Budget Transfers provide a means of reallocating resources (on either a permanent or temporary basis) within any one fund, but amongst only a selected group of funds.
Budget Transfers are used to transfer budgeted amounts from one fund to another, or from one account within a fund to another account. Requests for transfers may be initiated electronically via the Budget Module using the McGill Budget Entry Banner Form FZABTDO.
The 
Decision Grid for Budget Transfers provides a summary of the various budget transfer scenarios.
Budget Transfers within a Fund (i.e. Intra-Fund)
Budget transfers within a fund are processed routinely and are subject to review. Budget transfers that affect both expenditure and recovery accounts within a fund must include an explanation of the increase or decrease in expected recoveries. In the case of increased recoveries, the budget change will only be approved if the additional recovery has already been received, or is assured.
Budget Transfers amongst expenditure account codes within a fund are subject to review for appropriateness and compliance with agency/sponsor requirements. These transactions are usually processed routinely, and can be made upon request to:
- The Budget Office for 1A & 1B unrestricted fund types
- The Fund Administrator in Financial Services for all other funds.
The budget amounts for the account codes listed below are predetermined by the area initiating the related charges. Budget transfers to/from these accounts are not permitted during the year, unless Analysis, Planning and Budget, and the issuing area have been contacted:
- 600001 Tenure Track (1A funds only) [Analysis, Planning and Budget]
- 600125 Benefits General (1A funds only) [Analysis, Planning and Budget]
- 600660 Offset to Salary Policy (1A funds only) [Analysis, Planning and Budget]
- 700016 Photocopying [Ancillary Services, NCS]
- 700050-56 Insurance (Fire, Liability, Auto, All Risk) [Risk Management]
Budget Transfers which affect both expenditure and recovery accounts, within a fund, are subject to review. The request for transfer must include an explanation of the increase or decrease in expected recoveries. In the case of increased recoveries, the budget change will only be approved if the additional recovery has already been received, or is assured.
Budget Transfers amongst Funds (i.e. Inter-Fund)
For University operating funds, financial resources are represented not by cash but rather by budget. Therefore, a budget transfer is transferring the capability to absorb an expenditure. It is important that expenditures be attributed to the correct fund or unit in order to adequately plan for future resource requirements.
Budget Transfers amongst funds should be used to account for contributions towards purchases or projects that are rightfully an expenditure of the department receiving the additional budget resources. For example, a Dean's office may be contributing towards the purchase of equipment in one of the Faculty departments. In this case, the expenditure is recorded correctly in the funds of the Faculty department. Budget Transfers may also be used when an activity is transferred from one unit to another.
Budget Transfers amongst funds are subject to limitations; however, these scenarios are generally acceptable:
- Budget Transfers amongst 1A fund types (Unrestricted University Allocation).
- Budget Transfers amongst funds within each of the self-financing functions in 1B fund types (e.g. within Student Services, and within Ancillary Services).
- Budget Transfers amongst capital equipment series of funds (9A and 9C fund types).
A Budget Transfer is not appropriate in the case of shared expenditures. For example the Departmental Chair / Director of Research Centre of two departments may purchase equipment for joint use. In this case, the equipment should be charged to the two departmental funds at the time of purchase, or failing this, a transfer of expenditure should be made from the fund to which the purchase was initially charged.
Budget Transfers cannot be made between any other types of funds because the transfer will not have the intended effect of redistributing resources. For example, a research fund will have a budget as will a departmental operating fund. The budget in the operating fund is an allocation of expendable resources to the unit. The budget in the research fund is, however, an administrative tool that reflects the resources projected to be received and the use of those resources. The balance of a research fund at fiscal year-end will not be budget less actual expenditure, but the actual receipts less the actual expenditure. Attempting to allocate resources from a departmental fund to a research project by way of Budget Transfer will therefore not have the desired effect, since resources (budget) will be reduced in the departmental fund, but resources (receipts) will not be increased in the research fund.