Cloud-Based Budgeting System

The Vendor is required to provide a cloud-based budgeting system that supports our entire budget cycle from start to finish.
- System that helps departments build their budgets, allows leadership to review and approve them, supports forecasting and scenario planning, and provides clear reporting throughout the year.
- The solution should make our budgeting process easier, more reliable, and more informative for decision makers.
- We want a system that supports the entire lifecycle of budget development and management. This includes operating budgets, personnel budgeting, capital and CIP planning, forecasting, reporting, and mid year adjustments.
- The system should provide a simple, structured way for departments to enter their budget requests each year.
- Departments should be able to explain what they are requesting, why it is needed, and how it aligns with organizational goals.
- The system should guide users through this process and make it easy to attach supporting documents.
- Capital budgets should roll up cleanly into department level capital summaries and ultimately into an organization wide capital improvement plan (CIP).
- Because capital projects often span multiple years, the system should be able to carry project budgets forward and support the appropriation of funds when needed. It should also capture the ongoing operating impacts of capital investments so future budgets can reflect changes such as increased maintenance or staffing needs.
- The system should make it easy to create and compare multiple scenarios side by side. This includes the ability to forecast multi-year operating budgets, personnel costs, capital needs, and fund balances under different conditions.
- Budget activity does not end once the annual budget is adopted. Throughout the year, departments may need to request additional funding, move money between accounts, or respond to unexpected changes.
- The system should provide a clear and easy way to submit, review, and approve these mid year adjustments, often called “off cycle requests.” Users should be able to explain why the adjustment is needed, attach supporting documents, and track the request through an approval workflow
- The system should also distinguish between one time and ongoing requests so that future budgets are calculated correctly.
- The solution must support Single Sign-On (SSO) so that employees can access the system using their regular organizational login credentials. This requirement is for ease of use, improved security, and alignment with our identity management practices.