Manager Budgets

Delegated budget control gives department managers their own spending envelope within Waqti, with real-time commitment tracking and automatic threshold alerts.

Overview

Some organizations want department heads or line managers to operate within a fixed sub-allocation without changing the organization-wide department budget. Manager budgets provide that layer:

• A named manager budget ties a user (the delegate), a department context, an amount, and a period.
• Commitments from purchase orders update utilization as POs move through approval.
• Threshold alerts notify stakeholders at 50%, 75%, 90%, and 100% utilization.

When to use manager budgets

Use manager budgets when a manager should own a slice of a larger departmental or project budget and you want alerts and visibility scoped to that manager—not when you only need a single top-level department total.

Creating a Manager Budget

Step 1: Open manager budgets

1. Go to Budgets (or Budget Management) in the sidebar.
2. Open Manager budgets (or equivalent entry for delegated budgets).
3. Click Create or New manager budget.

Step 2: Enter allocation details

Field	Description
Assigned user	The manager who owns this delegated envelope (receives alerts and is accountable for utilization).
Department	The organizational department this budget applies to (for reporting and scope).
Amount	Total delegated amount for the period (same currency as tenant default unless configured otherwise).
Period	Fiscal period or date range during which this allocation is valid.

Step 3: Save and verify

1. Save the manager budget.
2. Confirm it appears in the manager budget list with allocated amount and available balance.
3. Optionally attach roles or notification preferences if your tenant exposes those options.

Real-Time Commitment Tracking

Waqti updates manager budget utilization as procurement events occur:

Event	Typical effect on manager budget
PO submitted / pending approval	Commitment increases (reserved against the envelope).
PO approved	Commitment usually remains until goods/services are received or invoiced (per your budget rules).
PO rejected or cancelled	Commitment released.
Invoice matched / spend recognized	Amount may move from committed to spent (or equivalent) depending on configuration.

Viewing utilization

1. Open the manager budget record or Manager dashboard (if available).
2. Review allocated, committed, spent, and available.
3. Drill into transactions or linked POs for detail.

Threshold Alerts

Default alert bands help managers act before the envelope is exhausted:

Threshold	Typical purpose
50%	Early visibility; time to review pipeline and reforecast.
75%	Strong warning; consider pausing discretionary spend.
90%	Critical; escalate to finance or department head.
100%	Envelope exhausted; new POs may be blocked or require override (per policy).

Alerts are usually delivered by in-app notification and email to the assigned manager and configured finance contacts.

Align alerts with policy

Document internally who must act at each threshold (manager only vs. manager + CFO) so responses stay consistent across departments.

Manager Budgets vs. Department Budgets

Aspect	Department budget	Manager budget
Scope	Organizational unit (whole department or cost center).	Delegated slice for a specific user (manager) within that context.
Purpose	Enterprise-wide control and reporting.	Distributed authority with the same compliance rails.
Alerts	Often owned by budget / department owners.	Targeted to the assigned manager plus optional watchers.
Relationship	Canonical “org” envelope.	Sub-allocation or parallel tracking model (depending on setup)—not a replacement for the department budget unless your process defines it that way.

Related Topics

• Budget Management
• Purchase Orders