Budgeting for Multiple Periods

If you want to budget for more than one period (e.g. monthly or quarterly), you have three options:

• Use the default set of three columns in the Budget window and change the date range to correspond to each budget period. See Budgeting for a Single Period.

• Add additional sets of three columns for each budget period. This method enables you to view budgets amounts for different periods simultaneously.

• Add a new Budget Monthly column. Set the date range to the annual fiscal period. Enter an annual amount and monthly transactions are created automatically. See Budget Monthly.

To budget for multiple periods:

1. Click the report containing the accounts you want to enter budget amounts for in the NV2 Database Explorer.

2. Use the window list button at the left of the title bar that reads /REPORT/(report name) to switch to the Budget window.

3. To add Actual minus Budget (or Budget minus Actual) columns:

   Select View>Analysis>New Actual Minus Budget.
   Three new columns will be displayed - Actual (tag financial), Budget (tag budget) and Actual minus Budget.

   Or select View>Analysis>New Budget Minus Actual.
   Three new columns will be displayed - Budget (tag budget), Actual (tag financial) and Budget minus Actual.

4. To set the first period you want to budget for, activate any amount in the first amount column and press <F11>, the Setup Columns key, or execute the command Window>Define Columns.

5. Make sure that row 4 is active on the left side of the Setup Columns table (it represents column 4 of the budget table), and then activate the Begin Date field on the right side of the Setup Columns table.

6. Edit the Begin Date field to be the begin date for the budget period. For example, if you are budgeting for the first quarter of 2009, the Begin Date field would be 20090101.
   Remember dates are entered respecting your User Date Entry Format option.

7. Edit the End Date field to be the end date for the budget period. For example, if you are budgeting for the first quarter of 2009, the End Date field would be 20090331.
   Remember dates are entered respecting your User Date Entry Format option.



8. Repeat the last two steps to set the Begin Date and End Date fields for each set of three columns.
   IMPORTANT! You must set the Begin Date and End Date field in the first column of each set of three columns. The second and third columns in the set take their settings from the first column.

9. Click anywhere outside the Setup Columns table to end column setup.

10. Enter the budget amounts for each period in the columns with the tag budget.

Additional Information

You can budget quantities in addition to, or instead of, amounts by changing the Amount Type field to .quantity in the Setup Columns table.