Financial Reports, Budgets, and Funding Plans Guide
Stratapilot · Help Centre Last updated: June 2026
Overview
The Budgets module lets the Treasurer create and manage funding plans for both the Administrative Fund and Sinking Fund (capital works fund). Funding plans track estimated, committed, and paid expenditure across categorised line items. Quotes submitted in the platform are linked to funding plan categories for real-time budget tracking.
Who Can Do What
| Action | Treasurer / Admin | Executive | Ordinary Member | Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create / manage funding plans | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| View funding plans | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Submit quotes against a plan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| View financial reports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
Australian Strata Fund Requirements
Most Australian states require body corporates to maintain at least two separate funds:
| Fund | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Administrative Fund | Day-to-day operational expenses — insurance premiums, cleaning, garden maintenance, utilities, management fees |
| Sinking Fund / Capital Works Fund | Long-term capital expenditure — major repairs, building upgrades, lift replacement |
| State | Legislation |
|---|---|
| QLD | BCCM Act — sinking fund contributions set by 10-year plan |
| NSW | SSMA 2015 — capital works fund must have an approved 10-year plan |
| VIC | Owners Corporations Act 2006 — maintenance plan required for tier 1 OCs |
| WA | Strata Titles Act 2020 — reserve fund requirements |
Always consult a licensed strata manager or quantity surveyor to prepare a compliant 10-year plan for your state.
Funding Plan Lifecycle
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Plan under preparation; not yet in use |
| Active | Current budget period; quotes can be raised against this plan |
| Closed | Budget period has ended |
Creating a Funding Plan
Only the Treasurer or Scheme Admin can create funding plans.
- Go to Budgets in the main navigation.
- Click New funding plan.
- Fill in the form:
- Name — required (e.g. "FY2026 Administrative Fund", "FY2026 Sinking Fund").
- Description — optional summary of the plan.
- Fund — select Administrative or Sinking.
- Start date and End date — the financial year period (e.g. 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026).
- Add Categories (budget line items):
- Enter a category name (e.g. "Building Insurance", "Cleaning", "Lift Maintenance").
- Enter the estimated amount in AUD.
- Click Add category for each line item.
- Alternatively, click ↑ Load from CSV to import a list of categories from a CSV file.
- Click Create plan.
CSV Import Format
To bulk-import budget categories, prepare a CSV file with two columns:
- Column 1: Category name
- Column 2: Estimated amount in AUD
Example:
Building Insurance,32000
Cleaning,18000
Garden Maintenance,8500
Lift Maintenance,12000
A header row is optional — the platform detects and skips it automatically. Duplicate category names are skipped with a warning.
Budget Detail View
Budget Cards and Progress Bars
Each funding plan displays a card with:
- Estimated — the total of all category estimates
- Committed — total value of approved quotes linked to this plan
- Paid — total amount actually paid
A progress bar visualises committed vs estimated spend. The summary strip at the top of the Budgets page aggregates these figures across all Active plans.
Filtering by Fund
Use the All / Administrative / Sinking tabs at the top of the Budgets page to filter the plan list by fund type.
Quotes and Spending Requests
When a committee member raises a spending request (quote) in the Billing section, they link it to a funding plan category. The committed amount on the category increases as quotes are approved. The paid amount increases when a quote is marked as paid.
Spending requests above the Committee approval limit (set in Settings → Billing) require a passed general-meeting poll before they can be approved.
Financial Reports
The Financial Reports section provides downloadable financial statements for the scheme. These are typically generated at the end of each financial year and stored in the document library under the Financial Reports category.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have multiple active funding plans at the same time? Yes — you can have one Administrative Fund plan and one Sinking Fund plan active simultaneously (one per fund type per period is the recommended practice).
What is the financial year start month? The financial year start month can be configured in Settings → Lot management. Australian strata schemes commonly use 1 July (financial year) or 1 January (calendar year). Your scheme's AGM cycle determines the period.
How do I transfer money between funds? Inter-fund transfers are recorded as a closing entry on the source fund plan and a separate transaction on the receiving fund plan. Record both in the notes of the relevant quotes/transactions.
Can lot owners see the budget? In the current role model, the Budgets section is visible to committee members only. Lot owners (Viewer role) do not have direct access to funding plan details.
This guide documents Stratapilot platform behaviour. Consult a licensed strata manager, accountant, or quantity surveyor for financial year planning, 10-year capital works plans, and compliance with your state's strata legislation.