/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/manage-budgets/prepare-a-budget section The process of preparing a budget may be performed in multiple stages over time. 2026-02-19T17:09:06+01:00 # Prepare a budget The process of preparing a budget may be performed in multiple stages over time. You can save the budget at any time and continue to work on it later. ## Before you proceed Make sure the budget tree has been configured in the [Budget configuration (GL205000)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/budget-configuration-gl205000/) window. To create a new budget, perform the following steps: 1. Go to the [Budget (GL302010)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/budget-gl302010/) window. 1. In the **Branch** field, select the branch for which you want to prepare this budget. 1. In the **Ledger** field, select a ledger of the **Budget** type for this new budget. 1. Select the **Tree view** check box to also view the Tree pane. 1. In the **Financial year** field, select a budget year. The **Preload from budget configuration dialog box** appears. 1. Click **Yes** in the dialog box. The system loads the budget tree, which you can see in the left pane. > [!NOTE] > You cannot remove any of the loaded articles, even if they are not needed for this particular budget. 1. Optional: In the **Compare to branch** field, select the branch whose data you want to compare with the budget data. The selected branch will be used as the default branch for loading the data to populate the budget. 1. Optional: In the **Compare to ledger** field, select the ledger whose data you want to compare with the budget data. The selected ledger will be used as the default ledger for loading the data to populate the budget. 1. Optional: In the **Compare to year** field, select the financial year whose data you want to compare with the budget data. The selected year's data will be used as a source for loading the data to populate the budget. 1. Click . 1. If you want to load the data for the entire budget, in the Budget tree pane, select the root node. (If you want to load the data for only a particular node, select the node.) The selected node is shown in red type. 1. In the window toolbar, click **Preload articles**. 1. On the first page (Step 1) of the **Preload budget articles** wizard, in the **Branch** field, select the branch whose data you want to load. 1. In the **Ledger** field, select the ledger from which you want to load the data. 1. In the **Financial year** field, select the year for loading this year data. 1. In the **Multiplier** field, specify whether you want to load the data without changes (100%), with an increase (>100%), or with a decrease (<100%). 1. Click **Next** to open the next page of the wizard (Step 2). 1. In the [Chart of accounts (GL202500)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/chart-of-accounts-gl202500/) window. 1. In the **Account to** field, select the account to end the range of accounts for loading; otherwise, the system loads the accounts ending with the account listed last in the [Chart of accounts (GL202500)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/chart-of-accounts-gl202500/) window. 1. In the **Account mask** field, specify the mask to select only specific accounts from the range. 1. In the **Subaccount mask** field, modify the mask to select only specific subaccounts. 1. Click **Next** to open the next page of the wizard (Step 3). 1. Select one of the following options: + **Update existing articles only**: To load the data for only the articles available in this node and the nodes within this node. + **Update existing articles and Load non-existent articles**: To load the data for the articles available in this node and to add the articles not available in this node and load the data for them. + **Load non-existent articles only**: To add the articles that are not listed in the selected node and load the data for them. 1. Click **Finish** to close the wizard. 1. In the table, review the amounts of the budget articles, and change them as needed. 1. Click . 1. Distribute the amounts over the financial periods in all budgets by following the following steps: 1. In the Budget tree (left) pane, select the root node. 1. In the Budget articles (right) pane, click **Distribute** in the table toolbar. 1. In the **Distribute year amounts by periods dialog box**, select **Evenly** to distribute equal amounts to all periods or **Proportionally to compared values** to follow the distribution pattern in the source. 1. Select the **Apply to all articles in this node** check box to perform distribution for all articles in the selected node. 1. Select the **Apply to subarticles** check box to perform distribution within other nodes of the selected node. 1. Click **OK** to close the dialog box and to perform the distribution. 1. Adjust the period amounts manually if needed. Make sure the article's amount is equal to the distributed amount. 1. Click . Parent topic: [Manage budgets - overview](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/manage-budgets/manage-budgets-overview/)