> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://knowledge.rollcredits.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://knowledge.rollcredits.io/budget-and-cost-report/budget.md).
# Track your budget
See each budget next to what's been spent and committed against it, and create, rename, export or copy budgets on the Budget Details page.
The Budget Details page compares each of the production's budgets with the transactions coded to it. Open it from **Budget & Cost Report** in the sidebar, which shows it to Owners, Super Admins and Managers.
Three links sit at the top of the page. **Import a budget** opens the Import Budget page (see [Import a budget](/budget-and-cost-report/import-budget.md)). **Import from project** copies another project's budget. **Cost Reports**, shown once the production has a budget, opens the cost reports for the budget whose tab is selected (see [Run cost reports and close periods](/budget-and-cost-report/cost-reports.md)).
Below them, each budget has its own tab, oldest first, holding the totals card, the **Phases** and **Add** buttons, and the budget table.
## In this section
* [Edit budget line items](/budget-and-cost-report/budget/edit-budget.md): change amounts, codes, descriptions and notes in the table, and add or delete line items.
* [Set up budget phases](/budget-and-cost-report/budget/phases.md): add, rename, color, hide and delete phases with **Phases > Phase Editor**, and copy amounts between phases with **Phases > Copy Values**.
## Create a budget
When the production has no budgets, the page says "You haven't created any budgets yet. Start by importing or creating a new budget." To start one from scratch:
1. Select **Create New**. A window titled **Add Line Item** opens.
2. Enter a **Budget Name**.
3. Select **Save**.
The new budget opens on its own tab with one phase, **Awarded**, and no line items. Add line items yourself (see [Edit budget line items](/budget-and-cost-report/budget/edit-budget.md)), or fill the budget from a file with **Import a budget**.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Create New** appears only while the production has no budgets. Once it has one, **Import a budget** replaces the existing budget instead of adding another.
{% endhint %}
## Switch and rename budgets
* To see a budget, select its tab. The page opens on the first one.
* To rename a budget, double-click its name on the tab, type the new name and press Enter. Selecting elsewhere also saves, and Esc cancels. A blank name isn't saved.
## Read the totals card
The card at the top of each tab adds up the whole budget. Table filters don't change it.
* **Paid** is the total of the table's **Paid** column.
* **Pending** adds up the **Unpaid**, **Unapproved** and **Estimates** columns. Open POs aren't included.
* **Total** is **Paid** plus **Pending**.
* **Budgeted** is the budget's first phase, usually Awarded, plus any Approved Overages phases.
The bar under **Total** fills with the paid amount first, then the pending amount in yellow. Its full width is **Total** or **Budgeted**, whichever is larger. When **Total** goes over **Budgeted**, a dot on the bar marks where the budget runs out.
## Read the budget table
The table is a tree. Select the arrow on a row to open it. The **Type** column names each kind of row:
* **Section** rows group other rows. A section can hold categories and other sections, and its amounts are the sum of everything under it.
* **Category** rows are the budget's line items. Under each one are the transactions coded to it, newest first.
* **Transaction** rows show the vendor in **Item**, and the amount coded to that category in one money column, depending on where the transaction stands. A transaction split across categories appears under each one with its share.
Two other rows can appear:
* A row named after a section with "(direct)" at the end holds amounts and transactions that sit on the section itself. This happens when a line item gets sub-items after it already had amounts. They count in the section's total.
* An **Uncategorized** row at the top collects transactions that aren't coded to a budget category. It appears only when it has amounts.
The pinned **Total** row at the top adds up the top-level rows. When you search with **Quick filter...** or filter a column, it adds up only the top-level rows still showing.
### Columns
Most column headers show a short description when you point at them.
| Column | What it shows |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Code** | The line item's budget code. |
| **Item** | The line item's description. On transaction rows, the vendor. |
| **Unpaid** | Approved invoices that haven't been paid yet. |
| **Paid** | Approved receipts, and approved invoices that have been paid. |
| One column per phase | The amount budgeted in that phase, such as **Awarded**, shaded in the phase's color if it has one. |
| **Variance** | The budget minus a later phase (see below). |
| **Unapproved** | Transactions that aren't fully approved yet, rejected ones included. Shown only when the production has approvers. |
| **Open POs** | What's left to bill on approved estimates attached to open purchase orders: the estimate minus the PO's invoices and receipts so far. |
| **Estimates** | Approved estimates and quotes that aren't on a purchase order. Shown only when the budget has some. |
| **Remaining** | The first phase plus any Approved Overages, minus everything in **Paid**, **Unpaid**, **Unapproved**, **Open POs** and **Estimates**. |
| **Notes** | Notes about the line item. |
A few details:
* If your production uses a chart of accounts, approved journal entries count in **Paid** too.
* A transaction counts as unapproved until the final approver in its approval flow approves it. If it was escalated, it also stays unapproved until every escalated approver approves it. Kinds of transactions with no approvers count as approved right away.
* Phase columns run from the first phase, then any Approved Overages phases, then the rest. Phases you've hidden don't show.
* **Variance** appears when the budget has an EFC phase, as Awarded plus any Approved Overages, minus EFC. Without EFC, it appears only when the budget has exactly two phases besides Approved Overages, as the first plus any Approved Overages, minus the second. A negative variance, meaning over budget, shows in red.
Phase names such as ETC, EFC and Approved Overages change these columns. See [Set up budget phases](/budget-and-cost-report/budget/phases.md).
## View a row's transactions
1. Select the **...** menu at the end of a section or category row.
2. Select **View transactions**.
The Transactions page opens in a new browser tab, on **Vendors & Contractors**, showing only the transactions coded to that row. For a section, that includes everything under it. See [Find and edit transactions in the table](/transactions/transactions/find-and-edit.md).
On section and category rows, the same menu also has **Add line item** and **Delete**. "(direct)" rows don't have them. See [Edit budget line items](/budget-and-cost-report/budget/edit-budget.md).
## Review a transaction
1. Open a category row to see its transactions.
2. Select the eye button at the end of a transaction row.
It opens in a side panel next to the table. Select the X at the top of the panel to close it. See [Review and edit a transaction](/transactions/transactions/edit-a-transaction.md).
## Export the table
Select **Export** above the table to download it as an Excel file. Only rows that match your filters are included. The file has one sheet for each level of the tree: Sheet 1 holds the top-level rows, Sheet 2 the rows one level down, and so on.
## Import a budget from another project
**Import from project** copies another project's budget into the budget on the selected tab, replacing what's there.
1. Select the tab of the budget you want to replace.
2. Select **Import from project**. The **Import Budget from Project** window opens.
3. In **Select Project to Import From**, choose a project. Each choice shows the project, its budget and how many categories it has.
4. To copy amounts too, tick **Include Awarded/Budget phase amounts**.
5. Select **Import**.
6. If transactions are coded to the budget you're replacing, a warning says how many coded transactions will lose their budget coding, and that this can't be undone. Select **Import anyway** to go ahead.
When the import finishes, the page shows the imported budget.
What's copied:
* Every section, category and sub-item, with its code, description and notes, in the same order.
* With **Include Awarded/Budget phase amounts** ticked, the amounts in the other budget's Awarded (or Budget) phase go into this budget's Awarded phase. If this budget has no such phase, an Awarded phase is added. If the other budget has no such phase, no amounts are copied. Amounts in other phases aren't copied.
What's replaced:
* All the budget's current sections, categories and amounts, in every phase. Its phases stay. When the budget has categories, a warning in the window says they'll be replaced.
* Transactions coded to the old categories lose their coding.
The list shows the other projects in your company that you're on as an Owner, Super Admin or Manager, and that have a budget with at least one category. If there are none, it says "No other projects with budgets found. Create a budget manually or import from a file."
{% hint style="info" %}
If the production has no budget yet, **Import from project** creates one named "Budget" with an Awarded phase.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="warning" %}
If RollCredits payroll is turned on for your production and payroll uses any of this budget's categories, for example on timecards, the import stops with an error. Remove the payroll data that uses those categories first.
{% endhint %}
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