Please note - the ability to enter and report on a budget is a Level 2 feature. Please contact us on farmplansales@proagrica.com for more information.
Creating a Profit and Loss budget allows you to compare the performance of your business, or a specific part of it, against predetermined figures. With Farmplan Business Cloud, you can compare actuals against budget figures for:
The whole business
Individual enterprises
Specific tags
You have the flexibility to set the date range for comparison, whether it's your financial year, farming year, or a more frequent basis.
Enabling the Budget feature
Ensure your company is a Level 2 company. (For more information, click [here].)
Go to the cog in the top right of the home screen.
Select Company Settings > Advanced Features.
Tick the box to enable 'Budgets'.
Click 'Update Company'.
Creating a Budget
Budgets are imported into Farmplan Business Cloud via a CSV file. You can either:
Use a file provided by a consultant or accountant, or
Produce a template file from Farmplan Business Cloud using previous actual data, edit the figures as needed, and then import the file back into the system.
Creating a template csv file based on actuals.
Go to Tools | Budgets.
Select 'New Budget'
This screen can be split in two; the top half to create a template file, with actuals entered in the system to easily enter your budget figures from if needed.
The bottom half is the criteria when importing your csv budget file back in - where you would select the what section of the business the budget relates to (if applicable) as well as the date period for which the budget figures cover.
In the top half of the screen select the criteria from which you want to base your budget from, as well as whether you want to only export the categories with figures against or to export your template with all categories.
Click the csv icon to export.
In Excel or similar, add your budget figures as required within the 'Budget' column.
Note - Expense amounts are entered as negatives.
Save the file.
Within the same screen on Farmplan Business Cloud, give the budget a title, and select the criteria for which the budget is for, i.e. whole business, a single enterprise, a tag etc, as well as the date range it is covering. Browse to or drag in your csv file.
Save and Upload
Reporting on Actual vs Budget
You can access the budget report in three different ways:
Go to Tools > Budgets, then click the blue 'report' icon next to the specific budget.
From the same screen as above, you can select the 'Reports' button at the bottom. You will then need to select the specific budget from the drop down.
Go to Reports | Profit and Loss Comparison, and then select the Budget tab.
Once in the report
Select the criteria you wish to compare against.
Click the 'Filter' button.
You can now track the performance of your actuals vs your budget, including 'variance' and '% of budget' fields.
