How to Setup a Budget for Items in QuickBooks

Published 10/24/2009 |

I am trying to set up a “budget by item” to compare the actual cost “by item” NOT GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNT. How can I input my job budget by “item” not by income and expense accounts? Thanks.

Estimates are designed for this (Customers > Create Estimates). If you don’t see it as an option in the Customer menu, go to Edit > Preferences > Jobs & Estimates > Company Preferences and select Yes for Do you Create Estimates. Make sure to enter both estimated revenue and expense. If you have a standard markup, either % or $, you can use the markup column to determine your estimated revenue. You can modify the titles of your columns by clicking on the Customize button.

Once you enter your estimates, you can use the Job Estimates vs. Actual reports (Reports > Jobs, time & Mileage) to see where you stand. The really nice thing about using estimates for budgeting is that they can span more than one year, unlike regular budgets which are limited to your fiscal year.

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Ruth Perryman - QuickBooks Specialist Written by +Ruth Perryman, CMA, CFE, CFM, MBA

Ruth is the president of The QB Specialists, Inc. and has provided QuickBooks help to thousands of businesses around the world since 1996. She is an Intuit Solutions Provider, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and a member of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network. She is also certified in QuickBooks Point of Sale and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.

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2 Responses to How to Setup a Budget for Items in QuickBooks

rod shane says:

01/09/2012 at 5:17 PM

I am trying to set up a new budget for 2012, which will be based upon the data acquired for the year 2011. No where in QB can I determine how. An hour and a half on the phone with QB tech support provided no help. The issue was escalated but no call back received. HELP!!

Reply
- Ruth Perryman says:
  
  01/10/2012 at 12:52 PM
  
  Hi Rod,
  
  When you setup a budget, you’ll get to a screen called “Choose how to create a budget”. Just select “Create budget from previous year’s actual data” instead of from scratch. I’ll email you a screenshot of what the popup looks like.
  
  Ruth
  
  Reply

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