Budget Reports
TimelyChurch's budgeting module supports three reports for any active or closed budget: a Variance Report, a Monthly Breakdown, and a printable Board Report PDF. All three are launched from the budget detail page.
For the underlying budget setup workflow (creating budgets, adding line items, fund linkage, status transitions), see the Accounting section of the knowledge base. This article focuses on the three reports.
Where to Find Them
- Go to Finances > Budgets.
- Click into the budget you want to report on.
- The action buttons on the budget detail page link to all three reports:
- Variance -- the on-screen variance dashboard
- Monthly Breakdown -- the per-month grid
- Board Report (PDF) -- the print-ready PDF
All three require finance access, and all three are scoped to your own church only.
Variance Report
Use this when you want a quick top-to-bottom check of how the budget is tracking right now.
What It Shows
- Per-line item variance -- For each budget line:
- Category and fund
- Type (income vs. expense)
- Planned amount
- Actual amount (sum of all matching transactions)
- Variance (planned minus actual, signed)
- Variance percent
- Status (favorable / unfavorable)
- Progress bar showing percent of planned spending used
- Income variance summary -- aggregate planned vs. actual for income lines.
- Expense variance summary -- aggregate planned vs. actual for expense lines.
- Overall variance -- the bottom-line health of the budget.
Year-to-Date Pace (Annual Budgets Only)
For annual budgets, the page also computes a year-to-date planned figure for both income and expense. It takes the total planned amount, divides it evenly across the 12 months, and multiplies by the number of months elapsed since the budget's start date through today (capped at 12). The year-to-date line lets you see whether actuals are ahead of or behind the straight-line monthly pace -- which matters most a few months into the year, before annual lumpy expenses (like insurance renewals) can muddy the picture.
If today falls outside the budget period (before the start date, or after the end date), no year-to-date figure is shown.
Budget Alert Banner
When the page loads, every expense line is also checked. If any expense line is at 90% or more of its planned amount, a warning is shown at the top of the page listing the affected categories. This catches "we burned through Office Supplies before September" before it surprises the board.
How to Read It
- All lines green: healthy. Skip to the summary numbers.
- One or two expense lines at 90%+ progress: investigate before they cross 100%. The variance percent shows how much room is left in dollars.
- Income running well below planned at year-to-date pace: giving is soft. Don't wait for year-end -- have the conversation now.
- Income variance favorable + expense variance favorable: under budget on both sides, often a good thing, but check whether ministry plans were paused.
Monthly Breakdown
Use this when you need to see timing, not just totals.
What It Shows
A grid with one row per budget item and one column per month in the budget period:
- Each cell shows that month's planned amount and actual amount. Cells where actual > planned are flagged so over-budget months pop visually.
- Planned per month is the total planned amount divided evenly across the number of months in the budget period. This is a simple straight-line allocation.
- Actual per month comes from the sum of transactions in the matching category (and fund, if the line is fund-restricted) dated in that month.
- Filter dropdown at the top: show Income only, Expense only, or Both (default).
- Summary row at the bottom of the grid: monthly totals (planned and actual) across all items.
- Grand totals at the far right: total planned and total actual for the entire budget period.
How to Read It
- An expense category that runs hot in early months: if actuals have already exceeded the straight-line plan in the first three months, expect later-month overruns unless spending changes.
- Lumpy expenses (insurance, conferences, equipment): these will look "over" in their actual month and "under" the rest of the year. That's expected -- focus on the grand total actual for those lines.
- Income flat by month: if pledged giving is being recorded but actuals are flat across months while plan grows, you may have a recording lag at month-end.
- Use the filter: switch to "Expense only" before a finance committee meeting -- expense overruns are typically what the meeting is about.
Tip: Monthly Breakdown is the best report for cash-flow planning. The variance report tells you whether you're over or under; the monthly grid tells you when to brace.
Board Report PDF
Use this when you need to print or email a clean, board-ready summary.
Clicking the link triggers an immediate PDF download -- there is no on-screen preview.
What It Includes
- Income items table -- one row per income line with category, fund, planned, actual, variance, variance percent.
- Expense items table -- same columns.
- Summary blocks for income, expense, and overall variance.
- Generation timestamp showing when the PDF was produced.
- Church branding (church name).
How to Use It
- Distribute to the board ahead of the meeting so members can pre-read.
- Archive monthly alongside the Treasurer's Report for board minutes.
- Audit trail -- the timestamp on each PDF lets you reconstruct what numbers were presented at a given meeting, even after later transactions change live variance numbers.
Tip: The Board Report PDF is a point-in-time snapshot. If you re-generate it next week, the numbers may differ as new transactions land. That's why archiving the actual PDF (rather than re-running it) is the right move for board minutes.
Permissions
All three reports require finance access. Treasurers and finance committee members typically have this access; other staff do not by default.