> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.optimazehq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Budgets

> Create a budget set on your Financial Operating Model, set the envelope and alerts, and track spend against it.

A budget in OPTIMAZE follows the shape of your business rather than the shape of your bill. You create a **budget set** on your Financial Operating Model, set an envelope for the root, and the nodes beneath it carry their own budgets inside that envelope, so a team's budget and the company's budget are the same structure viewed at different heights.

## Before you start

* A [Financial Operating Model](https://docs.optimazehq.com/attribution.md) with at least the nodes you want to budget against.
* To send alerts to Slack, a connected Slack integration (**Data** > **Integrations** > **Slack**).

## The Budgets page

Under **Planning**, select **Budgets**. Each budget set is shown as a tree that follows your model, the set at the top and a row for each node beneath it, with its **Reporting entity**, **Details**, **Usage** against the envelope and **Status**. Select a row to open and edit it. Use **Collapse all** to fold the tree, the search box to find a set, and **Export** to download the list.

![Budgets page showing a budget set as a tree of nodes with usage bars and statuses](https://mintcdn.com/optimaze/1GorH5batRwM9XiF/images/console/budgets-list.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=1GorH5batRwM9XiF\&q=85\&s=205daf5ca7dd42f23bdba7fdd1123a5b)

| Status | Meaning |
| :- | :- |
| **Within Budget** | Spend is tracking below the envelope |
| **At Risk** | Spend is approaching the envelope |
| **Forecasted Above** | Spend is forecast to exceed the envelope this period |

## Create a budget set

Select **Create Budget**. The wizard has four steps.

**1. Scope**

Choose the **Operating model** the set follows. Each model can have one budget set, so models that already have one are not listed. The **Budget Preview** shows spend for the model root over the selected **Time Period**, a daily trend, and a suggested limit based on recent spend.

**2. Schedule**

Choose how the budget period works:

* **Recurring**: monthly, quarterly or yearly periods. Pick the **Time period**.
* **Fixed window**: a labelled date range, with an optional breakdown, for a one-off programme or project.

**3. Set budget envelope**

Enter the envelope for the root, in USD. Select **Apply suggested limit** to use the figure OPTIMAZE suggests from recent spend.

**4. Budget settings**

* **Set name** and **Owner**.
* **Notification recipients**: add members, email addresses (**Add email**) or a Slack channel (**Add Slack channel**). At least one is required.
* **Notification frequency**: **On Breach** sends an alert when a threshold is crossed. You can instead send a summary **Hourly**, **Daily**, **Weekly**, **Monthly**, **Quarterly** or **Yearly**.
* **Notification thresholds (%)**: three thresholds default to 80%, 90% and 100% of the envelope. The preview shows the dollar value of each against current spend.

Select **Create set**.

![Create Budget wizard on the Scope step, with the Operating model field](https://mintcdn.com/optimaze/1GorH5batRwM9XiF/images/console/budgets-create-scope.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=1GorH5batRwM9XiF\&q=85\&s=57de0ee8676555ed4352f9a16a1d467e)

## Budgets on nodes and sub-models

Child budgets inherit their setup from the set, and you can set budgets on [sub-models](https://docs.optimazehq.com/attribution/editing-models.md#add-a-sub-model) as well as on the parent model. If a sub-model's envelope is larger than its parent's, OPTIMAZE shows a warning but still saves it, so you can plan an overrun deliberately.

## When the model changes

Budgets follow nodes on the published model. If a model change removes a node that has a budget, the publish confirmation lists it and publishing archives the budget. See [Edit and publish a model](https://docs.optimazehq.com/attribution/editing-models.md#publish).

## Troubleshooting

* **Add Slack channel is greyed out.** Connect Slack first, under **Data** > **Integrations**.
* **The operating model list is empty.** Budget sets need a Financial Operating Model. See [Attribution](https://docs.optimazehq.com/attribution.md).


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