> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.filexpress.app/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Budgets > Annual budget by cost center and account, and its comparison with actuals **Accounting → Budgets** lets you define how much you expect to spend (or earn) each month by [cost center](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/contabilidad/centros-de-costo.md) and income statement account, and compare it with what was actually posted in the **Budget vs actual** report. ## Concepts | Concept | Description | | - | - | | **Budget** | Name, **fiscal year** and notes. Contains the monthly lines. | | **Line** | A **leaf** cost center, an **income statement account** (center policy Optional or Required) and an amount per month. | | **Versions** | There can be several budgets for the same year (drafts, earlier versions), but only **one approved** per year. | ## Statuses | Status | What it allows | | - | - | | **Draft** | Freely editable: data, amounts, Excel import and deletion. | | **Approved** | The budget the Budget vs actual report uses by default for its year. It is not editable. There can only be one per year. | | **Closed** | Finalized budget (for example, a year that has ended). Kept for reference. It is not editable. | The actions in each budget's **More** menu: | Action | Available in | Result | | - | - | - | | **Approve** | Draft | Becomes Approved. If another budget for the same year is already approved, it shows *An approved budget already exists for 2026.* | | **Close** | Approved | Becomes Closed. | | **Back to draft** | Approved or Closed | Lets you edit it again. | | **Edit details** | Draft | Changes name, fiscal year or notes. | | **Copy as new draft** | All | Creates a draft with the same lines (useful for a new version or for the next year). | | **Export Excel** | All | Downloads the budget in the template format. | Only draft budgets can be deleted. ## Create a budget **1. Go to Accounting → Budgets and click New budget** **2. Enter name, fiscal year and notes (optional)** The budget starts as **Draft**. **3. Load the amounts** In the monthly editor or by importing an Excel file (see below). **4. Approve** When it is ready, use **Approve**. From then on it is the year's reference budget. ## Monthly editor When you open a budget (**Edit** for drafts, **View** for the other statuses) a table is shown with one row per center and account, one column per month (Jan to Dec) and the row **Total**. **1. Add a row** Choose the **Cost center (leaf)** and the **Income statement account**, and click **Add row**. Each combination of center and account can only appear once. **2. Enter the amounts for each month** Amounts cannot be negative. An empty or 0 month is not saved. **3. Spread an annual amount (optional)** In the **Spread annual** column, enter the year's amount and press Enter: it is divided into 12 equal months and the cents difference is added to December. Example: 1,000.00 is spread as 83.33 from January to November and 83.37 in December. **4. Save changes** **Discard** goes back to the saved amounts. > [!NOTE] > > Save or discard your changes before changing the budget's status. ## Import and export in Excel | Button | Where | Result | | - | - | - | | **Excel template** | Budget list | Empty file with the headers. | | **Export Excel** | List (More menu) or editor | The budget with its amounts, in the template format. | | **Import Excel** | Editor (drafts only) | Loads an `.xlsx` file and **replaces all lines** of the budget. | File format (row 1 with headers): | Centro | Cuenta | Ene | Feb | Mar | Abr | May | Jun | Jul | Ago | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dic | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | 0101 | 6102 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | | 0201 | 6105 | 500 | | | 500 | | | 500 | | | 500 | | | * **Centro** (center) and **Cuenta** (account) are entered by **code**. The column headers stay in Spanish as shown, because the template uses them. * One row per combination of center and account. Empty cells count as 0. * The import is **all or nothing**: if any row has an error (nonexistent or inactive center, or one with sub-centers; account that is not an income statement account; negative amount), nothing is imported and the list of errors is shown with the Excel **Row**, the **Field** and the **Error**. Fix the file and import it again. > [!TIP] > > To prepare next year's budget, export the current one, adjust the amounts in Excel, create a new budget and import it. You can also use **Copy as new draft** and change the fiscal year. ## Budget vs actual report In **Accounting → Reports**, choose **Budget vs actual**. ### Filters | Filter | Description | | - | - | | **Fiscal year** | Year to compare. | | **From month / To month** | Month range (for example, January to October for the year to date). | | **Budget** | By default, the year's **approved** budget. You can choose another (for example, a draft to simulate). If none is approved and you do not choose one, the report warns you. | | **Cost centers** | One or several centers. With no selection, the whole tree. With **Include child centers**, each center includes its sub-centers. | | **Account depth** | With no value, it shows the detail account. With a level, it groups accounts under their parent account at that chart level. | | **Branch (optional)** | Limits actuals to one branch. | | **Expense threshold (% execution)** | Default 100. | | **Income threshold (% execution)** | Default 100. | ### What it shows A table per cost center (parent centers marked *includes children*, adding up their sub-centers), with accounts grouped under **Income**, **Costs** and **Expenses**, and a total per group: | Column | Calculation | | - | - | | **Budget** | Sum of the range's months in the budget. | | **Actual** | Sum of the **processed** journal entry lines of the period with that center and account. Drafts do not count. Income = credit minus debit; costs and expenses = debit minus credit. | | **Variance** | Actual minus budget. | | **% execution** | Actual divided by budget, times one hundred. A dash is shown if the budget is 0. | At the end, **Selection total** adds up the centers without counting sub-centers twice. ### How to read the traffic light The color of **Variance** and **% execution** indicates each account's status: | Color | Status | When | | - | - | - | | Green | Within budget | The account is within what was expected. | | Red, with an up arrow | Exceeded | Cost or expense with % execution **greater** than the expense threshold, or with actual spending and no budget. | | Amber, with a down arrow | Below | Income with % execution **lower** than the income threshold. | **Examples** with thresholds at 100: * Stationery: budget 100, actual 120. Execution 120%, variance 20: **red** (exceeded). * Advertising: budget 500, actual 0 in the range: execution 0%, **green** (unspent expense is not an alert). * Sales: budget 10,000, actual 8,500. Execution 85%: **amber** (income below target). * Maintenance: no budget, actual 75: **red** (unbudgeted expense). > [!TIP] > > To have an alert margin, raise the expense threshold (for example, 110 only flags what exceeds by more than 10%) or lower the income one (for example, 90). ### Export With **Export PDF** or **Export Excel** the report is downloaded with the same filters (`presupuesto-vs-real-2026.pdf` or `.xlsx`), with the signatures configured for the Income Statement. ## See also * [Cost centers](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/contabilidad/centros-de-costo.md) * [Accounting reports](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/contabilidad/reportes.md) * [API: Budgets](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/api/contabilidad/presupuestos.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.