Budget and payments

The composite budget is the ceiling on everything the assembly spends. Nothing leaves the bank without a voucher, and no voucher can exceed its line.

The composite budget

Each budget line ties a department to an activity, an account code and a funding source, with an approved amount for the year. The page shows approved, actual and available side by side, with a bar that turns amber past 70% and red past 90%.

Raising a payment voucher

A voucher records who is being paid, for what, against which budget line, from which fund and which bank account. Enter the gross amount; withholding tax and any other deduction are taken off to give the net payable.

The budget check happens before the voucher is saved. If the line does not have the money, the system refuses the voucher rather than letting it travel to an approver who would have to catch the problem by eye.

The route a voucher takes

1. Draft — raised against a budget line.
2. Checked — the budget officer confirms funds are available.
3. Approved — the coordinating director authorises payment.
4. Paid — cheque or transfer released, and the reference recorded.

A voucher can be rejected at any stage with a reason, which stays on the record. The trail on the voucher page names the officer at each step.

Journals and the trial balance

Journal entries are double entry. An entry that does not balance cannot be posted — the Post button is replaced by an "out of balance" flag until the lines agree. The trial balance is built from posted entries only, so it is a statement of what is on the books rather than what someone intended.