Go to Accounting, then Budgets, and click New Budget. Name the budget (for example, “FY 2025-26 Operating Budget”) and select the fiscal year. Zoho Books presents all income and expense accounts in a spreadsheet-like grid. Enter the planned amount for each account by month. You can also distribute an annual amount evenly across 12 months if monthly variation is not expected. Save when complete.
Zoho Books supports two budget types. An Account Budget tracks planned vs. actual values for each Chart of Accounts entry: all income accounts and all expense accounts. A Project Budget (linked to a specific project) tracks planned costs vs. actual costs incurred for that project. Both report through the Budgets vs. Actuals report, with the account budget giving the overall business view and the project budget giving the project-level view.
Go to Reports, then Budgets vs. Actuals. Select the budget and the date range. The report shows each account with its budgeted amount, actual amount, the variance (actual minus budget), and the variance as a percentage. Positive variance for income (actual above budget) is good. Negative variance for expenses (actual above budget) is a concern. Review this report monthly with department heads to keep spending in check and identify whether revenue targets are being met.
A budget in Zoho Books is a planned financial target for each account by period, compared against actuals in the Budgets vs. Actuals report to highlight variances requiring management attention.
Go to Accounting, then Budgets, click New Budget. Select the fiscal year, name the budget, and enter planned amounts for each income and expense account by month. Zoho Books compares actuals against these targets throughout the year.
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