Budgeting
You can copy a budget to try out a variant, and compare the copy with the original row by row.
A copy lets you try out a variant of a budget, for example a shorter shooting schedule, without changing the budget it came from. You then compare the two in **Compare Budgets**. To copy a budget, you need a licence other than **Free**, and you must be signed in. See [what your licence includes](/kb/article/what-your-licence-includes).
With the budget open, click  **Duplicate this budget** next to the budget dropdown, or choose **Copy Budget** in the **Project** menu. To copy a budget that is not open, click **Manage Budgets** in the budget dropdown, then  **Duplicate** in the budget's row of the **Budgets Manager**. KOSMA opens **Copy Budget**.
If you use **Duplicate this budget** or **Copy Budget** and the open budget has unsaved changes, KOSMA first opens **Save before copying?**:
You have unsaved changes. Save now to proceed with the copy.
Click **Save**. KOSMA saves the budget and then opens **Copy Budget**.
KOSMA always copies the financing plans, cash flow plans and cost control sets built on this budget along with it. If the budget is not shared, **Copy Budget** asks nothing more. If it is shared, **Copy Budget** asks **What kind of copy?**:
- **A backup** keeps the same people and everything they can see. KOSMA selects it at first and puts your name and the date in the comment. - **A copy for me** is not shared with anyone.
If you choose **A copy for me**, the dialog shows:
The project owner can still see every dataset in this project — a copy for me is private from other members, not from them.
Type a name that says what the variant tests. KOSMA fills the name field with the budget's name followed by (copy), or (backup) for a backup, and selects it, so what you type replaces it. Further copies of the same budget get (copy 2), (copy 3) and so on. Use the field below, which shows Type a comment..., to note what you want to test.
If another budget in the project already has this name, KOSMA greys out **Create Copy** and shows under the field:
Name must be unique.
Click **Create Copy**, or **Create Backup** for a backup. KOSMA creates the copy. It opens a copy for me, but not a backup. If copying fails, KOSMA closes **Copy Budget** and shows:
The budget could not be copied. The incomplete copy was discarded.
The copy is a complete, independent budget with every account, fringe, tax, variable and setting of the original. Changes to the copy do not change the original. Later changes to the original do not change the copy.
The copy keeps the **Original** values of the source budget from when that budget was first baselined, not the values at the moment you copied it. **Variance** in the copy therefore compares with that older plan. To measure the copy against its own figures, [set a new baseline](/kb/article/compare-original-and-variance).
Open the budget you want to see on the left, for example the original. Choose **Compare Budgets** in the **Project** menu, then choose the other budget in **Select budget to compare**. The list is already open and shows every other budget of the project. KOSMA shows both budgets in one tree, fully expanded. On the left are **No.**, **Description** and **Total** of the open budget, with the currency code after **Total**. On the right are the same three columns of the chosen budget, followed by **Variance**.
KOSMA matches the rows by their number, or by their name where they have no number. A row that exists in only one of the two budgets stays empty on the other side. **Variance** is the total of the chosen budget minus the total of the open budget. At zero, KOSMA leaves the cell empty. KOSMA shows a negative variance in magenta, and a figure on the right in blue when it differs from the one on the left, except in category rows. If the two budgets have different default currencies, **Variance** shows Currency mismatch instead of a number.
 **Collapse All** folds the tree, and  **Expand All** unfolds it again. To hide the **No.** and **Description** columns, click  **Hide No./Description**. KOSMA hides them and narrows the dialog. The same button, now **Show No./Description**, shows them again.
Click a category, group or account on the left, then click  **Open in budget** in that row. KOSMA closes **Compare Budgets** and selects the row in the budget you started the comparison from.
If someone shared a budget with you for reading only, KOSMA locks it. When you point at a greyed-out control, KOSMA shows:
This dataset was shared with you and cannot be edited. To make changes, create a copy.
If you shared a budget with editing access, KOSMA locks it for you and shows:
You cannot edit this dataset while editing access is shared. Stop sharing or create a copy.
In both cases, copy the budget as described above. You can edit the copy.
Markdown