Load Budget Spreadsheets

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Overview of FW25

The DDI Connect system allows you to upload budgets that can be used to track against income and expenditures within the FundWriter/GL system. To upload your budget, you must first put it in the correct format. If you do not have an existing budget spreadsheet, you can generate one from the DDI Connect system that will put the spreadsheet in the appropriate format for DDI Connect. You can do this by running 48 Budget Spreadsheet


If you have an existing budget spreadsheet that you wish to use, please note:

  • The GL number must be present in the spreadsheet, so the system can match budget numbers to the correct GL number in the system. The import does not load the GL number - the system simply uses it for cross-referencing
  • If you are loading a single annual budget amount for each GL number, you will need one column for the GL number and a second for the budget
  • If your budget spreadsheet is broken out by month, you will need 13 columns at minimum - a column containing the GL number and a column for each individual period


To prepare your existing spreadsheet for loading into DDI-Connect, do the following:


  • Open your original spreadsheet:

Budget 1.png


  • Add a line at the TOP of the spreadsheet
  • In each column, type the column number (i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc.) This will allow the system to identify the data to import:


Budget 2.png


NOTE: The "number" line must be LEFT justified, or the system will not recognize the column numbers


  • Save the file using the sylk format:


Budget 3.png


You can have any columns in the spreadsheet that you wish. However, in order to import successfully, you need to make sure that:


  • The GL account is in a single column
    • If your budget spreadsheet lists accounts broken out by segments, you will need to combine them into a single column prior to importing
  • Each column containing data that you wish to import has a column number, so the system is able to locate and import the data


Now you are ready to upload into the DDI Connect system.


NOTE: The Load Budget Spreadsheets process will ONLY work with files that have the .slk extension. It will NOT upload .csv, .xls or .xlsx. If your budget is in excel format, open the file and do a Save As, then select the SYLK format


To upload the files to DDI-Connect:


  • From the DDI Connect main menu, double-click FundWriter
  • Double-click Administrative Tasks
  • Double-click Load Budget Spreadsheets. You will see this screen:


Budget 4 a.png


  • Enter the location and file name of the newly saved budget spreadsheet. (This file name just have a .SLK extension and should have been saved as a SYLK (Symbolic Link) file type
  • For the “Spreadsheet layout” option, choose whether your spreadsheet contains separate budget columns for each accounting period, or a single annual budget column for the entire year
  • For the “Budget figures to load” option, choose whether to load the working budget, the approved budget, or both. (In most cases you will want to select “Both”)
  • Enter the fiscal year for the budget you will be loading
  • Enter the spreadsheet column number that contains the G/L accounts
  • Enter the spreadsheet column number that contains the budget figures. If your spreadsheet has columns for each accounting period, enter the first (leftmost) budget column number. (Using the above example, the starting budget column is 3.)
  • Beside the line saying “Specify default account segments that do not appear in the spreadsheet”, click on the ‘clear’ button
  • The G/L account segments are normally left blank, unless the G/L accounts in the budget spreadsheets are missing one or more G/L account segments. As an example of how this feature might be used, you could create a budget spreadsheet template that omits the “Department” segment from the G/L accounts, having each department create their own budget spreadsheet based on this template. When loading these spreadsheets, you would enter the appropriate department number in the “Department” segment prior clicking “Load” for each spreadsheet.


Your screen should now look something like this:


Budget 4.png


If everything looks correct, click on the load button


After you have loaded a budget, you can run FW32 (Income Statement Report) to see what has been loaded:


Budget 5.png


  • Select ‘current period and working budget’
  • Enter the beginning and ending dates of the period
  • Comparison method = Variance
  • Select 5 of the 7 check boxes
    • The only boxes not checked are ‘Print zero balances accounts’ and ‘round figures to the nearest dollar’
  • Click on ‘clear’ to clear previously entered G/L segments
  • Start the report
  • Examine the grand total value in the YTD Budget column
  • Compare this amount to the total expected from the spreadsheet
    • If these 2 amounts are the same, the budget for this office and department was entered successfully
    • If these 2 amounts do not match, it is possible a G/L account included in the spreadsheet does not exist in the DDI-Connect system
  • Compare the G/L account numbers on the report against the G/L account
  • Add any missing G/L’s to DDI-Connect, along with their budget amount
  • If there are no missing G/L’s, examine the totals in the spreadsheet to make sure they were added correctly


If the FW25 Load Budget Spreadsheets program needs to be re-run for an office-department-restriction class, contact DDI support.

  • Repeat steps 10 thru 35 for all columns containing budget information in the spreadsheet
    • For each iteration, make the appropriate adjustment to the Starting Budget Column
    • For each iteration, make the appropriate adjustment for the Department


Repeat all of the above steps for each spreadsheet containing budget information

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