Overview

Managing a budget does not need to feel abstract or overly technical. The easiest way to think about it is through a simple system of boxes.

• Your main budget is one large container.
• Inside that container, you create smaller containers called Activities (which can be referred to as Allocations).
• Some of those containers can be sub-budgets, which are handed off to other owners within your hierarchy to manage independently.

The Big Picture: Your Budget

Think of your budget as the large container that holds all available funds for a given period.

As the budget owner, you are responsible for:

• Defining the total amount available
• Deciding how that amount is allocated via activities
• Monitoring how funds are used over time

You rarely spend directly from the budget. Instead, you break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces in the form of Allocations. 

Allocations: Distributing the Budget

Allocations (Activities) are the smaller containers inside your main budget that can be filled with expenses.

Each allocation:

• Represents a portion of the total budget
• Can be assigned to yourself or a team member
• Is used to fund actual expenses

This is where transactional execution happens.

Example:

• Main budget: $100,000 (Annual Marketing)
• Allocations:
  • $40,000 → Paid Media for me
  • $30,000 → Events for my team member
  • $30,000 → Content for my me

Each of these allocations acts as its own working container for expenses.

Sub-Budgets: Delegating Ownership

A sub-budget is the container within your parent budget that is given to another budget owner.

**It is not just a portion of funds, it is a managed space.

When you create a sub-budget:

• You assign a new owner
• You define how much of the main budget they control
• That owner can then create their own allocations within it

This allows you to scale budget management without losing structure.

Example:

• Main Budget Owner: Head of Marketing
• Sub-Budget: Events ($30,000) → Owned by Events Manager

The Events Manager can now:

• Create allocations (e.g., Conferences, Entertainment)
• Manage spend independently
• Stay within their assigned limit

Sub-Budget Allocations: Distribution

Within each sub-budget, the same pattern repeats.

The sub-budget owner:

• Breaks their budget into allocations
• Assigns them as needed
• Tracks usage and performance

This creates a clear chain of ownership:

Parent Budget → Sub-Budget → Allocation → Expense

Each level has:

• Defined ownership
• Clear limits
• Controlled flexibility

The Lifecycle: Allocate, Spend, Reclaim

Every box follows the same lifecycle:

1. Allocate

Funds are distributed from the parent or sub budget into Activity allocations

2. Spend

Cardholders use those allocations to cover expenses.

3. Return (Reclaim)

Please refer the following articles:

• Reclaiming Budget Allocations (Budgets V2)
• Reclaiming Sub-Budgets (Budgets V2)

Budget Management Q&A

Quick actions for common scenarios

I want to spend funds from my budget

What to do:
Create a new spend request to generate an allocation from your budget. Once the activity is created, use your card to spend against that allocation.

Why it matters:
Allocations act as your active spend containers, ensuring all transactions are tracked and controlled.

I want my budget to be available only for me to spend

What to do:
Create a new spend request and allocate the full budget amount to yourself. Once the activity is created, you can spend directly from that allocation.

Why it matters:
This keeps full control with you while still following the allocation structure required for tracking and governance.

I want to reclaim my budget

What to do:
Review your existing allocations and identify any unused or partially used amounts. Reclaim those remaining funds so they return to your main budget.

Why it matters:
This keeps your budget accurate and ensures no funds are left sitting in inactive allocations.

I want to reclaim a sub-budget that another owner manages

What to do:

1. Review the allocations within the sub-budget
2. Reclaim any reserved funds from those allocations
3. Decrease the total amount of the sub-budget to the "used" amount

The unused funds will automatically return to the parent budget.