4.7. Budget Window

4.7. Budget Window
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4.7.1. Budget Window Menus

Actions → Budget → Open Budget will open the default budget or offer you a choice if there is more than one budget. A new tab will open with the budget displayed.

Here are some menu items that are particularly useful to working with budgets.

4.7.1.1. Budget Window - Edit menu

Table 4.31. Budget - Edit Menu - Special items for the budget window.

Menu Item	Description
Estimate Budget	Estimate a budget value for the selected accounts from past transactions.
All Periods...	Edit budget for all periods for the selected accounts.
Delete Budget	Delete this budget.
Edit Note	Edit note for the selected account and period.
Budget Options	Edit this budget’s options.

4.7.1.2. Budget Window - Actions menu

Table 4.32. Budget - Actions Menu - Items in the standard menu that relate to budgets.

Menu Item

Description

Budget →

Opens the Budget sub-menu to select budget actions.

	Tip
	The menu items needed to plan budgets are described in detail in Table 4.4, “Account Tree - Actions-Menu - Setup scheduled transactions, repair accounts, perform stock splits, transfer and reconcile transactions.”.

4.7.1.3. Budget Window - Reports menu

	Using more than one budget
	When there is more than one budget, the reports will use the budget selected in book options by default. See Section 10.3, “Book Options” and Section 10.3.2, “Budgeting Book Options Tab” for more details. After the report is displayed, the budget it uses can be changed in the Edit → Report Options General tab.

Table 4.33. Budget - Reports Menu - Items in the standard menu that relate to budgets.

Menu Item

Description

Budget →

Opens the Budget sub-menu to select a budget report.

	Tip
	The menu items available to display budget reports are described in detail in Table 4.6, “Account Tree - Reports-Menu - Access `GnuCash` Reports and Charts.”.

4.7.2. Budget Window Toolbar, Icons/Buttons

The Budget window has a Toolbar to quickly access common functions used with budgeting.

	Tip
	A brief description of the function of a Toolbar button is displayed when the mouse pointer is placed over the icon for a couple of seconds.

Table 4.34. Budget Window Toolbar

Toolbar Button

Description

Save

Save the current file.

	Note
	Only active if changed data has not yet been saved.

Close

Close the Budget window.

Open

Open a transaction register of the selected account.

Options

Edit this budget’s options.

Estimate

Estimate a budget value for the selected accounts from past transactions.

All Periods...

Edit budget for all periods for the selected accounts.

Delete

Delete this budget.

Note

Edit note for the selected account and period.

4.7.3. Budget Window Main Display

The budget window contains a list of accounts down the left hand side, and a set of columns down the right hand side that represent budget values. Each column corresponds to a budget period. The number of periods for a budget can be changed using the Budget Options dialog.

Procedure 4.1. Entering a budget value

Click the row corresponding to the account you wish to budget
Choose the period this value is for, and click in the cell corresponding to that period
Type the value in the cell
Press Enter to finish editing the value.

4.7.4. Budget Options

Table 4.35. Budget options

Option	Description
Budget Name	The budget name is used in the tab’s name and also in any reports you create with the budget.
Notes	A description of the budget.
Budget Period	The budget period includes when the budget starts (start date) and how long each budget period lasts.
Number of Periods	The number of periods in the budget.

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