What are budgets?
Budgets define a maximum amount of money that can be spent by a specific group of employees over a set time frame. They help prevent overspending, improve financial planning, and provide visibility into how funds are used.
If an expense goes over the assigned budget, managers and reviewers will see an alert during the approval process to help them decide whether to approve or reject it.
Where to find budgets
To access and manage budgets:
- In your sidebar, go to the Spending
- Select the Employee expenses tab at the top
- Open the Budgets subtab
- From here, you’ll see a list of active budgets and archived budgets
How to create a budget
- In your sidebar, go to Spending
- Select the Employee expenses tab at the top
- Open the Budgets subtab
- Click + Add budget and complete the following information:
-
Basic info:
- Give the budget a clear name (e.g. “Q1 Sales Travel” or “Marketing Campaign 2025”).
- Optionally, add a description.
- Set the start and end dates for the budget.
-
Access:
- Choose who can view and manage this budget.
- Assign permissions to admins, managers, or specific roles as needed.
-
Limits:
- Enter the total budget amount.
- Select the currency (default is the company’s legal entity currency).
- Optionally, break it down into category-specific limits (e.g. travel, meals).
-
Employees:
- Assign employees or teams who will use this budget.
- Use filters to search by employee name, workplace, or team.
-
Basic info:
- Click Save to finalize the budget
Tip: Start with broader budgets (e.g. per team) before introducing highly specific ones for smaller groups or projects.
How to edit or update an existing budget
- In your sidebar, go to Spending
- Select the Employee expenses tab at the top
- Open the Budgets subtab and click on the budget name to open its detail view
- Use the Edit button to update:
- Name or description
- Dates
- Budget limit or category limits
- Assigned employees or teams
- Click Save changes to apply updates
Note:
- Changes will apply to future expenses. Any expenses already submitted will remain counted against the budget based on its configuration at the time of submission.
- Expenses that exceed the updated budget will trigger an alert visible to managers/reviewers during approval.
Best practices
- Use descriptive names that include the purpose and time period (e.g. “IT Equipment 2025”).
- Review spending trends in the budget detail view to make informed adjustments.
- Set realistic limits to balance control and operational needs.
- Update budgets at the start of each quarter or project phase.
- Use category-specific limits to control high-risk expense types.
- Communicate to approvers that they should check for over-budget alerts during the review process.
FAQ
-
Can I assign one employee to multiple budgets?
Yes, employees can be assigned to more than one budget.
-
What happens if an expense exceeds the budget?
Approvers will see an alert and can decide whether to approve or reject it.