In Alma, you must allocate money to funds so that purchase order lines (POLs) and invoices can use those funds. There are different approaches to deciding how much money to allocate to a fund:
Amount allocated by CUNY. This is the most precise method. If you have been given $30,000 for books for the year, you allocate $30,000 to a fund. As you post charges to that fund throughout the fiscal year, you'll see the amount go down, and you'll be able to see how much money is left.
Generic amount. Some people just add $10,000 to every fund so they can proceed with creating PO lines and posting invoices. They are not concerned with tracking spend down of their budget.
Amount based on last year's spending. If you spent $200,000 on journals last year, you would allocate the same amount this year. It wouldn't be as precise as option #1, but it would be more accurate than option #2.
