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Use this guide to create a budget for one company, or to change a Draft or Pending Approval budget. It is for MSP staff and for company users whose MSP has given them budget write access. Company users with read access can read the budget and ask their MSP to make changes.

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Before you start

  • You need the write_budgets or manage_budgets permission. Approving a budget, and deleting saved lines or budgets, need manage_budgets. Changing a line’s Approval status needs Approve budget items, which Manage includes and Write does not.
  • A budget belongs to one company.
  • Only Draft and Pending Approval budgets can be edited. Approved and Archived budgets are locked. To change one, duplicate it.
  • Choose the currency before you add costs. Changing it later does not convert any prices.
The editor uses the standard back arrow beside its title. On a phone, open Actions for Import, Export and Save. The arrow returns to the Budgets list.
Budget editor with the standard back arrow and responsive header actions on desktop

Budget editor with the standard back arrow and responsive header actions.

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Create a budget

1

Open Budgets

Pick the company in the top bar if you want, then click Budgets in the sidebar.
2

Click Create New Budget

Click Create New Budget at the top right. If you are in Global View or have several companies selected, the page asks you to choose the company. Pick it in the Company list. This does not change the company selected in the top bar.
3

Fill in Budget Details

The new budget opens with Budget Details expanded.
  • Budget Title: 2 to 120 characters.
  • Author: a name, up to 120 characters. It starts empty.
  • Status: leave it on Draft while you build the plan.
  • Fiscal Year: starts on the current year. The list runs from two years back to seven years ahead.
  • Period Type: Annual, Quarterly or Monthly.
  • Currency: starts from the company’s or your MSP’s country, and falls back to USD.
  • Notes: up to 2,000 characters. Notes appear on the budget page and in PDF and Excel exports, and the helper text under the box says so. Write them for every reader.
Budget Details Author and Status fields with an unsaved planning-team author and Draft status.
4

Add the costs

Click Add Item to type a cost, or add costs from the panels and the Import menu. See Add and edit budget line items.
5

Save

Click Save at the top right, or press Ctrl+S (Cmd+S on Mac). Budget saved successfully. appears and you return to the Budgets list.
6

Check the monthly plan

Open the budget with View and read Monthly Breakdown. A line’s Line Total is quantity times unit price for one charge. It is not the yearly cost of a recurring line.
Typing a title, adding a row, or clicking a row’s check mark does not save the budget. Click Save before you leave the page.

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Edit a saved budget

1

Open the editor

Click the budget’s title in the Budgets list, or click … then Edit. The page is named Edit Budget.
2

Open Budget Details

Click the Budget Details bar to expand or collapse the fields.
3

Change what you need

Edit the header fields, or edit lines with the pencil menu and Edit.
4

Save

Click Save. You stay on the page and a Last saved time appears.
If someone else changed the budget while you were editing, the save is refused and an error appears. Reload the budget, compare it with your changes, and enter again the ones you still need.

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What saves when

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Bring in existing costs

Use the Import menu for Excel workbooks, earlier-year recurring services or Microsoft 365 licensing. Use the side panels for Planner items, goals and products. Each one adds rows to review. Click Save to keep them.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

No. A budget belongs to one company. Create a budget for each company.
Only if their MSP gives them budget write access. Company users cannot grant it to themselves.
No. Period Type labels the budget. Each line has its own Recurrence and Start month. Monthly Breakdown always runs January to December.
No. The numbers stay the same. Check existing and imported prices after you change it.
No. It is another editable status. Only the Approved status, set by someone with manage_budgets, locks the budget.
The Approval list on a saved line saves at once. Other edits wait for Save.
No. Save first, then export.