After you set up your budget amounts, you can view a graph that shows your budgeted vs. actual amounts. This lets you see the variance between your budgeted amounts and the actual amount you earned or spent.
To graph a budget:
Choose Reports > Budgets > Budgets vs. Actual Graph.
(Optional) When QuickBooks displays the graph, click the Dates button to change the date range for the graph.
(Optional) Click any button on the graph buttonbar that allows you to group the data in a different way.