How to Submit, Approve and Revise a Budget in CrmLeaf
All editions. Requires the Budget add-on module, enabled for your company by an Administrator.
Availability: All editions. Requires the Budget add-on module, enabled for your company by an Administrator.
Overview
A project budget only becomes a control once it is approved. CrmLeaf gives budgets a formal approval lifecycle: a draft is submitted, approved or rejected, and eventually closed. Approving a budget locks its amounts, so the figure everyone reports against cannot quietly change. To change the numbers afterwards you revise the budget, which creates a new version and keeps the approved one on record.
This article covers each transition, who performs it, and what changes are still allowed after approval.
How It Works
The budget moves through a fixed set of states. Each transition is deliberate, and the history is preserved.
draft → pending approval → approved → closed
- Submit moves a draft to pending approval and sends an approval-request notification to the approvers.
- Approve moves it to approved and locks the amounts.
- Reject returns the budget to draft so it can be corrected and submitted again.
- After approval, a rename or a threshold tweak is still allowed. Changing the numbers is not.
- Revise clones the approved budget into a fresh draft at the next version number, leaving the approved version on record.
- Close ends the budget's active life. A final snapshot is captured first.
- There is one primary budget per project, so the current version is unambiguous.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Grant the approve-budget permission to the roles accountable for project cost.
- Approve or reject submitted budgets.
- Close a budget when the project's cost control is complete.
User
- Edit a draft budget and submit it for approval.
- Correct and resubmit a rejected budget.
- Revise an approved budget when the plan genuinely changes.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator. Approval requires the approve-budget permission, which is separate from edit.
Prerequisites
- A budget exists for the project (see How to Create a Project Budget in CrmLeaf).
- At least one user holds the approve-budget permission.
- Company email delivery is configured, so approval-request and threshold notifications reach their recipients.
For Users
Step 1: Check the draft before submitting
What to do: Open the draft budget and review every line, its planned amount, its actuals source, and the Uncategorised row. Fix the plan now - this is the last easy point to change the numbers.
What to verify: The total, the line amounts and the Uncategorised figure are all explainable to the approver.
Step 2: Submit the budget
What to do: Select Submit. The budget moves to pending approval and the approvers receive an approval-request notification.
What to verify: The status is pending approval and the approvers have been notified.
Step 3: Handle a rejection
What to do: If the budget is rejected it returns to draft. Correct the lines the approver questioned, then Submit again.
What to verify: The status is draft while you edit, and pending approval after you resubmit.
Step 4: Revise an approved budget when the plan changes
What to do: Once approved, the amounts are locked. When the plan genuinely changes - a variation is agreed, or scope is added - revise the budget. CrmLeaf clones it to a fresh draft at the next version. Edit the new draft and submit it for approval as usual.
What to verify: A new draft version exists and the previously approved version is still on record for comparison.
For Administrators
Step 1: Review a submitted budget
What to do: Open the budget in pending approval and review its detail dashboard, not only its total. Check that each line's actuals source is right, and that the Uncategorised row is deliberate rather than an oversight.
What to verify: The plan reflects how the project will actually incur cost.
Step 2: Approve or reject
What to do: Select Approve to lock the amounts, or Reject to return the budget to draft for correction.
What to verify: An approved budget shows as approved, and its amounts can no longer be edited.
Step 3: Adjust what is still permitted
What to do: After approval you may still rename the budget and adjust a warning threshold. Do not attempt to correct amounts here - revise instead, so the change is versioned and visible.
What to verify: The approved amounts are unchanged after your edit.
Step 4: Close the budget
What to do: When the project's cost control is finished, close the budget. A final snapshot is captured before closing, so the closing position is preserved.
What to verify: The budget shows as closed and the final figures are retained.
Expected Result
The budget follows draft → pending approval → approved → closed, with rejection returning it to draft. An approved budget's amounts are locked, a revision creates a fresh draft at the next version while keeping the approved version on record, and closing captures a final snapshot.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
Services disputes are rarely about whether a project cost more than planned. They are about which plan was agreed. A firm that quietly edits its engagement budget as the work grows loses the ability to show a client, or its own board, what was approved at the outset and what changed afterwards. Approval locking and versioned revision give a service organisation exactly that record.
How It Supports Professional Services
- Approving a budget locks the amounts, so the figure a delivery review reports against cannot be adjusted after the fact.
- Changing an approved figure requires a revision, which clones the budget to a fresh draft at the next version and leaves the approved one on record - the audit trail of an original engagement budget against a re-baselined one.
- A rename or a threshold adjustment is still permitted after approval, so administrative tidying does not force a new version.
- The approve permission is separate from edit, so cost accountability can sit with a partner or delivery director while project managers build the plan.
- Closing captures a final snapshot, which preserves the engagement's closing position even though actuals are otherwise always derived live.
- One primary budget per project means there is never ambiguity about which version the current engagement is being measured against.
Typical Service Workflow
Estimate → Engagement agreed → Budget approved → Variation → Revised version approved
The lifecycle transitions, the version clone and the approval-request notification are product behaviour. Aligning a revision with the commercial document that authorised the change - a variation, a new estimate or a contract renewal - is a practice the organisation operates; CrmLeaf does not link the two automatically.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
Construction and solar businesses use the same lifecycle to keep an approved cost plan separate from a re-baselined one after a site variation, and any organisation running internal capital or departmental budgets gets the same locked-and-versioned control.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Create a Project Budget — the plan being submitted.
- How to Read Budget vs Actual and EVM Analytics — what the approved baseline is measured against.
- How to Create and Send Estimates — the commercial document a variation usually starts from.
- How to Configure Ownership-Based Permissions — separating approval from editing.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Budget is a paid add-on module. Confirm it is included in your plan before relying on the approval workflow.
- Approval locks planned amounts, not actuals. Actuals continue to update live from the project's operational records after approval.
- Revising is the correct way to change a number after approval. It preserves the audit trail; editing would not.
- There is one primary budget per project, so a revision replaces the current plan rather than adding a parallel one.
Common Scenarios
Example: an agreed variation. The client approves extra scope. Revise the approved budget, add the new planned amounts in the resulting draft, and submit it. The original approved version stays on record, so the cost increase is documented rather than absorbed.
Example: a mistyped line. A line was approved with the wrong figure. You cannot edit it. Revise the budget, correct the line, and have the new version approved.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The amounts cannot be edited. | The budget is approved, so its amounts are locked. | Revise the budget to create a new draft version. |
| The approve action is not available. | You do not hold the approve-budget permission. | Ask your Administrator to grant it, or ask an approver to act. |
| Approvers did not receive the approval request. | Company email delivery is not configured, or nobody holds the approve permission. | Check the email settings and the permission assignment. |
| The budget cannot be submitted. | It is not in draft, or you lack the edit permission for it. | Confirm the current status and your permission scope. |
| A second budget cannot be created for the project. | There is one primary budget per project. | Revise the existing budget instead. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I still change after approval?
A rename and a threshold tweak are allowed. Amounts are locked; use revise to change them.
Does rejecting a budget delete it?
No. Reject returns it to draft so it can be corrected and resubmitted.
What happens to the old version when I revise?
It stays on record as the approved version, while the revision becomes a new draft at the next version number.
Why capture a snapshot when closing?
So the position at closure is preserved, even though actuals are otherwise always derived live.
Related Articles
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