Editing MA Budgets/Actuals

To produce meaningful financial reports, the minimum requirement in most applications is to hold both current year actuals and current year budgets. Actuals are normally copied automatically from the Nominal Ledger, but budgets need to be keyed in to the appropriate budget type. It is this option which provides the input screens for the creation and editing of the budget figures, and in circumstances where the management accounts module is being run stand alone, then actuals would also be entered via this option.

To access the MA budgets/actuals editing form:

1. From the Rev.8 Master Menu, select the Management Accounts option and Company you require.

   The MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS menu is displayed.

2. Select the Edit MA budgets/actuals option.

   One of the following is displayed:

• If no input formats have been set up, then the message 'No formats available is displayed. Select OK to return to the main menu. Use the option Input formats on the Miscellaneous options' menu to create the input screens required.
• If only one input format exists, the edit form is displayed, ready for the input or adjustment of budget figures.
• If more than one input format exists, the Edit MA budgets/actuals form is displayed offering a choice of formats. Select the format required and then click the OK button.

Edit MA Budget/Actuals Form

Select the input format (budget or actual) required:

• Current years Actuals
• Current Budgets
• Future Budgets
• Next Year's Actuals
• Next year's Budgets

Editing a Selected MA Budget/Actual

Note the following:

• The form heading is the full description of the input format you have selected.
• The cursor is in the first box of the Account code at the top of the form.
• The column headings are Short names of the budget types set up for this format.

To edit MA budgets/actuals:

Note: The procedure to create budget figures is the same as that for editing.

1. Enter the account code directly if known, or use the standard search facility, by clicking the Ellipsis button , (adjacent to the Account code field).

   Note: The Account code comprises cost centre followed by expense code. Having entered the Account code, the columns are filled either with your previously entered data or with zeroes if no data has yet been set up.

   Depending on your input format, the edit screen can have up to four columns, of which any number can have been specified as 'editable' (as opposed to display only). It is possible of course that all columns are display only, in which case no editing can be performed.

2. Editing is achieved by selecting the appropriate field of information and then double clicking. Editable budget types that are available are displayed for the selected period.

Note: Although figures on profit and loss accounts are displayed (and therefore input) with the normal convention of showing actual period movement, on balance sheet accounts the year to date figure is displayed. This allows you to input, for example, expected balance against a control account rather than plus or minus movements. After year end you may notice that on balance sheet accounts, all periods contain the same (first period) figure, and this convention continues after each period end. For example all remaining periods are set to equal the current period when actuals are copied across.

BUTTONS

Having made any necessary alterations click the OK button.

Profile: Automatically completes a column by providing a total figure for the financial year and the profile to be used. This information is requested in a window, which appears either immediately (only one editable column) or after selecting the column required. The window requests: the profile to be used (a search facility is provided); the total value to spread; rounding factor (defaulted from profile record - edit as required). Click Yes to action the request. (See also note on roundings.)

Graph: This option allows the any or all columns, depending on which are selected, to be displayed in a graphical format (pie graph or bar chart). Hence each period is displayed along the horizontal axis of the graph, and the amount on the vertical axis.

Note: The profile rounding figure is used by the system to round each period figure in the column to the input figure (i.e. it's possible to round each month to the nearest ten pounds). If the rounded amounts do not add up to the total amount to be spread, then one figure is left non-rounded and adjusted to make the column total correct.

Save: Saves the Budgets and Actuals data.

Exit: Exits back to the main MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS menu.