15L Creating a QuickBooks Budget and Budget to Actual Report

Secretary’s How to Guide

Secretary’s Financial Duties

Creating a QuickBooks Budget and Budget to Actual Report

The Annual Budget is prepared by the Senior Warden, and presented by the Worshipful Master-elect to the Lodge after the elections at the first Stated Communication in December. The final budget approval should be approved by the Craft at the first Stated Communication in January, after the Installation. These guidelines apply with the assumption that QUICKBOOKS is the software used by the Secretary to maintain his financial records.

The Senior Warden should meet with the Officers to prepare a budget for the ensuing year, based on the plans of the incoming Worshipful Master and all the officers.

The Senior Warden should provide the Secretary with the proposed Lodge Budget so that the numbers can be entered into QuickBooks. Once the budget numbers are in QuickBooks, the Secretary can provide the Lodge with a status of actual to Budget numbers for expenses and receipts throughout the ensuing. The following steps will assist in the mechanics of entering the budget numbers, and printing a report of actual, year-to-date income and expenses, against the approved budget.

1. Open QuickBooks to the Lodge Account (refer to entries on the tool bar or within the menus tab)

2. Open: Company/Planning & Budgeting/Set Up Budgets

3. Specify the YEAR (using the up or down arrow to select the year)

4. Select ‘Profit and Loss’, then NEXT

5. On the screen titled “Additional Profit and Loss Budget Criteria

a. Select “No additional criteria’, NEXT

b. Click on ‘Create budget from scratch’, FINISH

6. On the screen titled “Customer:Job”, to create a budget from scratch, proceed as follows:

NOTE: The numbers in the sample 2011 budget are not actual lodge numbers.

They were entered to provide a sample, balanced budget.

c. Highlight an Account line

d. Place cursor on the January entry

c. Enter total for year under the January column

d. After all entries are made, click on ‘Save’, ‘OK’, and the New Budget is SAVED

To view, print, or modify the actual Income/Expenses against the Budget for the current year, do the following:

a. Click on “Reports” in the ‘Tool Bar’

b. Then place the cursor over ‘Budgets’

c. Then place cursor over ‘Budget vs. Actual’ and click

d. Select the budget year to use when generating the Budget Report

e. Select a report layout for the budget report: ‘Account by Month’, then NEXT

f. Click on FINISH

g. Modify Report:

select ‘This Fiscal Tear-to-date

From: 01/01/2011 to 12/31/2011

Report Basis: Cash

Colomuns and Rows: Display columns by YEAR

Add subcolumns for: Show Actuals, $ Difference, Ascending Order

Now you are ready to provide a Year-to-date Actual compared to the Budget as was approved by the Craft.

C:\Secretary’s How To Guide\Secretary’s Financial Duties\ 15L Creating a QuickBooks Budget and Budget to Actual Report.doc