Search for budgeting in QuickBooks, and you’ll probably find different instructions for getting to the budget tool. That’s because the menu path has changed over the years.
The basic steps are the same. You set your fiscal year, open the budget tool, choose the type of budget you need, enter your numbers, and save it.
The step many business owners skip is checking the budget against their actual results each month. Here’s how to do it in QuickBooks Online (QBO) and Desktop.
What the QuickBooks budget tool does and which plans include it
The QuickBooks budgeting tool helps you plan your expected income and expenses and then compare those numbers with real results.
Business owners can use a budget to plan cash, control spending, and keep track of their business. It can also be useful when you’re preparing information for a lender or investor.
You can create a budget in QuickBooks Online on Plus, Advanced, and Intuit Enterprise Suite. Lower-tier plans don’t include budgets. QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus and Mac Plus include budgets. A budget is a fixed plan, while a forecast is a prediction you update as you get the results.
How to create a budget in QuickBooks Online
Before you start, make sure your fiscal year is correct and your books are up to date. Then you can pull last year’s numbers, create a budget, enter your amounts, and save it. You need to be an admin or a user with budget access.
Step 1: Check the first month of your fiscal year
Go to Settings, then Account and settings, and select Advanced.
Under the Accounting section, find “First month of the financial year” and select Edit if it’s wrong.
A QuickBooks budget starts in the first month of your fiscal year. If the starting month is wrong, your budget figures can end up in the wrong periods.
You can create a budget at any point in the year, but starting at the beginning of your fiscal year is usually easier. Under IRS rules, a fiscal year can end in any month except December.
Step 2: Pull last year’s numbers
Go to Reports and run the Profit and Loss Detail report. Set the report period to Last financial year (or Last year if you start in January). If you want to check the current year, choose This financial year-to-date.
Look at the numbers and note any seasonal changes, fixed costs, variable costs, and major plans for the coming year.
Before using these numbers as your starting point, make sure your books are reconciled. If your bank reconciliation is late, your budget may be based on numbers that are already wrong.
Reconciliation is a routine bookkeeping task. If you haven’t reconciled your accounts in months, you’re not alone, and it can be fixed.
Step 3: Create the budget
Go to Reports, then Financial planning, then Budgets, and select Create budget. Older layouts use Settings, then Budgeting, or Gear, Tools, Budgeting. Choose the budget type and the fiscal year. Then choose Consolidated for the whole company, or Subdivided by class or location. Subdivide only if you already track those. Select Next.
Step 4: Enter your budget amounts
Select Edit and name the budget. To start from history, turn on Compare reference data and choose your reference points, such as last year’s actuals or an older budget.
This only shows those numbers next to your new budget. To copy them in, check the box for each account and choose Copy reference data from the Batch actions dropdown. Or leave it off and start with a blank budget.
Enter your amounts, and switch between yearly, quarterly and monthly views as needed.
Make adjustments based on what you already know is coming, such as:
- A new employee
- Higher rent
- A planned equipment purchase
- A signed customer contract
- Higher supplier costs
Keep your revenue estimates reasonable with financial advisory services and allow for changes in variable expenses. A budget is more useful when it’s real, not when every number looks perfect.
Step 5: Save and check it
Select Save or Save and close. Use a clear name, like “2026 operating budget.” Then run the Budget Overview report to confirm the numbers are showing in the right accounts and periods.
If you’d rather not do this alone, our QuickBooks setup service builds the budget on a clean file.
Profit and loss vs. balance sheet budgets
For most businesses, a profit and loss budget is the better starting point. A balance sheet budget is more useful when you’re planning specific asset, liability, or debt balances.
A profit and loss budget follows the same categories as your profit and loss statement, while a balance sheet budget follows the same accounts as your balance sheet.
| Profit and loss | Balance sheet | |
|---|---|---|
| What it plans | Income and expenses | Ending balances of assets and liabilities |
| Best for | Almost every business | Debt payoff or asset-heavy plans |
| Excel import | Yes | No |
| Setup choice | Consolidated or subdivided | Yearly, quarterly or monthly |
Your budget doesn’t have to balance like a balance sheet. QuickBooks uses the difference between planned income and expenses to show your projected profit or loss.
Prior-year numbers vs. starting blank
Use prior-year numbers if you have a full year of clean books. Start blank if the business is new. Last year’s actuals give you a baseline to adjust, but in our experience, errors in last year’s books carry straight into the budget. If your books have errors, start with a bookkeeping cleanup.
Some CFOs prefer starting from zero each year, so every expense has to be reviewed again. That takes more work, but it can help remove costs you no longer need.
Predawn Accounting helps you get your business in shape for taxes, loans, and
growth. Stop worrying about accounting and speak with a real, human expert.
Import, copy, edit or delete a budget
Import budget lets you upload an Excel file instead of typing every number, but only profit and loss budgets are imported. Select Import budget, choose the period, format, and pre-fill, then download the QuickBooks Online budget template.
Fill it in with Excel or Google Sheets, and don’t add rows or columns. Save the file under a unique name. Then select Import budget again, choose the fiscal year, select Consolidated or Subdivided, and select Next. Upload your file, select Next, and select View budget when it finishes. Keep the file under 10 MB.
- Copy: Use Duplicate in the Actions column, then update the amounts. QuickBooks creates a separate budget that you can change.
- Edit: Open the budget, select Edit, change the amounts, then Save.
- Delete: Check the box, choose Delete in Actions. Deleted budgets can’t be recovered.
QuickBooks Online budget reports: budget vs. actuals
Run Budgets vs. Actuals from the dropdown in the Options column. The report shows your actual results, budgeted amounts, the difference between them, and the percentage difference for each account.
Budget Overview shows the budget itself. Both reports are only useful when your books are kept up to date .
Here’s the monthly check our team uses:
- Reconcile the month.
- Run Budgets vs. Actuals.
- Review lines that are more than 10% off. That’s our general guideline, not an official limit.
- Separate timing from real change.
- Update the budget or write a one-line note.
Budgeting in QuickBooks Desktop: how to create and enter a budget
To create a budget in QuickBooks Desktop, go to Company, then Planning & Budgeting, then Set Up Budgets.
- Select Create New Budget and choose the fiscal year.
- Choose Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet, then select Next.
- For P&L, add Customer:Job or Class criteria if you need them.
- For Profit and Loss, choose to create the budget from scratch or from the previous year’s actual data, then select Finish.
To enter a budget in QuickBooks Desktop, type the first month’s amount and click Copy Across to fill the year, or use Adjust Row Amounts to increase or decrease a row by a set amount or percent.
Review: Go to Reports, then Budgets & Forecasts. You’ll find Budget Overview, Profit & Loss Budget vs. Actual, and Budget Performance. These reports give you different views of your budget, including period, year-to-date, and annual figures while Power BI reporting can provide more detailed visual analysis.
Edit: Reopen Set Up Budgets and change the amounts.
Print: Open the report and select Print.
QuickBooks Desktop generally keeps one budget per fiscal year. Be careful with renaming, because changing an account name unlinks it from the budget, and you’ll have to rebuild it.
Personal budgets and when QuickBooks isn’t enough
A QuickBooks personal budget is possible, but the software is built for businesses, not households.
Some businesses outgrow the built-in tool and move to separate financial reporting and budgeting software, or a well-built Excel model. Our fractional CFO team builds those models on your QuickBooks data.
Mistakes we fix most often
Here are some of the budgeting mistakes we see most often:
- Wrong fiscal year
- Annual-only budgets that hide seasonal changes
- Building a budget from unreconciled books
- Never running Budgets vs. Actuals
- Adding too many budget lines and making the process difficult to maintain
In our 6+ years working with US small businesses, we’ve seen how quickly small bookkeeping issues can affect a budget.
Signs it’s time to stop doing this yourself
- Your books are months behind, or your bank accounts aren’t reconciled.
- You use classes or locations and aren’t sure how to set up the budget correctly.
- Your Budgets vs. Actuals report doesn’t match what you see in the bank.
If two of these sound familiar, get help before creating the budget. A budget based on incorrect numbers can mislead you.
Get a budget you’ll actually use
A budget is only useful when the numbers behind it are accurate, and you check them. Here’s what our bookkeeping plans cost per month:
| Service level | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Basic bookkeeping (categorization, reconciliation) | $100-$300 |
| Full-service (adds AP/AR, payroll support) | $400-$1,500+ |
| Hourly (ad-hoc work) | $10-$30/hour |
The price depends on how much bookkeeping you need and if your books are up to date. We’ll review your file first and then give you a clear quote.
Book a free consultation, and we’ll spend 30 minutes reviewing your file, including your fiscal year, chart of accounts, and the last 12 months of transactions. You’ll know if you’re ready to create a budget or what needs to be fixed first. Our bookkeeping services keep the actual numbers clean every month after that.
This is general information, not personalized tax or legal advice. Check your specific situation with a licensed professional.
FAQs
Can I create more than one budget in QuickBooks?
In QBO, yes. Duplicate a budget to create a separate version. QuickBooks Desktop generally keeps one budget per fiscal year.
Can I track actual vs. budget in real time?
Yes, as long as your books are current. Budgets vs. Actuals updates as you enter transactions, so reconcile before reviewing the report.
Can I export or print a budget?
Yes, open Budgets vs. Actuals or Budget Overview and use the report's Export or Print option. In Desktop, print from the budget reports.
What's the difference between a budget and a forecast?
A budget is your plan for the year. A forecast is your best estimate of where the business is heading based on actual results and new information. As actual results come in, a forecast can change. QBO Advanced and some Desktop editions offer forecasting tools.
Meet Muhammad Aqib: Our Expert in Financial Planning and Analysis
He is the founder of Predawn Accounting and has more than six years of experience helping small businesses maintain organized financial records, improve reporting accuracy, and better understand their financial position.
He is a qualified Chartered Accountant from ICAP Pakistan, holds a BS in Accounting and Finance, is an ACCA Candidate, an FMVA Certified professional, has also earned a Financial Planning and Analysis certification from the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) and is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor with experience working across industries, including real estate, construction, e-commerce, SaaS, and marketing agencies.
Before founding Predawn Accounting in 2023, Mr. Aaqib worked with businesses across multiple industries, doing bookkeeping, financial reporting, financial modeling, fractional CFO, and other projects. He has also completed financial projects that helped businesses raise funding and improve financial operations.
