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Can't delete budget categories under "Budget:Misc" because they have balances?

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:52 am
by nathangg
I am trying to delete two old categories under the "Budget:Miscellaneous" category because we aren't using them anymore.

However, I'm getting an error message:

The category has one more more non-zero balances and cannot be made inactive until all balances are zero.

Balance(s) found:
${my balance}

Before MLS 3.3.1 I would transferred money out of this category into a different category.

But now that we have MLS 3.3.1, the Budget:* categories no longer show up on the Income and Expense report and I'm not sure which categories have balances and which ones done.

Should I just transfer the amount the error message is showing me? Or is there a better way with MLS 3.3.1?

Should I also try to figure out these hidden balances of all my budget categories and transfer the money out of them?

I guess I understood things 99.9% using the transfers and income and expense report... but now with MLS 3.3.1 I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around this again.

Thanks~!
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:21 am
by hjohanson
I also transferred funds into the Budget Allocation "sub" categories (Bishopric, Primary, RS, YM, YW) and now cannot pull a detailed Income and Expense report to see how much is in each.

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:36 pm
by aebrown
nathangg wrote:Should I just transfer the amount the error message is showing me? Or is there a better way with MLS 3.3.1?

Yes, if you want to inactivate a category you are no longer using, just transfer the amount shown in the error message to or from that budget subcategory to bring its balance to zero. I'm sure that's why the amount is shown to you.

If there is no activity in 2011 in that subcategory, it is best to date your transfer 31 Dec 2010 so that the transfer will not appear on any 2011 reports. If there has been activity in 2011, then I would recommend that you wait until 31 Dec 2011 to clear out the category balance.
nathangg wrote:Should I also try to figure out these hidden balances of all my budget categories and transfer the money out of them?

No, that is a waste of time now that we are on 3.3.1 and the reporting on Budget categories is done with the Budget Report. For that report, beginning balances as the Income and Expense Report used to show are basically irrelevant -- except for the situation you have just come across. But you only need to deal with that for a particular category as you need to inactivate it.
hjohanson wrote:I also transferred funds into the Budget Allocation "sub" categories (Bishopric, Primary, RS, YM, YW) and now cannot pull a detailed Income and Expense report to see how much is in each.
You really don't need to know that information for Budget categories -- the relevant amount that is in each is the budget allocation less the amount spent this year.

Re: Can't delete budget categories under "Budget:Misc" becau

Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:07 am
by milleju
aebrown wrote:Yes, if you want to inactivate a category you are no longer using, just transfer the amount shown in the error message to or from that budget subcategory to bring its balance to zero. I'm sure that's why the amount is shown to you.
Transfer to or from where?

Re: Can't delete budget categories under "Budget:Misc" becau

Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:21 am
by davesudweeks
From elsewhere in the ward budget. I would recommend you confer with the Bishop for his direction on where the amount would "come from" or "go to." When I was Ward Clerk, the Bishop had an "administration" budget line for things such as Clerk Office supplies, unplanned events, etc.