> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.equalsmoney.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fund your budget

> Before you can transfer funds between budgets or exchange currencies, your budgets need to have a balance.

# Step 5: fund your budget

Before you can transfer funds between budgets or exchange currencies, your budgets need to have a balance. In sandbox, you can simulate an inbound payment using the generate-credit endpoint.

<Warning>
  This endpoint is for sandbox testing only and is not available in production. In production, budgets are funded by making a transfer from an external account to your budget's settlement details. You can retrieve these settlement details by [viewing a budget's settlement details](/pages/budgets/view-budgets#get-settlement-details).
</Warning>

In this example, we're crediting `200 GBP` to the budget we created in [step 3](/pages/budgets/tutorial/step3).

```bash Sandbox theme={null}
curl -i -X POST 'https://api-sandbox.equalsmoney.com/v2/budgets/generate-credit?accountId={accountId}' \ # Your account ID
  -H 'Authorization: ApiKey {apiKey}' \ # Your API key
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "budgetId": "{budgetId}", # The ID of the budget you created in step 3
    "settlementPriceAmount": "200",
    "settlementPriceCurrency": "GBP",
    "remittersName": "Test Sender",
    "remittersAddress": "123 Test Street, London, EC1A 1BB",
    "beneficiaryName": "Test Beneficiary",
    "reference": "FUND-TEST-001",
    "schemeName": "FasterPayment"
  }'
```

If your request is successful, you'll receive a `200` response and your budget will be credited with the specified amount.

```json theme={null}
{
  "boxTransactionId": 3765,
  "balance": {
    "runningBalance": "200.00",
    "availableBalance": "200.00"
  }
}
```

You'll also receive a `BoxCredited` webhook for the budget.

<Tip>
  If you're planning to try out [budget transfers](/pages/budgets/tutorial/step6) or [currency exchanges](/pages/budgets/tutorial/step7), make sure to fund at least two budgets — or fund a single budget with enough to cover both operations.
</Tip>

For more detailed information about this request, [see the generate credits guide](/pages/get-started/generate-credits).