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Budget Season Readiness Checklist

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Shelley Labrecque
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How to prepare, build, and approve association budgets across your portfolio.

This guide is designed as a planning and reference companion for budget season. For step-by-step walkthroughs, detailed screenshots, and additional context on any topic covered here, visit the linked Vantaca Knowledgebase articles throughout the guide, or browse the full library at support.vantaca.com.

Contents

1. Gather Your Data

Before building the budget, gather the financial data your team and boards will need. We recommend starting at least 90 days before the fiscal year begins to allow time for vendor bids, reserve study updates, and insurance renewal quotes.

Reports to Pull

  • Budget Spread Report for budgeted vs. actual with variances.
  • Annual Budget Comparison to compare current, prior, and next year side by side.
  • Cash Forecast Report for projected year-end figures including an Annualized column.

External Data to Collect

  • Reserve studies and capital project timelines.
  • Vendor contracts and known pricing changes.
  • Insurance renewal quotes from the broker.
  • Utility rate change notices and any pending litigation or special projects.

Learn more: Types of Reports

Learn more: Financial Overview Report

 

2. Build the Budget

Prerequisites

Verify the fiscal year start month in Association > Settings and confirm all GL accounts you plan to budget against are marked as Used on Association > GL Accounts.

Entering the Budget

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Budget. Select the Association, Fund, and Fiscal Year.
    Fiscal year rule: Budgets are determined by the starting month. October 2026 = the 2026 screen, not 2027.
  2. For even monthly expenses, enter the total in the Annual column. For seasonal or one-time costs, leave Annual at zero and enter amounts per month.
  3. Add missing GL accounts using New GL.
    Once the budget is approved, the non-budgeted GLs will no longer display on the budget screen.
  4. Click Save Changes when finished. It is recommended to save often, as any unsaved work will be lost if you navigate away from this page.

Important: The main budget grid only shows line items with existing budget values. However, when building next year's budget, the budget screen includes a separate section labeled "Non-Budgeted GLs with Activity from Prior Year" that surfaces income and expense GL accounts with prior year activity that are not yet included in the budget. Review this section carefully when building each association's budget so you can identify GL accounts that may need to be added. You do not need to include zero-dollar GL accounts; unbudgeted transactions will still post normally and appear on your income statement.

 

Why Is a GL Missing from My Income Statement?

The income statement will only populate GL accounts that are budgeted and/or have GL activity in the current fiscal year. If a GL is missing from the income statement, it means the GL has no budget entered for the current fiscal year and there is no GL activity posted against it in the current fiscal year. To resolve this, either add a budget amount for that GL on the Accounting > Budget screen or confirm the expected transaction has been posted. This is one of the most common questions during and after budget season, and catching it early prevents confusion when boards review financials.

 

Import vs. Manual Entry

  • Budget import: Reads GL Account number, annual amount, and monthly breakdown. GL must match a Used GL.
  • Budget import (new associations): Also creates GL accounts and updates descriptions. Both GL Account and Description are required.
  • Navigate to Settings > Import. Make sure to perform only one import per fund.
  • Always use Replace mode when importing for the next year to avoid duplicating lines from the automatic rollover.

Tip: The budget screen includes three export modes under the Export button. Export without Totals exports budget data excluding the totals row, which is useful for sharing raw line items with boards or accountants. Export to Excel exports the complete budget including totals to a spreadsheet for review or external analysis. Export for Import exports in a format that matches the import template, so you can modify the file externally and reimport it. This is particularly useful for bulk percentage adjustments across many line items.

Learn more: Budgets

Learn more: Importing Budgets

 

3. Board Review and Approval

Budget Set Up Action Type

This action type tracks where each association stands in the approval process without changing the budget itself. Steps include Create Budget, Budget Proposal (sends the Proposed Annual Budget report to the board), Board Review, Accountant Finalize Budget, and Budget Complete. Filter All Action Items by Budget Set Up to see portfolio wide status at a glance.

Approving in Vantaca

  1. After board approval, navigate to Accounting > Budget and click Approve Budget.
  2. Run the Approved Annual Budget report to verify figures match what the board authorized.
  3. If changes are needed after approval, click Unapprove Budget, edit, and re-approve. Document why. There is no dedicated change log on the Budget screen, so document the reason for the change in one of the following locations:
    • Use the Notes column on the budget line item itself. Each GL line supports notes directly on the Accounting > Budget screen, making this the most visible place to capture what changed and why.
    • If your team is using the Budget Set Up action type, add a comment or update to the action item, so the change is tracked in the workflow history.
    • For changes that affect the board narrative, update the Accounting Note or Manager Note in Management > Financial Overview so the explanation carries through to the Financial Overview Report.

Learn more: Budget Set Up Action Type

 

4. Post Approval

  1. Calculate new assessment rates from the approved budget.
  2. Enter updated rates in Association > Assessments. Click the dropdown next to the charge and select New Rule to configure billing rules.
  3. Run the Billing Report after assessments post for the first time to verify charges applied correctly.
  4. Draft homeowner communications for any rate changes. Include effective date, new amount, and what drove the change.
  5. Remind homeowners on Vantaca Pay recurring schedules to update payment amounts (Pay Full Balance users adjust automatically).
  6. Verify fiscal year start month in Association > Settings.
  7. Confirm all GL accounts are marked as Used and included in GL Groups.
  8. Run the Budget by Fund report and check the Financial Summary screen for out of balance conditions.

Important: After the budget is approved, review and update any recurring reserve transfers and recurring GL entries to reflect the new budgeted amounts. These entries do not adjust automatically when a new budget is approved. If they are not updated, the recurring amounts will continue posting at the prior year's figures, which creates variance against the new budget from the first month of the fiscal year.

Learn more: How to Set Up a New Charge or Assessment

Learn more: How to Set Up Assessment Rules

 

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid This Why It Hurts
Wrong fiscal year on budget screenBudget will not appear on the income statement. The fiscal year is determined by the starting month.
Missing non budgeted GL accountsBudget screen only shows line items with values. Add them via New GL so variance reports stay honest.
Append instead of Replace on reimportDuplicates every line from the predictive rollover. Always use Replace mode.
Not clicking Approve BudgetReports show Proposed status. The Approved Annual Budget report only pulls approved data.
Approving before the board has votedOnce approved, it is the official version. Wait for board confirmation.
Updating assessments before approvalRate changes should wait until the budget is finalized and approved.
Skipping verification reportsThe Approved Annual Budget and Budget by Fund reports catch errors before they hit billing.
Not verifying GL Groups after adding new GLsGLs not included in a Group will not pull into reports, causing balance sheet discrepancies.
GL missing from income statement after budget seasonThe income statement only shows GLs that are budgeted and/or have activity. No budget + no activity = the GL will not appear.

Learn more: Why Is My Budget Not Showing on My Income Statement?

 

6. Budget Season Checklist

Phase 1: Data Gathering

  • ☐ Budget Spread Report, Annual Budget Comparison, and Cash Forecast Report pulled.
  • ☐ Financial Overview Report pulled (after Management > Financial Overview setup).
  • ☐ Reserve studies, vendor contracts, insurance quotes, and utility rate notices collected.
  • ☐ Fiscal year start month verified in Association > Settings.

Phase 2: Budget Building

  • ☐ Budget entered for each association and fund with correct fiscal year selected.
  • ☐ Monthly allocations set for non-uniform expenses (annual column left at zero).
  • ☐ New GL accounts added via New GL and saved. GL Groups verified.
  • ☐ Reserve fund contributions budgeted per reserve study. Budget notes updated.

Phase 3: Board Approval

  • ☐ Budget proposal sent to board via Budget Set Up action item or custom workflow.
  • ☐ Board review and vote completed.
  • ☐ Approve Budget clicked in Vantaca. Approved Annual Budget report verified.

Phase 4: Post Approval

  • ☐ New assessment rates calculated and entered in Association > Assessments.
  • ☐ Billing Report run to verify assessments charged correctly.
  • ☐ Rate change communications sent. Recurring payment homeowners notified.
  • ☐ Budget by Fund report verified. Financial Summary screen reviewed.

 

7. Helpful Articles

 

Questions? Feel free to reach out to your Vantaca Support team, or visit support.vantaca.com for the full knowledge base.

 

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