If you have the Planning & Financials menus in Conservis, this article explains how to build a budget. An Annual Budget is created by combining together everything you’ve made so far - you can select relevant plans, schedules, and organizers to build an all-encompassing
budget. You can have multiple budgets, depending on your operational structure and
how you want to report your information.
To Create a Budget:
Start a New Budget
FINANCIALS > BUDGETS > Annual Budget
Click Add New Budget button and select Add New Budget (or use Copy From functionality, if a budget already exists.)
Enter the name
Select Crop Year
Select Field Plan Scenario (High, Target, Low, Adhoc). This will allow selection of Field Plans created with that same scenario.
Select the Budget Start. This is the Month & Year of when your Crop Year starts. For many, it will be January, but some may use Fiscal Financial Calendar on their Operation.
Add Schedules & Organizers.
Click Manage Plans in the header, then add the relevant Overhead, Owner Expense, and Other Revenue Plans.
Click Manage Land & Loan Assignments in the header, then select the relevant Loans, Leases, Land Leases (Land Costs), and Lines of Credit. Click Save.
Add Field Plans
Click Field Plans tab. The page will automatically select all Field Plans with the same scenario as the Budget; unselect any that aren’t relevant for this Budget.
Click Save.
Add Marketing Plan to compare your expected harvest and revenue from your Field Plans to your contracted crop sales. This tool is used to evaluate how commodity price changes can impact breakevens.
Questions this tool can help answer:
How much of my projected harvest is sold vs unsold?
Where can I see my forecasted crop sales revenue by month?
How will commodity price changes impact breakevens & cost of production?
Click on the Marketing Plan tab
By Commodity, you will see the following information:
Total: Pulls total bushels from the selected Field Plans. The total dollars comes from the marketing plan, then is pushed to the associated field plans.
Sold + Projected: Totals the Sold/Contracted bushels & price + all sales projections for the commodity.
Total Sold: Totals the Sold/Contracted bushels & price.
Total Unsold: Is the difference between Total and Total Sold.
Projections: Price + Premium + Basis is the calculation used against your projected sales.
Tip: If using a Basis, then the Price will be the Futures Price. If not using a Basis, then Price will be the Cash Price.
How are prices for the Future Contracts Calculated?
A contract must be created with a futures price entered. The Futures price from that contract + basis price from marketing plan = estimated contract price.
How are prices for Basis Contracts calculated?
A contract created with a Basis price entered. The basis price from contract + price from marketing plan = estimated contract price.
Click the Commodity to drill down to see more detailed information and to add Projections for the unsold grain.
Select the Exclude Contracts toggle, if you want to remove the Contract information from the Sold columns.
The graph will show what has been Sold (contracted) versus Unsold commodity, based on Field Plan assumptions. The Unsold will be represented by Uncommitted and Projected Sales.
Beneath the graph, you will see actual Contracts that are representing the Sold data.
Click the Create Sales Projection button to add a projection:
Enter a name
Select a Delivery Month
Enter projected bushel amount
Enter projected Price per bushel
Enter Basis (optional)
Enter Premium (optional)
Click Save to save the Projection. Graph will update.
Click Save at the bottom of the screen to save changes to the entire Budget.
Tip: Once you create a Contract that is for the same commodity and month, the projection will be replaced
Click the Create Contract button to create an actual Contract without leaving the Marketing Plan view. (See the “Creating a Contract” section for more details.)
Tip: With less clicks, you can get to this information by running the FINANCIALS > FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT REPORTS > Marketing Plan. (See the “Financial Management Reports” section for more details.)
Add Purchase Plan to indicate on the Cash Flow Forecast report when you plan on purchasing the inputs from your attached Field Plans, for a Crop Year. (This is different from accrual basis reporting, which determines costs based on when the product was used.)
See the infographic below to learn more about the differences between Accrual Accounting and Cash Accounting:
Click back into your budget
Select the Edit Budget link
Purchase Plan tab
Select one or more inputs to estimate when those inputs will be purchased. If the purchase will be split across multiple months:
Select inputs and click the “Allocation Method” button.
Select the relevant months
Select either the Allocate Evenly or Allocate Unevenly button. If selected Allocate Unevenly, enter in the monthly percent breakout.
Select the New Input button, if you want to add an input to your purchase plan that was not included on your Field Plans.
Click the Show Inventory toggle to see current inventory on hand, which can give insight into inputs needed to be purchased.
Tip: All Totals, monthly breakouts, and prices can be updated. If you want to revert back to what the field plans suggest, click the refresh button.
Click Save