3020 · Departments and budgets
Department budgets
Autessa Accounting is budgeting software for startups: Budgets is a grid of departments by month, with each month broken down by category underneath. Edit a month’s total and it spreads across that department’s categories in the same proportions, or open the cell and set each category yourself.
The problem
Budgets in a spreadsheet are out of date the day they are shared
A budget that lives apart from spending can only be compared after the month closes. Budgets in Accounting sit on the same data as cards and transactions, so the comparison is live, and the same budget feeds guardrails and the variance report.
What you get
- A grid of departments by month; click an amount to change it.
- Open a month to budget by category; clear a category amount to remove the line.
- Editing a total spreads it across categories in the same proportions.
- Cells are green under the warning line, amber past it and red at or over budget.
- Getting started prefills each department’s budget from its average monthly spend over the last three months, rounded up to the next $100.
- Budget revenue too, and the colors flip: earning less than planned is the bad direction.
- Department, budget, card and guardrail screens count every transaction as it arrives, posted or not, so you see spending the day it happens.
How it works
How does department budgets work in Autessa Accounting?
Start from history
Step 5 of Getting started fills in each department’s three-month average. Adjust anything, or leave a department with no budget.
Shape it by category
Open a department’s month to set Software, Hosting, Travel and the rest.
Watch the grid
Colors change as spend arrives. Sort the grid and step between months.
Compare with the books
At month end, the Department & budget variance report compares the same budget with posted actuals.
Every option
Budget options
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Period | One budget per department per month. |
| Category lines | Any expense category; totals spread proportionally when edited. |
| Budget type | Expense or revenue (colors flip for revenue). |
| Colors | Green under the warning line, amber past it, red at or over. |
| Two kinds of spent | Budget screens count spend as it arrives; the variance report counts only what is posted. |
Permissions
Who can do what?
| Role | Can |
|---|---|
| Controller and Admin | Create and change budgets. |
| Bookkeeper and Accountant | See department spend against budget on department pages. |
FAQ
Questions about department budgets
Can Autessa Accounting do budget vs actual?
Yes. Budget screens compare spend as it arrives, and the Department & budget variance report compares the budget with posted actuals by category.
Can I budget by category?
Yes. Each department’s month breaks down by category. Edit the total to spread it proportionally, or set each category yourself.
Can I budget revenue?
Yes. Revenue budgets use the same grid, and the colors flip so that falling short of plan shows as the bad direction.
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa Accounting fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
Start free and make it yours