Creating and Viewing Periodic Budgets

📌 Setting Up a Periodic Budget

1️⃣ Find & Access the Matter

• Locate the relevant matter in Brightflag.
• Click into the Matter Overview Page.

2️⃣ Navigate to the Budgets Tab

• Go to the Budgets tab for that matter.

3️⃣ Add or Edit a Budget

• If no budget exists, click Add a Budget.
• If a budget already exists, click Edit Budgets to modify or delete it.

4️⃣ Select the Budget Type

• Choose one of the following budget styles:
  ✔ Monthly Budget
  ✔ Fiscal Quarter Budget (FQ)
  ✔ Fiscal Year Budget (FY)

5️⃣ Set the Budget Duration

• Select a Start Month and End Month.

6️⃣ Enter Budget Details

• Set a budget total (optional: leave blank to build the budget manually).
• Ensure the matter currency is correct. If not, update it on the Matter Details Page before proceeding.

7️⃣ Set an Unassigned Budget (Optional)

• This acts as an internal buffer (not visible to vendors).
• If not needed, set it to $0 or 0%.

8️⃣ Review & Confirm

• Click Next to proceed.
• The non-unassigned portion of your budget will be evenly split across vendors.
• Adjust vendor totals by clicking a cell, entering a new amount, and clicking the ✔ (tick) button.
• To distribute different amounts per month, click Breakdown to expand the view and edit the cells.
• If you need to reset changes, click Reset Changes at the bottom of the grid.

9️⃣ Adjust Budget Periods (Optional)

• Click Add FY, FQ, or Month to extend the budget duration.
• Note: You cannot add a period to the start of the budget—to do this, you must delete and recreate the budget.
• Click Remove FY, FQ, or Month to delete the latest period.
• If a specific period will have no spend, enter $0 instead of removing it.

🔹 Save & Finalize the Budget

• Click Save in the top right corner.
• Enter an internal comment (logged in the Budget Changes Table, visible internally only).
• Click Confirm Changes.

📢 Note: Vendors will not be notified when you set or modify the budget. They will only see their allocated portion.

✏️ Editing a Periodic Budget

1️⃣ Access the Budget

• Navigate to the Budgets tab of the matter.
• Click Edit Budgets.

2️⃣ Modify Budget Details

• Adjust vendor allocations, monthly totals, or other budget elements as needed.

3️⃣ Delete a Budget (If Necessary)

• A budget can be entirely deleted if required.
• Deleted budgets will still be logged in the Budget Changes Grid for reference.

❓ FAQs

Q: Should I update my budget regularly?

Yes! As a matter progresses, we recommend adjusting the budget to reflect new information. Over time, reduce the unassigned budget to $0 as risks and unknowns decrease. This ensures that budgets remain accurate and do not continually increase as the matter develops.

Q: Which date types are used for budget charts?

Pending and approved figures in budget charts can be based on:
✔ Invoice Dates (when the invoice was issued).
✔ Billing Period Dates (the period during which the work was performed).