The Best Way to Easily Update Your Budget in Microsoft Dynamics GP – Step by Step Instructions

Are you tired of spending time every year-end modifying your FRx or Management Reporter reports to report against the new budget? It can be a painful and time consuming process if you have lots of reports.

Here is a simple solution to this annual headache:

Create a budget called CUR_YR and another one called PRIOR_YR in Dynamics GP. All your standard reports that have budget column(s) will reference Book Code CUR_YR.

Create a set of reports indicating they are Prior Year reports and associate column building blocks with PRIOR_YR in the Book Code. You will do this once and never need to change them again or worry that you missed changing a column.

When creating your budget for the new fiscal year in Dynamics GP, create it with a code that includes the fiscal year. Make sure to have a set of columns for confirming that your budget is correct. You will need to maintain the Book Code in this column building block, but this should be the only column building block you are manipulating for the budget.

Once your budget for the new year is correct and you have closed your year, you will need to do the following steps from Financial >> Cards >> Budgets.

1. Delete budget PRIOR_YR (This is assuming it exists because you did this last year. If it doesn’t exist, skip this step.)

2. Export budget CUR_YR to Excel (This is assuming you did this last year. If this is your first time, export the budget for the prior fiscal year.)

a) Highlight budget CUR_YR and press Excel >> Export to Excel (If this is your first time, highlight the appropriate sheet.)

b) Export a New workbook

c) Select the location to save the file and hit Open.

d) The Excel file will display. Close the file.

3. Import from Excel and create budget PRIOR_YR

a) This will open the Budget Wizard for Excel; hit Next >

b) Select the option to import 'A new Microsoft Dynamics GP budget' and hit Next >

c) Enter PRIOR_YR as the budget ID, a description for the budget, select Fiscal Year as how to base the budget, and select the prior fiscal year as the date range for the budget and hit Next >

d) Browse to the location where you saved the budget you exported in step c and select the appropriate worksheet and hit Next >

e) Press Finish and budget PRIOR_YR will be created using the data you exported.

4. Run your budget report with PRIOR_YR in the columns to confirm that the budget imported correctly and reflects the data you want.

5. If step four has the data you want, you will start the process over to import the current year budget. Delete budget CUR_YR. (If this is the first time you are doing this, there will not be a budget to delete.)

6. Export the new year’s budget to Excel.

a) Highlight the appropriate budget and hit Excel >> Export to Excel

b) Export a New workbook

c) Select the location to save the file and hit Open.

7. Import from Excel and create budget CUR_YR

a) This will open the Budget Wizard for Excel; hit Next >

b) Select the option to import A new Microsoft Dynamics GP budget and hit Next >

c) Enter CUR_YR as the budget ID, a description for the budget, select Fiscal Year as how to base the budget, and select the Current fiscal year as the date range for the budget and hit Next >

d) Browse to the location where you saved the budget you exported in step c and press Open; select the appropriate worksheet and hit Next >

e) Click Finish and budget CUR_YR will be created using the data you exported.

8. Run your budget report with CUR_YR in the columns to confirm that the budget imported correctly and reflects the data you want.

This might seem like a lot of steps, but it is really quite simple and has saved me lots of time over the years.

Feel free to reach out should you have questions or need assistance with Dynamics GP.

Written by:
Sue Walker-Johnson, Senior Dynamics GP Consultant
FMT Consultants