Budget & Vote Book Management

What You’ll Learn

In this module, you’ll explore the Budget and Vote Book (Buku Vot) system - the heart of government financial control. You’ll see how BigLedger prevents overspending and gives you real-time visibility into budget utilization.

Before You Begin: Key Terms Explained

Why This Module Matters

The Vote Book is critical for government agencies because:

• Prevents overspending - The system blocks transactions that exceed your budget
• Real-time tracking - Know exactly how much budget remains at any moment
• Audit compliance - Complete record of all budget movements
• Better planning - Historical data helps plan future budgets

Test Scenario 1: View Your Vote Book

Objective: See the Vote Book display and understand the budget status

Time: 3 minutes

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Login to the demo system

2. Navigate to: Finance → Budget → Vote Book Exposure

3. Select a PTJ (department) from the dropdown

4. View the Vote Book display

What You’ll See

The Vote Book shows your budget at a glance:

Try This

• Look for color indicators: Green = healthy, Yellow = caution, Red = near/over limit
• Click on any line to see detailed transactions
• Try changing the period (month/quarter/year)

Test Scenario 2: Create a Budget (for Finance Staff)

Objective: See how finance staff can set up budgets without IT help

Time: 5 minutes

Why This Matters

UTM Requirement 9.24 specifies that financial staff (not IT) should be able to maintain the Vote Book. No programming or technical skills needed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to: Finance → Budget → Vote Book Organizer

2. Click “New Vote Book” or select an existing one

3. Fill in the basics:

   Field	Example
   Year	2025
   PTJ	Faculty of Engineering
   Description	Operating Budget 2025

4. Add budget line items:

   • Click “Add Item”
   • Select expense category
   • Enter allocation amount

5. Save the Vote Book

What to Notice

• Forms use plain language (no codes required)
• Help text explains each field
• Dropdown menus for standard categories
• Error messages are clear and helpful

Test Scenario 3: Budget Blocking (The Most Important Feature!)

Objective: See how the system prevents overspending

Time: 5 minutes

Why This Is Critical

This is the core purpose of the Vote Book - stopping transactions that would exceed the budget.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. First, check available budget:

   • Go to Finance → Budget → Vote Book Exposure
   • Note the “Available” amount for any budget item

2. Try to exceed it:

   • Go to Purchasing → Purchase Order → New
   • Create a PO for an amount larger than available budget
   • Try to submit it

3. Observe the system response

What Should Happen

The system should:

1. Show a warning when you’re close to the limit
2. Block submission when you exceed the budget
3. Display a clear message explaining why
4. Offer options: Request exception, modify amount, or cancel

Test Scenario 4: Budget Virement (Transfer)

Objective: See how to move budget from one item to another

Time: 5 minutes

When You’d Use This

Imagine you budgeted RM10,000 for travel but only spent RM3,000. Meanwhile, you need more money for training. A virement lets you move the unused travel budget to training.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to: Finance → Budget → Budget Virement

2. Create a new virement request:

   Field	Example
   From	Travel Expenses (underspent)
   To	Training Expenses (needs more)
   Amount	RM 5,000
   Reason	Training needs exceeded initial estimate

3. Submit for approval

4. Observe the workflow:

   • Request goes to approver
   • Both budget items are “locked” pending approval
   • Once approved, balances update automatically

What to Verify

• The system validates that the source has enough funds
• Shows impact on both budgets before you confirm
• Tracks the complete approval history

Test Scenario 5: Budget Reports

Objective: See the various budget monitoring reports

Time: 5 minutes

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to: Finance → Budget → Reports

2. Try these reports:

3. Export a report:
   • Click on any report
   • Click “Export” → Choose Excel or PDF
   • Download and open

Try This

• Use the drill-down feature: Click on any total to see the transactions behind it
• Change date ranges to see different periods
• Filter by PTJ to focus on specific departments

Your Progress Checklist

Mark off what you’ve completed:

Key Takeaways

After completing this module, you’ve seen that BigLedger:

Quick Reference: Navigation

What’s Next?

You’ve completed the Budget Management evaluation. Choose your next module:

Questions?

If anything wasn’t clear or you’d like a live demonstration:

• Demo Coordinator: fatimah@bigledger.com
• Technical Support: support@bigledger.com