QuickBooks is best for adding your budget and checking it when required. When your budget is in the form of an Excel file or in Google Sheets, you can easily import it in QB. In this accounting software and its versions, you cannot directly import the budget. However, you can prepare a template, customize it, and then upload it into the software.
To know the complete method to import a budget into QuickBooks, you can scroll further. Along with QB, we have also covered the methods for QuickBooks Enterprise, QBO, and QuickBooks Online Advanced.
There are 2 main sections in this blog. An overview of these sections can be found as follows:
How can I Import a Budget into QuickBooks Online?
QBO users can get a budget imported by preparing a template. This template can be downloaded and saved. Then after adding the budget’s details in it, it can be uploaded in QuickBooks Online. When it needs to be imported in QuickBooks Online Advanced or QBOA, the Budgeting option should be used. It assists you in uploading a budget along with creating a template to edit it.
Know more about how to import a budget into QuickBooks Online as well as QuickBooks Online Advanced with the following methods.
Note: Along with importing a budget in QBO, you can also learn to create it. See here how you can enter or create a budget in QuickBooks Online.
Method 1: Import Your Budget into QuickBooks Online from Excel/Google Sheets
We will recommend you to visit the Settings of QuickBooks Online for importing your company’s budget. From here, you can run Account and Settings. The Advanced option will have to be selected. Afterward, you can choose Accountings. After reviewing the initial month of the fiscal year, you can head to Reports. After this, you can start preparing a template. Using this template, you can import an Excel budget into QuickBooks Online. Alternatively, the budget can also be imported from Google Sheets to QBO.
The remaining directions to execute this method can be found here:
- Login to your “QBO” account.
- View “Settings”.
- Select “Account and Settings”.
- Move to “Advanced”.
- Visit the section for “Accountings”.
- Add the review for the 1st month of a fiscal year.
- Select “Edit” for changing the date if needed.
Tip: Some of you may wish to know more about editing a budget in QuickBooks Online and software versions. Tap on this link to get the details.
- Now, view “Reports”.
- Choose the report that says “Profit and Loss Detail”.
- Next, click on “Report Period”.
- Set a timeframe.
- Opt for “Last Year” for using the data of the previous year.
- Match the beginning year and ending year with the fiscal year.
Note: You can also choose “Year-to-Date” for using the existing fiscal year’s data.
- Press “Run Report”.
- Now get a template for the budget. Enter “Settings”.
- Select “Budgeting”.
- Tap on “Import Budget”.
- Click on “Sample.csv”.
Note: The link for “Sample.csv” will enable you in getting the template.
- Once the template has been downloaded, save it in a suitable location.
Tip: “Desktop” or the “Downloads” folder is often preferred by users for saving the downloaded template to import a budget into QuickBooks Online. You can also prefer the same location.
- The budget template will be ready. Use “Google Sheets”/“Excel” on your PC to open the “.csv” file.
- The accounting software will run the charts and use the months of the financial year for formatting the template.
- Add the budget for every account as well as month.
Note: Additional columns and rows cannot be added to the template. This is a limitation of the template’s design. To add additional accounts, use the accounts chart. In this chart, make the changes prior to getting the template downloaded.
- To upload the template of the budget, select “Settings” in QBO.
- Tap on “Budgeting”.
- Use “Import Budget”.
- Press “Browse”.
- Decide a template for the software.
- Push the “Next” button.
- The template of the budget will be imported into QuickBooks Online.
- Assign a name to the budget.
- You can review the information, rows, and columns in the budget. Use “Edit” to make any changes.
- Lastly, push “Save”.
Tip: At some point in time, you may not require the budget you have imported. Learning how to delete a budget in QuickBooks Online will be of use.
Method 2: Import a Budget into QuickBooks Online Advanced via Google Sheets/Excel
When you wish to import a budget in QBOA, the Gear icon should be pressed. The icon shows where the Budgeting option is. Then you can pick Add Budget and move to Pre-fill Data. This dropdown will provide you with the Upload Budget option. Select it and then use Excel.
You can import the budget from Excel to QuickBooks Online Advanced or you may select Google Sheets for this purpose. You will be given a template. The information of the budget can be entered into it prior to uploading the template’s file in QBOA.
- Open “QuickBooks Online Advanced” to begin.
- Select “Settings” or press the “Gear” button.
Note: The “Gear” button is of much use in QuickBooks. To know more about the QuickBooks Gear icon and what it does, read here.
- Tap on the “Budgeting” option.
- Choose “Add Budget”.
- Use the dropdown labeled as “Pre-fill Data”.
- Click on “Upload Budget”.
- Opt for “Excel”. In place of this, you may choose “Google Sheets”.
- Press the link for “Import Template”.
Note: By pressing the link mentioned in Step 8, the import of the budget will not automatically start in QBOA.
- Decide a location for saving this template on your PC.
- After saving it, run the template.
- Add your budget’s information to this template.
Note: The months of the fiscal year and chart of accounts in QB will be used for the template’s formatting. Extra columns, rows, etc., cannot be included in the template. However, before downloading it, the required additions can be made.
- Now, enter “Settings”.
- Move to “Budgeting”.
- Opt for “Add Budget”.
- Name the budget to proceed.
- Click on “Pre-fill Data”.
- From the dropdown, you need to choose “Upload Budget”.
- In this step, choose one of the following options:
- “Excel”
- “Google Sheets”
- Tap on “Choose a File to Upload”.
- Pick a file for the budget template.
- Enter the data of the budget in this template.
- Save the data after entering it.
These steps explained how to import a budget into QuickBooks Online Advanced. Should you like to review this budget in this version of the software, you can select Budgeting. This is a menu in QuickBooks that can help you with the purpose.
How to Import Your Budget into QuickBooks Enterprise?
The option of IFF Files can be helpful when you need to import your company’s budget into QBE. To find this option, you can first run the software. Then you can go through its File menu. From the menu, a selection for Utilities can be made. Here, the Import option can be seen. Select it and then opt for IFF Files. This option comes in handy for importing Intuit Interchange Format files.
To learn how to import a budget into QuickBooks Enterprise one step at a time, please read the following:
- In “QuickBooks Enterprise”, select the menu named “File”.
- Now, go to “Utilities”.
- Ensure that you opt for “Import”.
- After this, pick “IFF Files”.
The Intuit Interchange Format file will be uploaded to the accounting software. With this, your budget will also be imported into QuickBooks Enterprise.
Summing up the Above
Even though there is no direct way to import a budget in the QB software, the methods given here showed how you can still do so. Making a template for your company’s budget and then uploading the same in QuickBooks is what we taught you. As a user of QB, QBE, QBO, and QBOA, you may not face any problems with respect to importing the budget in the future.
While running this Intuit software, you may often come across errors. The QuickBooks 6010 error may be witnessed by some of you. Along with this, you may also find the error message code 2107 in QuickBooks. See here how you can get rid of these issues.