One of the most important tools your business can use is the setting up of budgets for your expenses. QuickBooks handles this task easily and allows you to track how well you are meeting your goals.
To set up a budget in QuickBooks choose Planning & Budgeting from the Company menu. And then choose Set-up.
If you have already set up a budget than the most recent one will be displayed.
Click on the Create New Budget button which will start the Budget Wizard.
If you are using QuickBooks Pro or any higher version you will be able to create budgets from the previous year’s actual data.
After the previous year’s data fills in you can adjust it accordingly. You can increase or decrease the budget by using a dollar amount or a percentage for the entire row by clicking on the Adjust Row Amounts button.
While adjusting or entering your budgets take into account any unusual items that you anticipate. For example are you considering purchasing a new piece of equipment this year? Do not forget to budget for deposits, financing costs and insurance if these costs are likely expenses. Also remember if you are planning on expansion then your overall expenses might increase with the expected increased income. While most business owners plan on cost of materials and labor costs increasing, they may not realize that payroll tax expense, insurance, utilities and office expenses will probably increase as well.
Copyright ©D. L. MacMillan All Rights Reserved
