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Budget Management

Budget Management

Why Budgets Matter

A budget is your organization’s financial roadmap. It:

  • Sets Expectations: Shows planned income and expenses for the year
  • Enables Oversight: Board members can monitor spending against plan
  • Supports Decisions: Helps determine if you can afford new programs
  • Demonstrates Accountability: Shows members where dues and donations go
  • Satisfies Requirements: Many PTAs require an approved budget

Budget Lifecycle

BeeKeeper budgets move through three states:

1. Working (Draft)

  • Fully editable
  • Use for planning and adjustments
  • Not visible as “official”

2. Proposed

  • Locked from editing
  • Presented for board/membership approval
  • Can be unlocked if changes needed

3. Approved

  • Officially adopted budget
  • Locked with snapshot preserved
  • Used for comparison to actual spending
  • Can only be changed through amendments

Creating a Budget

Step 1: Start a New Budget

  1. Go to Budgets
  2. Click Add Budget
  3. Choose how you want to start:
    • Start fresh: An empty budget you fill in account by account
    • Copy a previous budget: Prefill with the accounts and amounts from a prior budget
    • Use last 12 months: Prefill with the accounts that had activity in the last 12 months, using those totals
    • Import from a file: Upload a budget file (see Step 1b)
  4. Enter a Name (required—a default is filled in for you) and select the fiscal year
  5. The budget opens in Working status

Step 1b: Import a Budget from a File

Instead of entering everything by hand, you can import a budget:

  1. On the Budgets page, click Import Budget (or choose Import from a file in the start chooser)
  2. Upload a MyPTEZ Budget Report or a spreadsheet of accounts and amounts
  3. Any accounts that don’t yet exist are created for you automatically

Step 2 & 3: Add Income and Expense Line Items

The budget form is a single list of line items—income and expense accounts together. For each expected income source or planned expense:

  1. Click Add Item
  2. Select the account (income or expense)
  3. Enter the budgeted amount

Example Items:

  • Membership Dues (income): $5,000
  • Fall Fundraiser (income): $15,000
  • Spring Auction (income): $20,000
  • Donations (income): $2,000
  • Teacher Grants (expense): $10,000
  • Student Programs (expense): $8,000
  • Family Events (expense): $5,000
  • Administrative (expense): $2,000

Step 4: Review Totals

The editing screen lists each line item with no totals row. Income and expense subtotals and the net total appear on the downloaded PDF of the budget, and Present mode shows a single combined Total.

Aim for a balanced or slightly positive net budget.

Step 5: Save

Click Save to preserve your work. You can return and edit anytime while in Working status.

Proposing a Budget

When your budget is ready for review:

  1. Open the budget
  2. Click Propose
  3. Confirm the action

The budget is now:

  • Locked from editing
  • Marked as “Proposed”
  • Ready for board/membership vote

Need Changes After Proposing?

If the board requests changes:

  1. Open the proposed budget
  2. Click Unlock
  3. Make requested changes
  4. Propose again

Approving a Budget

After your board/membership votes to approve:

  1. Open the proposed budget
  2. Click Approve
  3. Confirm the action

The budget is now:

  • Marked as “Approved”
  • A snapshot is saved for historical reference
  • Locked (changes require amendments)
  • Used for budget vs. actual comparisons

Working with an Approved Budget

Viewing

Open the approved budget to see:

  • All line items with Budget, Actual, and Variance columns
  • Approval date and approver

Budget vs. Actual

To compare the approved budget to actual spending:

  1. Run the Budget vs. Actual report, which compares the current approved budget to actual activity and shows budgeted amounts, actual amounts, and variance (over/under budget)
  2. You can also see per-line Actual and Variance columns right on the budget’s page

Making Changes

Approved budgets cannot be edited directly. To change:

  1. Create a Budget Amendment (see [Budget Amendments](budget-amendments.md))
  2. Follow the amendment approval process
  3. Once approved, the amendment updates the budget

Un-approving a Budget

If a budget was approved in error and needs to be un-approved, contact support for help. There is no self-serve button to revert an approved budget. In most cases, use an amendment to make changes rather than un-approving.

Multiple Budgets

You can have multiple budgets for planning purposes:

  • Draft budgets for different scenarios
  • Historical approved budgets for past years
  • Only one budget per fiscal year should be marked Approved

Budget Best Practices

Start with Last Year

  1. Review last year’s actual income and expenses
  2. Use those numbers as a starting point (the Copy a previous budget and Use last 12 months start options do this for you)
  3. Adjust for planned changes

Build in Contingency

  • Don’t budget 100% of expected income
  • Include a small reserve line (5-10%)
  • Unexpected expenses happen

Be Specific

Instead of “Miscellaneous: $5,000”:

  • Teacher Appreciation: $1,000
  • Volunteer Recognition: $500
  • Office Supplies: $800
  • Contingency: $2,700

Get Input

  • Survey chairs about their program needs
  • Review multi-year trends
  • Consider membership feedback

Document Assumptions

Budget line items don’t have a notes field, so keep the reasoning behind your numbers in your meeting minutes or planning notes—for example:

  • “Based on 200 members at $25”
  • “Vendor quoted $3,500 for DJ”
  • “Same as last year - principal request”

Presenting Budgets

Present Mode

BeeKeeper offers a presentation view for approved budgets. Once a budget is approved, a Present button appears on its page:

  1. Open the approved budget
  2. Click Present
  3. Clean view suitable for meetings
  4. Works well on projected screens

Download a PDF

Share budgets outside BeeKeeper:

  1. Open the budget
  2. Click Download PDF
  3. Use the PDF for board packets, newsletters, or archives

Tips for Treasurers

  • Start early: Begin drafting 2-3 months before fiscal year starts
  • Communicate: Keep board informed of budget development
  • Be realistic: Underestimate income, overestimate expenses
  • Track history: Save approved budgets for year-over-year comparison
  • Reconcile monthly: Compare actual to budget throughout the year

Limitations

  • One approved budget per fiscal year
  • Approved budgets cannot be deleted (use an amendment, or contact support to un-approve). Deleting a draft or proposed budget also deletes its amendments.
  • Line items must map to existing accounts

Common Questions

Can I copy last year’s budget? Yes—when creating a budget, choose Copy a previous budget to start from a prior budget’s accounts and amounts, or Use last 12 months to prefill from actual activity totals.

What if we overspend a line item? The budget is a plan, not a restriction. Track variances and explain to your board. Consider an amendment if significantly different.

Do I need to budget every account? No. Only include accounts where you expect activity. Zero-budget items don’t need lines.

Can I have multiple budgets for one year? You can have multiple drafts, but only one should be Approved. Use different drafts for scenario planning.

What’s the difference between Proposed and Approved? Proposed is presented for vote. Approved means the vote passed and it’s now official.

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