Budget vs. Actual Dollars
Budget dollars are estimates of future expenditures within a particular account code combination (accounts). Budget dollars can be transferred to and from other accounts via the budget transfer process. A budget account cannot be reduced to less than $0, so it is important that departments are aware of the balances of all of their budgeted accounts.
Actual dollars refer to the actual amount of money that was expended from a particular account. Actual dollars expended may be transferred between departments by use of a journal entry or a Expense Transfer/Internal Billing Authorization. While departments can spend more actual dollars than budgeted, it is not recommended. To obtain an Internal Billing Authorization/Expense Transfer form , please go to the the Finance Division Forms & Manuals web page by following this link: http://www.finance.ohiou.edu/forms.
