Budget Factors

Use the Budget Factors command to define controls for the allocation of budget amounts over the accounting periods for nominal accounts. The annual budget amount for a nominal account is allocated according to a factor number for each period. The factors must be allocated so that 100% of the annual amount is distributed over the periods. You can choose factors that define equal period splits, uneven splits or precalculated percentages. The number of periods for which you may enter factor values is defined by the number of periods in your accounting year. This is specified in the Number of Periods box on the Nominal Ledger - Set Options form.

You can create many different sets of period factors, each identified by a two-character code, and use whatever means of apportionment you want. For example, you may specify period apportionments by percentage, per period, over the accounting year. In this case, you must ensure the total of all the apportionments is 100. You can also express period apportionments by predefined factors that do not necessarily add up to a given total. The system will apportion such factors on the basis of the period factor divided by the total of all factors, multiplied by the annual budget value.

Budgets are assigned to nominal accounts using the Budget command on the Action menu associated with the Nominal Accounts form.

To define budget factors

1. Open the Nominal folder and then click Maintenance or click the Financials tab and then click Nominal -  Maintenance on the Ribbon Bar.

2. Click Budget Factors.

3. To create a new record, click the icon on the toolbar or press CTRL+N.

4. In the Factor box, type a unique reference to identify the factor.

5. In the Description box, type a description for the factor.

6. Under Periods, type the number that represents the apportionment for each of the periods. If you leave a box blank, the budget for the period is assumed to be zero.

7. To save the record, click the icon on the toolbar or press CTRL+S.