Why Budget

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Hi experts!

I am wondering why Budget is MINUS in the Finacial Reports Matrix, even if the number is PLUS in the chart of account in G/L?
I am afread "Budg" - Actual" = - 150000 which I hope that "+50000 - 100000 = -50000"!

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Dynamics 365 Business Central

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EO-15071029-0 137 on at

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Hi,

Thats because of the income account, income in credit, so it's minus. That's not because of the budget.

Check sign of posted budget entries for Income account (may be you need to change it's sign)

Actrual Income in Credit too, so it's with minus too, although it's positive in Fin.reports (you ticket the box Show Opposite Sign).

Thats why "Budg" - Actual" = - 50 000 + (- 100 000) = - 150 000

You need to plan with the signs in Fin. report and budget entries.

And be carefully when you do it for expenses.

If you send printscreens of budget entry, fin.report row and coloumn definition, I try to help you with that.

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Jeffrey Bulanadi 8,760 on at

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Hi,

It can be confusing when budget values appear negative in the Financial Reports Matrix, even though they’re positive in the Chart of Accounts or G/L Budget setup.

Here’s what’s happening:

BC follows accounting sign conventions in its reports:

Income accounts are treated as credits, so they display as negative values

Expense accounts are treated as debits, so they display as positive values

This applies to both actuals and budgets when shown in matrix-style reports

In your example:

Budget = +50,000 (entered as income) → displayed as -50,000

Actual = 100,000 (income) → displayed as -100,000

So the formula Budget - Actual = -150,000 is mathematically correct under this convention

If you want the report to reflect your expected logic (+50,000 - 100,000 = -50,000), you can:

Use the “Show Opposite Sign” toggle in the Financial Reports Matrix

Adjust the row definition to reverse signs for income accounts

Create a custom layout using Analysis Views or Account Schedules with tailored sign behavior

Helpful references:

Financial Reporting Overview – Microsoft Learn
Understanding Budget vs. Actual Analysis – Prudence Consulting
Troubleshooting G/L Budget Issues – EBS Blog
Managing Budgets in BC – Stoneridge Software

If you find this helpful, feel free to mark this as the suggested or verified answer.

Cheers
Jeffrey

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Mansi Soni 8,911 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hello,
The reason the Budget value appears as negative (-50,000) in the Financial Report Matrix is due to the Negative Amount Format and row setup in your Financial Reporting. In Business Central, income accounts (like sales) typically have a credit nature, so when budgeting positive revenue, it's entered as positive in G/L, but shown as negative in reports to follow the accounting convention of revenue being a credit.

Hence, your formula:
Budget (-50,000) - Actual (100,000) = -150,000
is correct per standard BC logic, even though the G/L shows +50,000.

To align the display with your expectation, you can:
Change the Row Definition to invert sign (by setting a * -1 formula), or
Adjust the Show Opposite Sign setting in the Account Schedule.
This is standard behavior, not a data issue.

https://gosupport.akoyago.com/knowledgebase/article/KA-01419/en-us
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/bi-how-work-account-schedule

Hope this answer will help you as well!

Regards,
Mansi Soni

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Sohail Ahmed 11,150 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi! Great question.

In Financial Reports matrix (like account schedules or financial reports in BC), Budget values often show as negative for expenses, because the system uses sign conventions:

Income (revenue) is usually positive

Expenses (costs) are shown as negative, so when calculating Budget - Actual, the math works logically.

So your example:

If Budget is +50,000 (expense), and Actual is 100,000 (expense), it will show:

-50,000 = (-50,000) – (-100,000) → which reflects you're over budget by 50,000.

Check if your row definitions or signs in the financial report need adjusting, especially under Show Opposite Sign or Row Type.

✅ Mark this answer as verified if it helps you.

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