presentation gives extra benefits including the ability to view previous budget results for the past five years. You can enter budgets for a forecast year and copy budget values to succeeding months. You can also increase or decrease those figures by a value or percentage.
• Advanced - Department Overview - You can set up a budget for a department and analyse its costs or income by nominal category. Nominal categories are the accounting areas that group your nominal accounts, such as Sales, Purchases, or Overheads. The value of all nominal accounts in a category show what has actually happened against what was planned. Advanced budgeting provides many benefits including viewing previous budget results for the past five years, entering budgets for a forecast year and copying budget values to succeeding months. You can increase or decrease those figures by a value or percentage.
• Advanced - Department In-Depth - You can set up a budget for a department and analyse its cost or income by nominal account. This method gives you the most detailed budget analysis available in Sage 50 Accounts. 

Set your budget method

1. Click Settings, then click Company Preferences
2. Click the Budgeting tab.
3. Complete the Budgeting information as follows:
   • Budgeting Method drop-down > choose Standard or Advanced.
   • Budgeting Type drop-down > choose the budgeting type that you want to use.
   • Chart of Accounts drop-down > choose the chart of accounts that you want to be the default for budgeting reports. If you only want to see specific nominal codes when reporting on budgets, you should set up a specific chart of accounts. 
4. Click OK.

 NOTE: Departments are not available in Sage 50 Accounts Essentials. If you're interested in Sage 50 Accounts Standard or Professional and you'd like us to call you, leave your details and we'll be in touch.

Create department records

Before you can enter your budget values you must create department records. Up to 999 departments are available.

1. Click Departments, select an unused department reference then click Edit.
2. Complete the Department window as follows:
   
   

   Details	Reference:	The reference for the department. You cannot change this number.
   	Name:	Enter the department name, you can enter up to 60 characters.
   Notes	If required you can enter text into the Notes box, this is for information purposes only and cannot be printed.

3. Click Save then click Close.

More information about setting up departments and looking at departmental transactions >

Create budget records

Budget records can only be created when using the budgeting methods of Department Overview or Department In- Depth. You can create as many Budget records as required against each department, this allows analysis against more that one nominal category or nominal code for each department reference.

1. Click Departments, select the department that you want to add a budget to then click Budgets.
2. From the Nominal Area, select the nominal category or code for which you want to enter a budget value.
3. You can only select a nominal category if you're using the Department Overview budgeting method. If you're using the Department In-Depth budgeting method you must select a nominal code.
4. The boxes are populated as follows:
   

   Year	The current year appears in the Year box, you can select up to five previous years. However, data cannot be entered for previous years, these years are populated when running the year end procedure. When forecast values are entered for the current year, Sage 50 Accounts populates the forecast for the previous year with the budget figures from the current year.
   Nominal	Department In-Depth budgeting method, the nominal code you select populates this box. Department Overview, this box remains blank.
   Chart of Accounts	The chart of accounts you select as default appears here, you can choose another chart of accounts from the drop-down list.
   Name	The name of the nominal code you select appears here. When using the Department Overview budgeting method, this box remains blank.
   Notes	If required, enter any additional reference notes.

5. Complete the remaining boxes as follows:
   

   Total Budget	If you want to enter an annual budget to be evenly spread over the 12 months, enter the annual budget here then click Yes.
   The Total Actual and Total Variance	These boxes are updated as transactions are posted to that department.
   Monthly Breakdown table	You can enter individual monthly values for Budget and Forecast, the forecast values are the budget values for the following year.

   To copy the first monthly value across the remaining months of the year, either as the same value or with a value or percentage increment, click Copy Values.
   
   
6. Click Save then click Close.

To continue to enter further budget information for the department, repeat the above steps.

Further information

• View or report on budgets
• Copy budget values across the year
• Departmental budget reports