How to Set the Reporting Basis and Budget Rollover
DRAFT - do not publish until this feature is live in production. Convert to HTML before posting to Intercom and insert screenshots at all placeholders. These two settings in the Accounting Settings...
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DRAFT - do not publish until this feature is live in production. Convert to HTML before posting to Intercom and insert screenshots at all placeholders.
These two settings in the Accounting Settings drawer control how URBI calculates and displays financial data by default.
Reporting Basis
What it is
The reporting basis determines whether income and expenses are recognized when they are earned or billed (Accrual) or when cash actually moves (Cash).
| Option | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Accrual | Revenue and expenses are recorded when incurred, regardless of when cash is received or paid. This is the standard for most property management operations and is the default in URBI. |
| Cash | Revenue and expenses are recorded only when cash is received or disbursed. Simpler, but may not meet audit or GAAP requirements. |
This setting is the default basis used by budget performance reports and financial reports across the property. Staff can still override the basis on individual reports without changing this setting.
Steps: Change the reporting basis
- Go to Property Settings, then click the Accounting tab.
- On the Accounting Settings card, click Manage.
- In the drawer, click Reporting Basis in the left tab rail.
- Use the segmented toggle to select Accrual or Cash.
- Click Save changes.
The Accounting Settings card on the Accounting tab will update to reflect the saved basis under the "Reporting" tile.
Budget Rollover
What it is
Budget rollover controls what happens to unspent budget on a line when a period closes.
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Carry surplus to next period | Unspent budget on a line carries forward into that line's next period within the same fiscal year. The carryover crystallizes when the period is closed, not before. |
| No rollover | Each period starts fresh. Unspent budget does not carry forward. |
Changing this setting only affects periods that close after the change. It does not retroactively adjust periods that have already been closed.
What carries, and what does not
- Categories carry too. Surplus held on a category, rather than on the individual accounts inside it, now carries forward along with everything else. It used to be left behind, which made a grouped budget's carryover look smaller than it was.
- Member accounts are not charged for their category's spending. An account that sits inside a category whose budget is held at category level is left out of the line-level carry, so it can no longer be handed a negative carryover for money it never held.
- Carry stays inside the fiscal year. Closing the last period of a fiscal year does not push surplus into the next year. Next year's budget starts from its own plan.
The carry has to be able to record itself
Crystallizing the carryover writes an entry to accounting history, captioned "Unspent budget carried into the next period". If that record cannot be written, the whole step is refused and nothing is carried, rather than moving budget with no trail behind it.
If closing a period fails at this step: nothing partial was written. Retry the close. If it keeps failing, contact URBI at hello@myurbi.co with the property and the period you were closing.
Steps: Change the budget rollover behavior
- Go to Property Settings, then click the Accounting tab.
- On the Accounting Settings card, click Manage.
- In the drawer, click Budget Rollover in the left tab rail. The setting is labelled Budget rollover mode.
- Select the radio card for your preferred behavior:
- Carry surplus to next period to roll unspent budget forward.
- No rollover to start each period fresh.
- Click Save changes.