It's good to see you here with us, pbailey,

Let me help share information on how Budget vs. Actual report works in QuickBooks Online.

The Budget vs. Actual report is your reality check for how close you are to your goals. Sometimes actual is over the budgeted amount, and sometimes it is under.

If actual revenues are less than the budgeted revenues, the variance (or difference) will be shown as a negative amount. The reason is that having less revenues than planned is not good.

On the other hand, if actual expenses are less than the budgeted amount of expenses, the variance will be shown as a positive amount. The reason is that fewer actual expenses than budgeted is favorable (or good, positive).

If there's anything else you need help with, please feel free to reach back out. I'd be happy to further assist.