You assign a budget status to the overall budget in order to show in the system what phase the execution of the overall budget has reached.

You can assign the following budget status to an overall budget:

• Proposed - used to define and set up the overall budget (planning phase)
• Fixed - used to monitor the budget and also used when the overall budget is being negotiated
• Released - phase when the budget is allocated

• Locked - used to indicate that the overall budget is locked (frozen)
• Completed - used once the financial year of the overall budget has expired

You can also assign the following statuses in the time between the start of the financial year and the time when the overall budget is approved:

• Released provisionally – used for executing the overall budget in this interim period
• Being revised – used for adjusting the interim period overall budget so that it is in line with the approved overall budget

If you change the budget status, this action affects the entire budget hierarchy. In other words, if you change the budget status of a lower-level budget structure element, this change will also affect the top-level budget structure element.

It is October 1999, and you are planning your overall budget for the year 2000. Therefore, you create a new overall budget for the year 2000, or carry forward the current overall budget to the year 2000. The overall budget for the year 2000 has the status Proposed. This means that you can change the budget hierarchy, assign budgets to budget structure elements, and define budgeting rules, reclassification rules, and earmarkings.

You change the status of the budget to Fixed once you have completed planning of the overall budget and passed this draft overall budget on to the appropriate authority for authorization. You cannot make any changes to an overall budget that has the status Fixed. The authority in question rejects your draft overall budget. Since you need to make changes to your overall budget, you change the status of the budget to Proposed, and make the appropriate changes. Then, when you have resubmitted the new overall budget to the appropriate authority, you change the status to Fixed.

Once the overall budget has been authorized by the authority in question, and the financial year begins, you change the status of the budget to Released. If an overall budget has the status Released, you can use it to finance persons and positions, create earmarkings, define and activate budgeting rules and reclassification rules, carry out budget updates, and make transfer postings.

For example, the overall budget is frozen in November 1999 due to a reduction in funds received. In this case, you would change the budget status to Locked. If the budget status is Locked, you cannot use the overall budget to finance any new persons or positions.

Once the financial year expires, you change the budget status to Completed. You cannot make any changes to an overall budget that has this status.

The functions you can use and the information you can display in HR Funds and Position Management are determined by the budget status.

The following table gives you an overview of what functions are available for the various budget statuses.