The Budget Wizard for Excel in Microsoft Small Business Financials enables you to create budgets that take advantage of the features of Microsoft Excel. You then can import the budgets you create in Excel back into Microsoft Small Business Financials. Using the Budget Wizard for Excel offers a number of benefits: | • | Enables you to quickly create budgets based on historical data | | • | Allows you to use Excel to add formulas and explore forecasting scenarios before importing the budget back into Microsoft Small Business Financials | | • | Gives you the ability to select all accounts or only specific accounts to create a budget for |
Budget types you can create You can use the Budget Wizard for Excel to create a blank budget from scratch. To do so, you would use the Blank Budget Amount calculation method, which creates aformatted worksheet with accounts, descriptions, and periods. However, no budget amounts are included. As an alternative, you can use one of the following calculation methods to generate a budget automatically, based on existing data in the system (data you entered at a previous time). Without using the Budget Wizard for Excel you would need to enter these budget amounts on an account-by-account basis. Open Year Percent Calculates a new budget on the actual balances of any year that hasn't been closed. This occurs by increasing or decreasing the open-year balances by a certain percentage. Other Budget PercentCalculates amounts from another budget. This occurs by increasing or decreasing the new budget by a set percentage. Historical Year PercentCalculates a budget based on a historical year's actual balances. This occurs by increasing or decreasing the amounts by a specified percentage. This calculation method can be selected only if you're keeping account history.- Using the wizardTo use the Budget Wizard for Excel in Microsoft Small Business Financials, follow these steps: 1. | On the Accounting menu, click Budgets. | 2. | Click New, and then click using Budget Wizard for Excel. | 3. | At the Welcome screen, click Next. | 4. | Enter your new budget information: First enter the budget ID, then enter a budget description, and then select a year for this budget. Then click Next. | 5. | Click the budget calculation method you want to use, and then click Next. | 6. | Enter the appropriate information to create your budget, and then click Next. | 7. | In the Actual Amounts Selection window, select the years you want to pull actual amounts from, or if you don't want to pull any amounts, don't select any years. Click Next. | 8. | Select the account types you want to include in your budget, and then click Next. | 9. | By default, the Accounts window will show all the accounts that you currently have set up as either Profit and Loss, or Balance Sheet. Here you can select all accounts or ranges of these accounts. Then click Next. | 10. | The Account Verification screen will allow you to verify that you have selected the correct accounts you want included in your budget. You may add or remove accounts from your budget in this window. Then click Next. | 11. | Select a new workbook or an existing one for this budget. Click Next. | 12. | Click Finish. | 13. | Select the file and location where you want to save this Excel budget file. Click Save. |
Budget figures can now be entered into the Excel spreadsheet and imported back into Small Business Financials from the Budget Selection window. To do this, go the Accounting menu and select Budgets, Excel, and then Import from Excel. Troy Aipperspach is a technical lead for Microsoft Small Business Financials support. He has been a part of the Microsoft Dynamics support team since 1997. The Microsoft products he has supported over the years include Great Plains Accounting, Great Plains, FRx, Retail Management System, and Small Business Financials. In his free time, Troy enjoys a good day of fishing, even if the fish aren't biting.
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