Moss doesn't have a dedicated "parent/child budget" feature today, but you can achieve the same outcome. Create one overall budget broken down into smaller budgets that roll up, using auto-assign rules, naming conventions and your org hierarchy.
When to use sub-budgets
Use this pattern when you want one overall budget (e.g. a production, a department, a project) broken down into smaller budgets that track specific areas of spend, while still seeing how the overall budget is tracking.
Common examples:
A marketing budget split by channel (social, events, online ads, brand)
A production budget split by area (costumes, set design, catering, travel)
A departmental software budget split by team
An L&D budget split by team or by user
How it works
Instead of creating one parent budget with children, you create one budget per sub-area, each scoped to the right spend using AND auto-assign rules. This way, every transaction automatically lands in the correct sub-budget, and you can use your org hierarchy and naming to get a clean rolled-up view.
Step 1 | Plan your structure
Decide what defines each sub-budget. In Moss, every sub-budget needs a unique combination of accounting dimensions to auto-assign transactions correctly. Typical combinations:
Cost centre (or team) + expense account: e.g. Marketing + Online Ads
Project + expense account: e.g. Production A + Costumes
Supplier + expense account: e.g. Google + Online Marketing
Step 2 | Create each sub-budget with an AND auto-assign rule
For each sub-area:
Go to "Budgets" > "New budget".
Set the amount and period as usual.
Under 'Auto-assign rules', combine conditions with AND so that only transactions matching every condition will land in this budget.
Example for a production company
Example for a production company
Budget name | Auto-assign rule (AND) |
Production A — Costumes | Project = Production A AND Expense account = Costumes |
Production A — Set Design | Project = Production A AND Expense account = Set Design |
Production A — Catering | Project = Production A AND Expense account = Catering |
Because each rule is unique, there's no risk of transactions landing in the wrong budget.
Step 3 | Bulk-create via CSV (optional)
If you have many sub-budgets (for example, 6 productions × 15 areas = 90 budgets), don't create them one by one. Instead:
Download the budgets CSV template from "Budgets" > "Import".
Fill in one row per sub-budget, including the auto-assign rule columns.
Upload the CSV to create them all at once.
Step 4 | Use a naming convention to group them visually
The budget list is sorted alphabetically, so a consistent naming prefix is the simplest way to keep related sub-budgets grouped together on screen.
Recommended pattern: {Parent} — {Sub-area}
Examples
Examples
Production A — CostumesProduction A — Set DesignProduction A — CateringProduction B — CostumesProduction B — Set Design
This keeps all Production A budgets next to each other, all Production B budgets next to each other, and makes scanning the list straightforward.
Step 5 | Use org hierarchy for roll-up visibility
If you want one person (e.g. a production lead) to see all sub-budgets in their area roll up:
Make sure your org hierarchy is set up in Moss so the production lead sits above the sub-area managers.
Assign each sub-area manager as the budget manager for their sub-budget.
The production lead will automatically see their reports' budgets in their own view, giving you a de-facto roll-up.
You can also assign multiple budget managers to a single sub-budget if more than one person needs visibility or edit rights.
What this pattern gives you
Automatic assignment of every transaction to the right sub-budget
Clear budget-vs-actuals tracking at the sub-area level
A visually grouped list of related budgets in the UI
A roll-up view via the org hierarchy
Bulk creation at scale via CSV
Current limitations
To be transparent about what this pattern doesn't do:
No visual parent-child tree. Sub-budgets appear in the flat budget list. Grouping relies on naming.
No parent total on one budget. There's no single "Production A total" number that sums its sub-budgets automatically on the budget page — use the org hierarchy view for roll-up.
Budget managers can't split budgets themselves. Only admins and accountants can create or edit budgets today. Budget managers who want to split a budget into sub-budgets need to ask an admin or accountant.
FAQ
Can I split a single transaction across sub-budgets?
Yes, if Split budget allocation is enabled. You can allocate a single expense across multiple budgets from the expense drawer.
What happens if a transaction matches more than one sub-budget's rules?
Because each sub-budget uses an AND rule with a unique combination of dimensions, this shouldn't happen if you plan your rules carefully. If it does, the first matching rule wins — so review your rules before going live.
Can I change the structure later?
Yes. You can edit auto-assign rules on existing budgets, or archive a budget and create a replacement. Historical data stays with the original budget.