From Roll-Ups to What-Ifs: What to Look for in Budgeting Tools for Associations

Here are four key areas to consider during your search and evaluation of the accounting software options. We’ll explore each of these topics in more detail in a series of blogs.

1. Fund Accounting
2. Reporting
3. Allocations
4. Budgeting and Encumbrances

Budgeting for associations is more than just entering numbers into a spreadsheet. From dues and events to payroll and restricted programs, your budgeting tools should support real-time visibility, flexible planning, and accountability across your organization. 

Whether you’re building a budget collaboratively or tracking performance against plan, the right accounting solution should make the process easier—not more fragmented. 

If your association is exploring a new cloud-based accounting platform, here are some key budgeting-related questions to ask during your evaluation: 

Budgeting Questions to Consider: 

• Is budgeting managed within the accounting software, or in a separate tool? 
• If a separate tool is used, does it integrate seamlessly with your accounting platform? How? 
• Can program or department leaders access the budgeting tool without needing access to the full accounting system? 
• Is there a task-driven process (due dates, milestones) to manage the budgeting cycle? 
• Does the solution support department-level budgets and roll them up to an organization-wide budget? 
• Is there a built-in review and approval workflow? 
• Can you prepopulate budget templates using prior year actuals or budgets, with mass updates or calculations? 
• Can annual budgets be split into monthly or quarterly figures automatically? 
• How detailed can you get? For example, can you build payroll budgets at the employee level? 
• Can the system automatically add related cost components, like benefits or taxes, based on payroll assumptions? 
• Can you maintain multiple budgets (e.g., by program, by fiscal year, or spanning multiple years)? 
• Does the platform support non-standard budget periods, like program years that cross fiscal years? 
• Can users select which dimensions or segments (fund, department, grant, etc.) are included in the budget? 
• Does the system track original budgets and revisions separately for clear reporting and audit trails? 
• Are what-if scenarios supported, so you can model different funding or cost assumptions? 
• How are budgets modified, and is there clear version tracking? 
• What visibility do budget-only users have into accounting data? 
• Can users drill into historical actuals, see past budgets, and compare by category or GL account? 
• Do users have access to real-time budget vs. actual reports throughout the year? 
• Are there built-in alerts or restrictions when spending exceeds the available budget? 
• Does the system validate budgets at multiple stages, such as requisitions, POs, and invoices? 
• Does the system consider commitments and encumbrances when determining the available budget?

Need Budgeting Tools Built for the Way Associations Operate? 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for Associations—along with our HEADSTART for Associations approach—offers flexible, cloud-based budgeting that empowers your team, enforces accountability, and makes collaboration across departments easy. 

Let’s talk about how you can bring more structure and insight to your budgeting process.