How to Run a Budget vs. Actuals Report by Class in QuickBooks Online
A Budget vs. Actuals report broken out by class shows you which departments, programs, or business lines are tracking to plan and which are not. The catch is that the split is decided when the budget is built, not when the report is run. Here is how it works.
The class split has to be chosen while the budget is being created, under Budget format. See how to create a budget in QuickBooks Online.
Steps
- Find a budget that is subdivided by class
Go to Reports, open Financial planning, and select Budgets. The Type column tells you how each budget is built: a class budget reads "Profit and loss" with "Subdivided by class" underneath it. If no budget says that, the split does not exist yet and you will need to create a new budget with Budget format set to Subdivided by class, since the format cannot be changed after the fact.
- Run the report and read one column set per class
Select "Run Budget vs. Actuals report" on that row. The report repeats Actual, Budget, Over Budget, and % of Budget for every class in the budget, with a total set at the end. Classes that were deleted still appear if they carry history, labelled with "(deleted)", so an old column is a record of past activity rather than a bug. On the toolbar, open Display columns by and choose Class. QuickBooks often preselects it on a class budget, but not always: arrive from a saved link or a report someone else set up and it can be sitting on Total, so set it yourself rather than assuming. Compare to, next to it, picks which variance columns appear.
Other Budget vs. Actuals comparisons
See also
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no "Display columns by" option on this report?
Yes. It sits between Select budget and Compare to on the toolbar, and on a class budget it already reads Class. The options are Total, Months, Quarters, Years, Customer, and Class. If you cannot see it, the browser window is too narrow. QuickBooks drops both Display columns by and Compare to below roughly 1,700 pixels of window width, and there is no overflow menu holding them, so they simply are not there. Widen the window or zoom the page out and they come back.
Can I add a class breakdown to a budget I already made?
No. Budget format is set when the budget is created and cannot be switched afterwards. To move from a consolidated budget to a class budget you create a new one and choose Subdivided by class, optionally pre-filling it from the existing figures.
Why does a class I deleted still have columns?
Deleting a class in QuickBooks makes it inactive rather than removing it. Transactions already tagged with it keep that tag, so the report still shows the column, marked "(deleted)".
Does this need class tracking turned on?
Yes. Class tracking lives in Account and settings under Advanced, and it is a Plus and Advanced feature. Without it there are no classes to subdivide a budget by.
Can I put one class per row with months across the top?
Not in the modern view, where Display columns by sets a single axis, so every option replaces the class split rather than nesting inside it. The older classic view can do it: open Quick actions (the three dots beside Select budget), choose Switch to classic view, then Customize, and Show Grid under Rows/Columns offers Classes vs. Months alongside the default Accounts vs. Classes. Treat it as a fallback. Anything set there is lost as soon as you run the report again from the Budgets page, because the report opens in the modern view each time.
Tired of rebuilding reports? Need more customization?
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