I never bother to enter annual budgets using Microsoft Dynamics GP; why would I when Creating Budgets in Dynamics GP using the Budget Wizard for Excel is so easy. The Wizard is found by going to Financial>>Cards>>Budgets and then clicking on the New button. The setup screens are easy to follow and your choices are mostly obvious even to a first time user. The only selection that may cause a hesitation is in choosing the Budget Calculation. While there is an advantage to using the percent budgets, most users prefer to start with a “Blank” Excel template that they can fill in. If it will help you to determine your budget, be sure to have the wizard add worksheets with actual fiscal year amounts. It is also worth a few extra minutes to carefully consider what accounts you want to include. This will make your budget spreadsheet more manageable. Consider restricting the accounts by department or cost center so each manager can be responsible for their own budget.
Once you complete the budget wizard process, an Excel template will be created. Be sure to make note of the file name and location because you will need it later! In the Excel template you can add or remove account rows, but be careful not to ruin the integrity of the template. Do not change or remove any header rows and do not remove the total row or any columns. You can input or copy/paste values (not formulas) into the period cells but do not overwrite the total column. Also, be sure to enter revenue or any other credit balance accounts in as negative numbers.
When your budget or budgets are completed, return to the GP Budget screen, click on the Excel button and choose to Import your budget. The wonderful wizard will open and is once again easy to follow. Point it to the file name and location and you are good to go. If you chose to have departmental budgets, import and open each budget in GP and quickly combine them under the umbrella of one budget name. Finally, the big payoff comes when generating Management Reporter reports. With a simple addition to your column definitions, you can include budgets and variances that will provide analysis data your company wants.
This covers the heart of Creating Budgets in Dynamics GP but if your budget tends to be fluid with constant changes, there is more to learn. If you have any questions or want more details regarding the information in this blog or about budgets in general, contact your Partner for support. One last note – you may find it more efficient to create your template(s) early in order to input your figures directly rather than building your own budget spreadsheets first and then having to move all your data into the template.
Click Here to watch a video to see how PowerGP Online and Jet Reports are an amazing combination for Creating Budgets in Dynamics GP.
