# Zoho Books budget vs actual for a group: what works and what does not

> What Zoho's help centre says about budgets and Budget vs Actuals, what it does not describe for a group, and a worked month showing how much of a variance is only the currency.

Source: https://finconsol.com/blog/zoho-books-budget-vs-actual-for-a-group/ (updated 18 November 2026)

## In short

Zoho Books compares a budget with actuals well inside one organization, on the Premium plan and above. Zoho's help page does not describe a view across organizations or a budget in several currencies, so a group of companies has to export each one and combine them elsewhere, with the rates and eliminations done by hand.

Key takeaways

- **Inside one organization it works.** Budget vs Actuals covers Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow.
- **For a group, Zoho's page is silent.** It does not describe a group view, currency handling or a budget across organizations.
- **Fix budget rates and split the variance.** Part of a foreign subsidiary's gap is the currency, not the company.
- **Eliminate before you compare.** A budget with intercompany sales in it is not the group's budget.

Checked against Zoho's help centre on 29 Oct 2026. Plan details are as Zoho's comparison page listed them on that day. This post is part of the series that starts with [Group budgeting for multi-company groups: the complete guide](/blog/group-budgeting-for-multi-company-groups/).

## What does Zoho Books budget vs actual do?

Zoho's budgets help page describes a clear sequence[1](#src-1). You pick a fiscal year and a period: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. You choose the accounts, income and expense by default, with asset, liability and equity accounts available by an option. Amounts can be typed in, pre-filled from the previous year's actuals, or auto-filled from the first period by a fixed amount, an adjustment amount or a percentage. The page says budgets can be edited at any time.

Under Accountant, Budgets, *View Budget Vs Actuals* compares the budget with the Profit and Loss, the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement. You can choose accrual or cash basis, a period and a date range. The budget column covers whole months while the actuals use the exact dates chosen. If the budgeted assets do not equal liabilities plus equity, Zoho Books adds a Budget Mismatch Account in equity so the statement balances. The summary exports to PDF, XLS or XLSX.

A budget can also be created for a specific reporting tag. Zoho's plan comparison lists Budgeting on Premium, Elite and Ultimate, and not on Free, Standard or Professional[2](#src-2).

## What does the page not describe?

Three things that matter to a group. The page does not address currency, so it does not say which currency a budget is held in or how it is compared when a company trades in several. It does not describe consolidating budgets across organizations. And it does not mention a second budget version for the same year or a latest estimate. A community question asks whether one budget can cover several reporting tags[3](#src-3); the thread we saw contains the question only.

None of this means Zoho Books cannot do it. It means the help centre, on the day we checked, does not say that it can. Zoho ERP is a different product with its own budget documentation and is not covered here.

## What does the gap look like for a group?

Take September 2026 revenue for four companies in the example group. Each budgeted in its own currency, and the group fixed these budget rates when it approved the year: USD 0.7600, AED 0.2050 and EUR 0.8500. Actuals are translated at the September average rates, as the [average rate](/blog/glossary/average-rate/) is used for profit and loss[4](#src-4).

*Exhibit 1. Revenue, September 2026, budget against actual before eliminationsGBP*

| Company | Budget | Actual | Variance | of which rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ZenvaraGBP 600,000 budget, GBP 625,000 actual | 600,000 | 625,000 | 25,000 | 0 |
| FernhollowUSD 480,000 at 0.7600; actual USD 460,000 at 0.7540 | 364,800 | 346,840 | (17,960) | (2,760) |
| PalmridgeAED 4,500,000 at 0.2050; actual AED 4,800,000 at 0.2025 | 922,500 | 972,000 | 49,500 | (12,000) |
| QuillfernEUR 650,000 at 0.8500; actual EUR 700,000 at 0.8450 | 552,500 | 591,500 | 39,000 | (3,500) |
| Group, before eliminations | 2,439,800 | 2,535,340 | 95,540 | (18,260) |

Example group used across Finconsol guides. The budget figures and budget rates are illustrations. The rate column is the actual local amount multiplied by the difference between the average rate and the budget rate. Figures rounded to the pound.

The group is GBP 95,540 ahead of budget on revenue. The picture inside it is less even. Palmridge sold AED 300,000 more than planned, worth GBP 61,500 at the budget rate, but the dirham slipped against the pound and cost GBP 12,000 of that. Fernhollow is GBP 17,960 behind, of which GBP 2,760 is the dollar and the rest is volume. Without the rate column, the Palmridge result looks about 20% weaker than the manager's own performance.

The volume effect is the change in local amount at the budget rate: 300,000 AED at 0.2050 is 61,500. The rate effect is the actual amount times the rate difference: 4,800,000 at (0.2025 less 0.2050) is (12,000). The two add to Palmridge's 49,500.

## What can a group do in Zoho Books today?

A group can still use what Zoho describes. A workable routine with the documented features:

1. Create the budget in each organization, in its base currency, on the same chart and the same months.
2. Run Budget vs Actuals in each organization and export the result to XLS or XLSX.
3. Combine the exports in a spreadsheet: translate at the group's rates, remove the sales between companies, and add the lines.
4. Keep the original budget and add the latest estimate as a separate sheet, because the page does not describe two versions in one year.

This works for two or three companies. It breaks when the exports differ in layout, when somebody forgets an intercompany line, or when the rate on the sheet is not the rate in the group accounts. It also depends on a person, not a report.

Using reporting tags in a single organization to stand for companies is sometimes suggested. It puts all companies into one ledger, one currency and one chart, which loses the separate books each company needs. It is a way to slice one company, not to build a group.

## How does Finconsol handle this?

Finconsol reads Zoho Books directly, read only, with a nightly refresh, so the group actuals are the same figures the companies booked. Companies on Xero or QuickBooks come in by [trial balance](/blog/glossary/trial-balance/) upload today, with direct connections coming soon, and any other system comes in by trial balance.

A budget or latest estimate can be uploaded per company, as a CSV with months across or one row for each line and month, or typed into a grid. With no group plan, the group budget is the sum of the companies' plans. Every line then shows actual, budget, variance and variance %, marked ahead or behind, for the month and the year to date. A year can hold several versions, and one is active for the board.

**In Finconsol**[How group budgeting works →](https://finconsol.com/group-budgeting/)

******Budget against actual, Sep 2026, GBPBudget 2026

| Company | Budget | Actual | Variance | Against plan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zenvara | 600,000 | 625,000 | 25,000 | 4.2% ahead |
| Fernhollow | 364,800 | 346,840 | (17,960) | 4.9% behind |
| Palmridge | 922,500 | 972,000 | 49,500 | 5.4% ahead |
| Quillfern | 552,500 | 591,500 | 39,000 | 7.1% ahead |
| Group | 2,439,800 | 2,535,340 | 95,540 | 3.9% ahead |

*The same four companies as Exhibit 1. The split of each variance into volume and rate is the calculation shown above.*

Budget columns can be added to your own report layouts and board packs, so the comparison is part of the monthly report. The [group budget template](/blog/resources/group-budget-template/) shows the layout in Excel.

## Questions

**Can Zoho Books show budget vs actual for several organizations at once?**

Zoho's budgets help page, checked 29 Oct 2026, describes the Budget Vs Actuals report for an organization and does not describe a view across organizations. A group can export each organization's report and combine them in a spreadsheet.

**Is Zoho Books budget vs actual on every plan?**

Zoho's plan comparison, opened 29 Oct 2026, lists Budgeting on Premium, Elite and Ultimate and marks it unavailable on Free, Standard and Professional. Plans change, so check the page before you buy.

**Why does my Budget vs Actuals total not match my budget?**

One documented cause is the Budget Mismatch Account: if the budgeted assets do not equal liabilities plus equity, Zoho Books adds an equity account to balance them. Another is that the budget column uses whole months while the actuals use exact dates.

**Should a group compare actuals with budget at actual or budget rates?**

Translate actuals at the actual rates and budget at fixed budget rates, then show the rate effect as its own line, as in Exhibit 1. That keeps the variance from mixing the company's performance with the currency's.

## Sources

## Sources

1. Zoho Books, [Budgets](https://www.zoho.com/books/help/accountant/budgets.html). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
2. Zoho Books, [Pricing comparison](https://www.zoho.com/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html). Budgeting row. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
3. Zoho Community, [Zoho Books budget creation and reporting tags](https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/zoho-books-budget-creation-and-reporting-tags). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
4. IAS 21 [The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates](https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ias-21-the-effects-of-changes-in-foreign-exchange-rates/), paragraphs 39 and 40.