You can create as many budgets as you want, and for whatever period length you want - from just one month to a budget that spans a couple of financial years. You can also create multiple budgets for the same period.

To create a budget

1. Go to the Reports menu and click Budgets.
2. Click Create budget and enter your budget name and the period you want to enter details for.
   
3. Click Create and a blank budget will appear.
   
4. Fill in your budget details in one of three ways:
   1. Start from scratch: Type the income and expenses you expect, or hope to achieve, for the period directly into the budget edit area.
   2. Import the previous year’s actual figures: If you have been using MYOB Essentials for more than 12 months, you can import last year’s actual figures into the budget and make any adjustments for the new year.
      To do this, click Import > Import last year’s actuals. Note that this will overwrite amounts already entered in your budget.
   3. Import a CSV file: You can use Microsoft Excel, or another spreadsheet application, to prepare your budget. You can do this by exporting the budget as a CSV file, working on it in Excel and then importing it back into Essentials. Learn more. 
5. Click Save.

You should compare your budget to your actual performance at least monthly. This will enable to you to identify areas that aren’t going as well as you were hoping or expecting. You can then take action to rein in the expenses, or boost your sales.

MYOB Essentials’ Profit & Loss report enables you to compare your budget and your actual figures side by side, in a table or graph format. You can quickly identify the areas that need your attention, with the variance shown as dollar and percentage amounts.

You can access the Profit & Loss report from the Reports page. Learn more about the Profit & Loss report.

Don’t need a budget anymore? You can delete it if you want, but note that it can’t be recovered once it’s deleted.

To delete a budget, go to the Budget Management page, click the ellipsis button [...] for the budget you want to delete, and choose Delete, or if you're currently viewing the budget you want to delete, just click the Delete button.

How do I print a budget?

The easiest way to take your budget offline is to export it to Excel. Click the Export button in the top right corner to produce a .csv file, then open the file in Excel to print, share or edit.

Can I change a budget's name, description or period?

If you need to change any of these details you'll need to create a new budget.