Importing Budgets

The nominals and ledgers used in this topic may be different to those in your chart of accounts.

We have a video which covers the budget import process. See Budget Import V6 (free registration required).

Importing a budget using the Budget Template file

Creating a Budget Code

The budget import template uses the pre-existing BUDGET code to import the budget. If you are not using the BUDGET code, you need to create a new code in IRIS Financials prior to updating the Budget Import template. Refer to Creating a Budget Framework for more information.

Completing the template

The PS Financials Budget Template file allows you to easily profile and import your budget. The following section will use the pre-existing BUDGET code to import the budget. Please follow the steps below to complete the process:

  1. Download and open the Budget Upload Template attachment which can be found at the bottom of this topic.
  2. Download and save (do not open) the Budget Import sqf file to a suitable location which can also be found at the bottom of this topic. Do not rename the file.

  3. Enter the Year and Budget Code in the highlighted columns within the upload template. The budget code must be in capitals and appear exactly as it has been created in Accounting. If this is not followed the budget will import incorrectly.

  4. In the Nominal Code column, enter the nominal code that you wish to enter a budget value for.

  5. In the Ledger Code column, enter the ledger that the nominal is linked to exactly as it appears in Accounting.

    You can copy and paste the ledger code straight from the nominal in Accounting. Go to Masters > Nominals and select the nominal. You will see the Ledger on the right hand side in the drop down list box.

  6. In the Ledger Account column enter the account code that you wish to assign the budget value to exactly as it appear in Accounting.
  7. You can copy and paste the Account code straight from the Ledger in Accounting. Go to Masters > Accounts and select the Ledger from step 5. You will see a list of available accounts which you can select and copy onto the template.
  8. Enter the annual budget figure in the Annual Budget (rounded to the nearest £). Please note that budgets can only be entered in whole numbers. If you use any decimals the system will remove these and round up during the import process.

  9. In the Profile column select the relevant profile from the list. Depending on which profile you choose, the annual amount will apportion accordingly across the periods on the right hand side.
    For example if -12000 is entered and the Monthly profile is selected, the -12,000 will be split evenly across the 12 periods.

    Regardless of the profile selected, you can overtype the values on the right hand side if you need to adjust them.

  10. Repeat this process for the remaining budget. Please note that a nominal and account combination can only be used once. If you try and enter it in two different locations on the spreadsheet, it will not import both rows. The graphic below will illustrate this:
  11. When the budget has been completed, click on the Press to Create PSF Upload Template button in the top right of the template. This will transfer the data onto the Import Data tab in a format that can be imported into Accounting.
  12. This tab will need to be saved as a CSV file in order to import it into Accounting. To do this go to File > Save As and Give the file a name. Then select CSV Comma Delimted from the drop down list.

Please do not re-open the saved CSV file once it has been created as you will lose the formatting of the periods. If you need to make any amendments to the budget prior to import, please do this via the template and re-create the CSV file. If you do need to open the CSV, see Common issues and error messages on how to re-format the periods.

Importing the Template

To import the budget template:

  1. Within PS Accounting select Options and then choose the Import option:
  2. Click on the Format File Button and select the Budget.sqf file you downloaded earlier.
  3. Click on the Data File Button and select the CSV file containing your budget data.
  4. Check that the items shown in the Sample column correspond with the correct column names, i.e. Column name 'Nominal' shows a nominal code next to it. Use the arrow keys to reorder the column names if necessary.
  5. Click the Import button. You will be prompted to save - click Yes to this.

A report will be generated confirming that the budget import has been successful. If any lines have failed to import, an error message will be given - see the Common Issues section for further explanation of the errors you may see.

Please see Amending a posted budget if you need to make any minor amendments to the imported budget.

After the budget has been successfully imported and any errors corrected, check the Budget Matrix report in the Reporting Suite (Modules > Reporting Suite as this will give you a total overview of the imported budget.

Amending a posted budget

To amend a posted budget:

  1. Go to Masters > Budgets and click on the required budget and then click on the Details button.
  2. Check the correct Budget code and Year are showing on the drop down lists on the right hand side of the window. You can change these here if required.
  3. Click on the nominal you wish to amend the budget for and click the Accounts button and browse to the required account.
  4. Click on the account you wish to amend the budget value for and type the value required in the Budget Value cells on the right hand side against each period.
  5. When finished, click the Save button and repeat for all nominals and accounts required.

If you have a large number of amendments to process, you can make the changes on the csv file and re-import. You can use an existing budget code to overwrite the figures, or set up a new budget code and follow the import process again.

Common issues and error messages

Year/Period combination not valid

This error message will look something like the graphic below:

The cause of this issue is that the periods have been imported as single digits, instead of double digits.

To correct this:

  1. Highlight the entire column by clicking on the letter at the top of the column.
  2. Right click and click Format Cells.
  3. Click in the Custom category
  4. In the Type field, enter 00 (two zeros) and click OK.

Also check that the year/periods you are trying to enter the budget for have been set up in Masters>Periods. If you need to add additional years and periods, see .

The correct ledger for nominal XXXX is XXXX and not XXXX.

This error message will look something like the graphic below and indicates that the incorrect ledger has been specified on the import.

To investigate this issue:

  1. Go to Masters > Nominals and click on the nominal in the error message - in our example it is LLL1130.

  2. Look at the Ledger drop down list on the right hand side and note the Ledger Code - which is LLL_TRIPS in our example and not LLL_COSTCTR as we have attempted to import against.

    You will not be able to change the ledger listed here if the nominal has postings against it.

  3. Go to the budget import file and change the ledger code so that it matches the one against the nominal.

Account 'XXXX' Ledger: 'XXX_XXXX' is not a valid Account & Ledger Combination.

This error message will look something like the graphic below and indicates that the account entered on the import file does not exist on the specified ledger. This can also be caused by a mistype in the account code:

To correct this error:

  1. Go to Masters > Accounts and double click on the ledger specified in the error message - LLL_COSTCTR in the above example.
  2. Browse down the list of accounts to see if the account code has been mistyped. If so, re-open the import file and correct and re-import.
    If the account does not exist, it will need adding. To add an account, see Creating Cost Centre Accounts (v2, v4, v6)
  3. Update the import file with the corrections and re-import, or manually add the budget to the required account as shown in Creating a Budget Framework

XXXX is not valid

This error message will look something like the graphic below and indicates that there is a mis-match between the field and the value shown against it, this is down to the column order on the import file:

To correct this error, See Importing the Template and ensure the Columns and the sample data match up.

The import file is being used by another application

This message indicates that the csv file is still open. The file will need to be closed before it can be imported.

Frequently asked questions

Can I manually amend a budget without having to re-import the whole thing again?

Yes, if you need to make a few minor amendments, you can do so without having to re-import the whole budget again. See Creating a Budget Framework .

Can I delete a budget?

You can only delete a budget that has not had anything posted to previously. Go to MastersBudgets Highlight the budget and click the Delete button.


If the delete button is greyed out, it means that there have been budget values posted to this budget, so you will not be able to delete it. In this instance, we would advise to hide the budget. To do this, please see the section below.

Can I hide a budget?

Yes - each budget code can be hidden using the access level at the bottom of the window.

To find out more about how access levels work, see Setting Module Security and Access Levels .

Can I post virements?

Yes, virements can be posted within Accounting. Please note, there is no reporting function in posted virements in the front end of the system. You will need to contact the Support Team who will be able to pull a list of posted virements and send to you.

To post a virement:

  1. In Accounting, go to Options > Budget Amendments.

  2. Select the required budget from the drop down list.
  3. Click in the nominal field and type in the first nominal to be used in the virement. You will then be prompted to select the account.
  4. Click in the Change box and enter the amount required. If you are crediting the nominal and account, you will need to use a minus in front of the number.

  5. You will then be required to balance the posting by entering additional lines underneath. You can post multiple virements in one go as long as the overall posting balances.
  6. Once you have completed all virements, click the Post button at the bottom of the window.
    The example below will increase the income on LLL1000 nominal and IEFA account and decrease the income on LLL1010 nominal and IINC by £100.00

Reporting on Virements

When the virement has been posted, it creates an entry on the database. The Support Team will be able to extract this from the database for you as there is no reporting function on these transactions. The virement posted in our example can be shown highlighted below.

What is the PYACTUALS budget?

The purpose of the PYACTUAL budget is to create a budget based on the actuals for a previous reporting period. Please note, this feature is only available on Version 6 of the software.

To update the PYACTUAL budget:

  1. Go to Masters > Budgets and ensure you have a PYACTUALS budget code. If not you can add this in. Please ensure you enter the code exactly as it appears above.

  2. Go to MastersKeylist > Click on the PYACTUAL keylist.
  3. Highlight the COPYFROM option and in the Text field, enter the year that you wish to copy the actuals from. For example if you want to copy 2017/18's actuals, enter this in the Text field.

  4. Highlight the COPYTO option and in the text field, enter the financials year that you wish to copy the actuals to.
  5. Click on the Apply button.
  6. Go to Rules > Update PY Actuals Budget (Global).

The above will copy the actuals from 2017/18 and create a budget in 2018/19 using these figures in the PYACTUALS budget. This can be used to compare actuals for last year with this year by selecting the PYACTUALS budget in the Management Accounts report.

Attachments

Before you can use the sqf files, you must unzip the downloaded file.

Budget Import.sqf

Budget Upload Template.xlsm