Service Charge Budget Builder
Service Charge Budget Builder
The Service Charge Budget Builder lets you create and manage annual service charge budgets for each block you manage. It is the first step in the service charge cycle — once a budget is finalised, it drives demand generation for leaseholders.
Getting Started
Navigate to Dashboard → Budgets in the sidebar.
Creating a Budget
- Click New Budget.
- Select the block the budget applies to.
- Choose the financial year (e.g. 2025/26).
- Confirm or edit the auto-generated budget name.
- Add optional notes, then click Create Budget.
The budget is created in Draft status and you are taken directly to the detail page.
Prerequisite: You must have at least one block configured before creating a budget. If no blocks exist, the form will prompt you to create one first.
Budget Status Workflow
Every budget moves through three stages:
Draft → Approved → Final
↓
Draft (revert)
| Status | What it means | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Being built. Line items can be added, edited, or removed. | ✅ Yes |
| Approved | Reviewed and signed off. Line items are locked. | ❌ No |
| Final | Permanent. Triggers service charge demand generation. | ❌ No |
Approve a Budget
Click Approve on the detail page. The budget must have at least one line item. Approving locks line items; you can revert to Draft if further changes are needed.
Revert to Draft
Click Revert to Draft on an approved budget to unlock it for editing. This is available until the budget is finalised.
Finalise a Budget
Click Finalise on an approved budget. This action is permanent — the budget cannot be reverted after finalisation. Finalising triggers service charge demand generation (placeholder in this release).
Line Items
Line items are individual expenditure entries that make up the budget total. They can only be added, edited, or deleted while the budget is in Draft status.
Adding a Line Item
- On the budget detail page, click Add Item.
- Select a category from the 20 standard UK block management categories.
- The description field is pre-filled from the category label — edit as needed.
- Enter the amount in pounds (e.g.
1200.00). - Add optional notes, then click Add.
Standard Categories
| Category | Label |
|---|---|
cleaning | Cleaning |
insurance | Insurance |
management_fee | Management Fee |
repairs_maintenance | Repairs & Maintenance |
reserve_fund | Reserve Fund Contribution |
utilities | Utilities |
lift_maintenance | Lift Maintenance |
fire_safety | Fire Safety |
grounds_maintenance | Grounds Maintenance |
professional_fees | Professional Fees |
communal_electricity | Communal Electricity |
water_rates | Water Rates |
door_entry | Door Entry System |
pest_control | Pest Control |
health_safety | Health & Safety |
accountancy | Accountancy |
company_secretary | Company Secretary |
bank_charges | Bank Charges |
sundries | Sundries |
other | Other |
Management Fee is tracked as a named category to support income isolation reporting requirements.
Editing and Deleting Line Items
- Click the pencil icon next to any line item to edit it inline.
- Click the trash icon to remove it (no undo — a confirmation prompt is shown).
- Both actions are only available on Draft budgets.
Year-on-Year Comparison
If a budget exists for the previous financial year for the same block, the detail page automatically displays a prior year comparison:
- Each line item shows the prior year amount for the same category alongside the current amount.
- A Variance column highlights changes: increases are shown in red, decreases in green.
- The totals row shows the overall budget movement.
- New categories with no prior-year equivalent are labelled New.
Per-Unit Apportionment Preview
The collapsible Per-Unit Apportionment Preview section on the budget detail page shows how the total budget would be split across units in the block.
- Each unit's share is derived from its apportionment basis points (configured on the unit record).
- The table shows unit number, leaseholder name, percentage share, and annual charge.
- A warning is displayed if basis points across all units do not sum to 100%.
- If no units are configured for the block, a prompt is shown to add units first.
Searching and Filtering Budgets
On the Budgets list page:
- Use the search bar to filter by budget name, block name, or financial year.
- Use the block dropdown to show budgets for one block only.
- Use the status dropdown to filter by Draft, Approved, or Final.
Permissions
- Admins can create, edit, approve, finalise, revert, and delete budgets.
- All organisation members can view budgets and the apportionment preview.
- All budget mutations are recorded in the compliance audit trail.
Data Storage Notes
- All monetary amounts are stored as integers in pence to avoid floating-point rounding errors. The UI accepts and displays values in pounds.
- Budgets and line items are fully isolated by organisation — users can only access their own data.