Budgets
Budgets with a sign-off chain and budget vs actual
Finance Hero, the accounting app of Office Hero, lets you plan a budget per account and period, send it to approvers in the order you choose and compare it with what was actually posted. When a line is off plan, write down why and what happens next.
Budgets are part of the Finance Hero Professional package.
01How it works
From the first draft to the variance review
Planning
Plan per account and period
Create a budget for a year as monthly, quarterly or annual, choose its currency and, if you like, a cost centre. Then enter the planned amount for each account and fiscal period in a grid, with an optional note on every line.
- Lines follow the fiscal periods you generate in Finance Hero
- A budget moves from draft to approved to closed
Sign-off
A sign-off chain in the order you choose
Pick the approvers in decision order and submit the budget. Only the person whose turn it is can approve or reject it, with a comment, and the whole chain stays visible on the budget. A rejection stops the chain; after your changes, submit again and a fresh chain starts.
- The approver list shows only people allowed to decide on budgets
- Each decision shows its date and comment on the budget, and the audit trail records who decided and when; a new submission starts a fresh chain
Budget vs actual
Budget vs actual from the posted ledger
Each budget line is compared with the journals posted to its account in its period, showing planned, actual, variance and variance in per cent. Switch between the current and the prior period for a summary of the totals.
- Only posted journals count, so drafts never move the actuals
- Actuals stay current because invoices, bills, payments and expense claims post as you work
Actuals add up every posting to the line's account across the company: they are not filtered by the budget's cost centre, and amounts in other currencies are added without conversion.
Variance commentary
Explain the variance and plan the recovery
For an account and an open period of a budget, write an explanation of why it is off plan or a recovery plan. The notes stay with the budget, so the next review starts from what was agreed last time.
- Two kinds of note: explanation and recovery plan
- Filter the notes by open period and by account
02Also included
Around every budget
Cost centres and profit centres
Tag a budget with a cost centre; the same centres are used on sales orders, purchase orders and expense reports.
Your fiscal calendar
Budgets use the monthly, quarterly or yearly periods that you generate for each calendar year.
Reports for the same periods
Profit and loss, cash flow and cost-centre allocation reports for any date range, exported as CSV or PDF.
Separate permissions
Viewing budgets, writing commentary and managing budgets are separate permissions that you give by role.
Audit trail
Submissions, decisions and commentary changes are recorded with who made them and when.
Several budgets per year
Keep separate budgets for departments, branches or projects, each with its own sign-off chain.
What budget vs actual compares
Each line's actual is every posting to its account in its period, across the whole company, in the amounts as posted. For department budgets, give each department its own expense accounts, and check spending in other currencies separately.
04Step by step
From draft to signed-off budget
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Step 1 Create the budget
Choose the year, the kind of budget, the currency and an optional cost centre.
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Step 2 Plan the lines
Enter a planned amount for each account and fiscal period.
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Step 3 Send it for sign-off
Pick the approvers in order; each one decides in turn, with a comment.
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Step 4 Compare and comment
Check budget vs actual each period and note why a line is off plan.
05FAQ
Questions about budgets
Not answered here? Write to [email protected]. A person from our team in Skopje replies, Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00 CET.
Who can approve a budget?
Anyone who holds the permission to manage budgets, such as a company administrator or a role you give that permission. You choose the approvers and their order when you submit, and only the current approver can decide.
What happens when an approver rejects a budget?
The chain stops and the budget shows that sign-off was rejected, with the approver's comment. Change the budget and submit it again with the approvers you choose; the new chain replaces the old one.
Where do the actual figures come from?
From journals posted to the budget line's account within its fiscal period. Invoices, bills, payments, expense claims and depreciation post automatically, so the actuals are current without any import. Amounts in other currencies are added as posted, without conversion.
Can we budget by department or project?
You can keep one budget per department, branch or project and tag it with a cost centre. Budget vs actual compares each line with every posting to its account across the company, so give each department its own expense accounts to see its spending.
Do we need fiscal periods first?
Yes. Budget lines are planned per fiscal period, so generate the periods for the year first, in one step on the Fiscal periods page.
Which package includes budgets?
Budgets, sign-off chains, budget vs actual and variance commentary come with Professional, at €59 per company per month with 10 users. Prices exclude VAT.
See budgets in Finance Hero
Book a demo and we will plan a budget with you, send it for sign-off and compare it with the actuals.