Import an existing budget from Financial Dashboard → Import Tools, section Budgets & Actuals. That is the same importer mapped on Import Tools (Financials).
After import, the budget is saved as a Draft. Activate it under Financial Dashboard → Budgets. You can also build a budget by hand with Create Budget. See Budgets in Vlge.
What “Accounts” means
In this importer, accounts are rows on your Chart of Accounts (income and expense categories), not bank accounts.
File shape
First column: category (Revenue / Expenses) and account names. Revenue first, then expenses.
Period columns for the year you are loading (monthly, quarterly, or annual headers the importer can read).
Subtotals are acceptable; they are checked against the lines.
Expenses may be positive or negative — the importer detects the format.
Remove variance columns, “vs last year” columns, and free-text notes columns before you upload.
Open Import Tools and expand Budgets & Actuals.
Click Start Import and upload your file (a template is available on that card).
Review AI mappings against your Chart of Accounts. Create a missing account only if you intend to keep that name going forward.
Confirm the import. Open Budgets and activate the draft when the numbers are right.
What happens to imported actuals
If your file includes actual columns, those amounts are saved as imported history. The Income Statement and Budget vs Actuals reports use them for any month you imported, in place of whatever is (or isn’t) in the general ledger for those months. Monthly and quarterly columns are used; quarterly amounts are spread evenly across their three months. Annual-only actuals are used only when no monthly detail exists for that account.
If you have already posted Opening Balances, the importer tells you when it finishes whether the opening entry still agrees with the new year-to-date net income. If it does not, re-run Opening Balances and choose Recognize year-to-date income from your imported actuals so the Balance Sheet picks up the new totals.