# Fix the baseline in a budget
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User permissions: Budgets & Forecasts and Manage Budgets & Forecasts
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The use of a fixed baseline can help with:
* [Performance issues](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/budgets-and-forecasts/owner-and-administrator/pages/DzJtZwhIlA8godVUocNp#id-4.-budget-setup-general-tips) (it might be preferable in some budgeting practices).
* [Securing a completed budget or forecast](/budgets-and-forecasts/owner-and-administrator/create-a-budget/secure-and-distribute-a-completed-budget-or-forecast.md) prior to distribution.
In the budget setup, if the selected baseline data structure is **stream** as opposed to **zeros**, the budget will be prepopulated with values from that stream (usually the Actuals stream). These baseline values are subject to change over the budget period, which might be undesirable.
It's possible for your baseline values to change because your budget is live and linked to the data in the baseline stream. If that baseline data changes, the changes automatically flow through to the budget. For example, suppose you're using the Actuals stream as your baseline data structure, and you complete your budget in November for the following calendar year. In this scenario, the prior year’s actuals will populate your budget for January through to October and potentially a partial month for November. When your database in Phocas is rebuilt, new transactions for November and December will be imported, and the baseline will change.
If you don't want these changes to occur in your budget, you can fix the baseline values at a point in time: [Copy and paste](/budgets-and-forecasts/contributor/edit-values-in-a-worksheet/copy-and-paste-values.md), [spread](/budgets-and-forecasts/contributor/edit-values-in-a-worksheet/spread-totals.md), or [publish](/budgets-and-forecasts/owner-and-administrator/publish-a-budget-forecast-or-other-worksheet-tab.md) the baseline values. Each method breaks the link between the baseline stream and the budget, so the values will no longer update automatically.
## Copy and paste
The copy and paste method is suitable if you only want to fix one or a few baseline values.
Select the cells, then copy and paste the values into the same cells. When you do so, the values remain the same but they turn blue as they are no longer linked to the baseline stream.
## **Spread**
The spread method is suitable if you want to fix one or more rows of baseline values, or even the whole budget, as it's quicker than the copy and paste method. The values are spread as they are, so the only difference you see is the blue font denoting that the values are now fixed.
Select the rows, then click **Spread** on any total column cell and use the **Based on displayed data** spread option.
## **Publish**
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There is a risk with this method: If your [published baseline stream is deleted](/budgets-and-forecasts/owner-and-administrator/delete-a-stream-budgets-and-forecasts.md), the budget will fail to load, and you'll potentially lose budget data.
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The publish method is suitable if you want to fix the whole budget and have a distinct record of it at a particular point in time, as you can give it a name.
First, publish the budget to a new stream, calling it something meaningful, such as *Jan25Baseline*. Ensure you select the **Include zero value rows** option because you'll want to fix everything in the budget. After the budget is published, open the workbook setup and change the baseline stream to your new stream.
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