Budgets

All Lodges are required to approve Budgets by last meeting in April.

The Board of Directors are responsible for preparing the Lodge Budget and the Governing Body is responsible for Club and Dining Room Budget

Use budget making process as a tool to understand Lodge financial situation. a. Don’t rush through making budgets just to fulfill requirements

The best indicator of next year’s income and expenses is last year’s actual income and expenses. a. Use year ending P&L’s to prepare next year’s budget. b. Take into consideration any unusual income or expenses c. Use the budget worksheets from Auditing and Accounting manual to compare last years and this year’s budgets

Look at all budgets together. a. Look for expenses that can be shared between entities (Lodge, Bar, Dining Room, etc.). b. Proration of expenses does not have to be equal between entities.

Involve all in budget process a. Have committee chairman submit estimated income and expenses for their committees b. Have bar manager submit estimated income and expenses for bar operations c. Have dining room manager submit estimated income and expenses for dining room operations.

Budget Meetings a. Have worksheets filled out before meetings. b. Have budget estimates from each chairman or manager available c. Discuss each line item for each budget. d. Determine the most realistic figure for each line item.

Use the budget throughout the year and make adjustments as necessary.

REMEMBER: All budgets must be balanced. a. Deficit budgets are not permissible.