GivingData’s Budget Manager allows foundations to configure their annual budget within GivingData and compare it in real time with scheduled payment amounts and grant amounts.
Your foundation’s overall grantmaking budget can be configured for each fiscal year. The budget can be allocated across each code in the budget code type. Once configured, the budget can be incorporated into payments and approvals dashboards.
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Fiscal Years
Budget management in GivingData is based on your foundation’s fiscal years. Each fiscal year must be added in Admin Tools & Settings in order to set a budget for it, and to build dashboards based on it. You can start by adding the current fiscal year, but can also add as many future fiscal years as desired for budgeting purposes.
Follow the instructions in Calendar Settings to add at least one fiscal year in your site before continuing with the budget manager tool setup.
Budget Code Type
The budget manager tool requires a budget code type to be selected. This code type should represent the main categories through which you plan your grantmaking budget. For example, this could be program area, fund, portfolio, etc.
Once the budget code type is selected, the budget can be allocated across each of its codes and subcodes.
- Click the gear icon in the quick navigation menu.
- Click Codes/Attributes.
- Click the pencil icon next to Budget Code Type.
- Select a code type, and then click Save.
Set the Budget for a Fiscal Year
Once a fiscal year has been added in the site and the budget code type is selected, the budget can be set for the fiscal year.
For each fiscal year, both a payments budget and an approval budget can be set if needed.
- Payments Budget - References specific payments based on the fiscal year in which they are paid or scheduled to be paid.
- Approvals Budget - References full request amounts based on the fiscal year in which the request is approved or anticipated to be approved.
- Click Payments & Approvals in the upper navigation menu, and then click Budget Manager.
- Select the fiscal year.
- Select either Payments or Approvals to set the corresponding budget.
- Click the pencil icon next to the overall budget number.
- Enter the amount, and then click Save.
- Next, enter the amount allocated for each budget code. Click the pencil icon next to the amount allocated for a code.
- Enter the amount allocated, and then click Save.
- Continue entering the allocated amount for each budget code.
- Next, enter the amount allocated for any budget subcodes. Click a code to access its subcodes, or select the subcode from the dropdown.
- Click the pencil icon next to the amount allocated for a subcode.
- Enter the amount allocated, and then click Save.
- Continue entering the allocated amount for each budget subcode.
The unassigned and balance amounts adjust as the overall budget is allocated across codes. Any amount can be allocated for codes, even if it results in the budget not equalling 100%. The unassigned and balance amounts indicate if this has occurred.
The Amount Allocated column shows the budget amount allocated just to the code you are viewing, not to any subcodes within it. 
The Subcode Sum shows the total budget amount allocated to any subcodes within the code you are viewing.
Additional options are available on the page.
- Click the paper icon next to a code or subcode to enter any details about the allocated budget amount.
- Click Export to Excel to export the budget allocations for the fiscal year.
Update Allocated Budget Amounts
Budget amounts allocated to codes and subcodes can be updated as needed. The system can track the change in the allocated amount for reference.
- Click Payments & Approvals in the upper navigation menu, and then click Budget Manager.
- Select the fiscal year.
- Select either Payments or Approvals to update amounts for the corresponding budget.
- Click the pencil icon next to the code or subcode.
- Enter the updated amount allocated, select Yes or No, and then click Save.
- If Yes is selected to update the original amount allocated, the amount will be updated but the system will not retain a record of the original amount.
- If No is selected, the system will retain a record of the original amount, and will track the change.
If the original amount was not updated, the change between the new and original amount is displayed as a percentage. Click the percentage to view the original amount allocated and the amount allocated change.
- Only one change per allocated amount can be tracked via this method. Any additional changes can be tracked using notes. Click the paper icon to add or edit the note for an allocated amount.
