Legacy- Use the planning workbench to initiate a budget plan

task australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 2 min read use-the-financial-workbench-to-initiate-budget.md
Raw file servicenow.com

After you configure the budget process definition, you can initiate a budget. Open the budget period. Use the financial planning workbench, and select the fiscal period and the budget plan definition, and generate a budget task.

Before you begin

Role required: itfm_plan_analyst

An IT finance analyst generates a task for each planner. The planner can view the tasks that the planner owns by navigating to Financial Planning > My Tasks.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Financial Planning > Workbench.

  2. Select the budget period for which you are planning from the choice list on the top-right of the workbench.

    You can also create a budget period and open it to make it available for budgeting.

  3. Select the budget plan definition from the choice list.

  4. Click Generate Task.

    If the plan does not exist, and a plan task for the selected fiscal period, then clicking the Generate Task button creates a plan for each plan key. The plan key associated with the planner is considered only while generating the plan. The generated budget task is in Draft state.

  5. Open a budget task record from the budget list to review and update if required.

    As an IT finance analyst you can add a note to the planner in the Work notes field.

  6. Click Update to save your changes.

  7. Click Publish to publish the tasks.

    Set a Start date and an End date as a deadline for the plan in the Publish Planning Tasks pop-up that opens up.

  8. Click Create.

  9. Click the Plan view.

    To hide columns in the view, click the Configuration [Omitted image "configurationplanview.png"] Alt text: Configuration plan view icon icon.

    Item columns are rendered from the Budget Definition [itfm_plan_definition] table. Hiding or displaying an item column does not update the table. Grouped columns cannot be hidden.

  10. Click the VTB View.

  11. View the budget tasks by its state.

    If the planner had promoted the plan, then the plan is in Pending Approval column. If required, you can review the plan and make a recommendation.

  12. To make a recommendation to the budget, click the task in the Pending Approval column.

  13. Add a comment in the Add description field.

  14. Close the budget task pop-up.

  15. Drag the plan to the Awaiting Input column.

    After the planner updates and promotes the plan, then the state of the task becomes Pending Approval.

  16. If the planner updates the plan with your recommendation and if the budgeted amount meets the target, then move the plan to the Approved column.

    The budget plan is approved.

What to do next

As a planner you can update and promote your plans to finance.

Parent Topic:Legacy- Financial planning workbench

Search documentation
Search document titles and file paths on the australia branch