Free calculator · For HOA boards
Which of our budget lines are running ahead of pace, and where will the year end?
Seven months into the year, a board checks five budget lines totalling $99,000 against $63,700 spent.
Two lines run more than 10% ahead of pace: Pool (+$2,550) and Repairs and maintenance (+$5,000). At this pace the year ends at $109,200, $10,200 over budget.
Pace is the share of the year gone. Seven months in, each line should have spent seven twelfths of its yearly budget. Spent divided by that is the line’s share of pace.
A line is flagged when it runs more than your threshold ahead of pace (10% unless you change it). Spending on a line with no budget is always flagged.
The year-end figure assumes the rest of the year runs at the same monthly rate as the months so far.
Line by line, against what each line should have spent by now: its yearly budget times the share of the year that has passed. A line well ahead of that is the one to ask about.
A bill paid once a year, such as insurance or an audit, is spent in full the month it is paid, so it reads ahead of pace until the year catches up. That is timing, not overspending, and the checker says so when a line is fully spent.
When it is a trend rather than timing or a one-off. Compare the line with the same month last year, and ask the vendor before the next bill is paid.
Rebel HOA runs budget vs actual from the real books every month, line by line.