What can the budget be used for?
The budget module in Catacloud lets you set up an annual budget per account – and optionally split by department, project or product. The budget is linked directly to the Result report, so you can compare actual figures with budgeted figures month by month.
How to create a budget
Click the app icon in the top left and select Budget, or go to Budget → All budgets.
Click + New budget.
Enter a Name and select a Year.
Under Dimensions you'll see that Account is always included. Click + to add optional dimensions:
Department – required if you want to see budget figures per department in the Result report
Project
Product
Custom dimensions – any custom dimensions you have set up in Catacloud also appear in the list and can be added the same way
Click Create.
Important: The dimensions determine what you can filter on in the Result report. If you want to compare the budget per department, Department must be included as a dimension. You can add or remove dimensions later via Edit – see "Editing the budget (Edit)" further down.
Entering budget figures
Manually
Inside the budget, click + next to the ACCOUNT column to add an account. You can search by account number or account name. Click into a cell and enter the amount for the relevant month.
Import from Excel
For larger budgets, import is the fastest way:
Open the budget.
Click the arrow next to Save and select Import.
Choose the import type:
Complete budget – replaces all the figures in the budget.
Part of a budget – only overwrites the accounts/dimensions included in the import file.
Click Download template to download the Excel template. The template has an Account column and one column per month (January, February … December). If the budget has dimensions, the template also gets its own columns for them, for example Project, Department and Product.
Fill in the account numbers and amounts in the template and save the file.
Tick "Yes, I understand that this will replace all the numbers in my budget".
Click Pick file, select the file, and then click Import.
Tip when importing with dimensions: If you use Part of a budget, you choose which dimension value (e.g. which project) the import applies to. The import replaces all existing budget lines for that exact dimension value with what's in the file – if the budget previously had accounts under that dimension value that aren't included in the new file, they will be removed. Make sure the import file includes every account you want to keep for that dimension value, not just the ones you want to change.
Exporting the budget
Inside the budget, click Export and choose a format:
Download .pdf
Download .xlsx (Excel)
Download .csv
Save as – making a copy of the budget
Click the arrow next to Save and select Save as to create a copy of the budget with a new name and/or a new year. This is useful if you want to reuse an existing budget as a starting point for the next period.
Editing the budget (Edit)
Click the arrow next to Save and select Edit to change the Name, Year or Dimensions of an existing budget. Under Dimensions, add a dimension with + or remove one with ×. Click Save changes when you're done. If you add a new dimension, remember to allocate the budget amounts to it – otherwise it will show 0 when you filter on the dimension in the Result report.
Comparing the budget with actuals
Go to Accounting → Result.
Click Report options.
Under Compare with, click Budget.
Select the budget you want from the Choose budget drop-down.
Choose whether to show changes and deviations as an amount or a percentage.
Tip: You can also turn on Compare with → Previous year at the same time, to show last year's figures side by side with the budget figures in the same report. However, you can only compare against one budget at a time.
Note: The budget must have the same year as the period you're viewing in the Result report. If you're viewing period 2026, you must select a budget set to year 2026 – otherwise the budget column will show 0.
Frequently asked questions
The budget figures show 0 when I filter by department – what's wrong?
This happens when the budget does not have Department as a dimension. Solution: Click the arrow next to Save, select Edit, and add Department under Dimensions with +. Click Save changes. Then enter the budget amounts split by department.
Can I create a budget for a previous year?
No, a budget can only be created for the current year or later. It is currently not possible to set a year in the past.
Can I compare 2025 actuals with a budget created in 2026?
Not directly. To show a budget in the Result report for 2025, the budget must have its year set to 2025. Use Save as on an existing budget, set the new copy to year 2025, and select it in the Result report when viewing period 2025.
I get an error message during import – what do I do?
The most common import errors are caused by:
Invalid account number – check that the account numbers in the import file exist in the chart of accounts.
Wrong file format – use the template you download from the import dialog to ensure the correct column structure.
Errors are shown one at a time. Fix the error, upload the file again, and repeat until all errors are resolved.
When should you contact us?
Contact support if:
Import fails repeatedly even after obvious errors have been fixed.
The budget column in the Result report shows incorrect figures even though the year and dimensions are correct.
Please provide: the budget name, the year, and a screenshot of the error message you get.