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The Best Free Business Budget Templates

Published: October 12, 2023

Business budgets are a source of truth for your income and expenses. That includes all the money you spend — from A/B testing your marketing campaigns to your monthly office rent.

While organizing the numbers may sound difficult, using a business budget template makes the process simple. Plus, there are thousands of business budget templates for you to choose from.

We’ll share seven budget templates that can help organize your finances. But first, you’ll learn about different types of business budgets and how to create one.

What is a Business Budget?

A business budget is a spending plan that estimates the revenue and expenses of a business for a period of time, typically monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

The business budget follows a set template, which you can fill in with estimated revenues, plus any recurring or expected business expenses.

For example, say your business is planning a website redesign. You'd need to break down the costs by category: software, content and design, testing, and more.

Having a clear breakdown will help you estimate how much each category will cost and compare it with the actual costs.

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Types of Budgets for a Business

Master budget, operating budget, cash budget, static budget, departmental budget, capital budget, labor budget, project budget.

Business budgets aren’t one size fits all. In fact, there are many different types of budgets that serve various purposes. Let’s dive into some commonly used budgets:

Think of a master budget as the superhero of budgets — it brings together all the individual budgets from different parts of your company into one big, consolidated plan. It covers everything from sales and production to marketing and finances.

It includes details like projected revenues, expenses, and profitability for each department or business unit. It also considers important financial aspects like cash flow, capital expenditures, and even creates a budgeted balance sheet to show the organization's financial position.

The master budget acts as a guide for decision-making, helps with strategic planning, and gives a clear picture of the overall financial health and performance of your company. It's like the master plan that ties everything together and helps the organization move in the right direction.

Your operating budget helps your company figure out how much money it expects to make and spend during a specific period, usually a year. It not only predicts the revenue your business will bring in, but also outlines expenses it will need to cover, like salaries, rent, bills, and other operational costs.

By comparing your actual expenses and revenue to the budgeted amounts, your company can see how it's performing and make adjustments if needed. It helps keep things in check, allowing your business to make wise financial decisions and stay on track with its goals.

Free Business Budget Templates

Manage your business, personal, and program spend on an annual, quarterly, and monthly basis.

• Personal Budget Template
• Annual Budget Template
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A cash budget estimates the cash inflows and outflows of your business over a specific period, typically a month, quarter, or year. It provides a detailed projection of cash sources and uses, including revenue, expenses, and financing activities.

The cash budget helps you effectively manage your cash flow, plan for cash shortages or surpluses, evaluate the need for external financing, and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

By utilizing a cash budget, your business can ensure it has enough cash on hand to meet its financial obligations, navigate fluctuations, and seize growth opportunities.

A static budget is a financial plan that remains unchanged, regardless of actual sales or production volumes.

It’s typically created at the beginning of a budget period and doesn’t account for any fluctuations or changes in business conditions. It also assumes that all variables, such as sales, expenses, and production levels, will remain the same throughout the budget period.

While a static budget provides a baseline for comparison, it may not be realistic for businesses with fluctuating sales volumes or variable expenses.

A departmental budget focuses on the financial aspects of a specific department within your company, such as sales, marketing or human resources.

When creating a departmental budget, you may look at revenue sources like departmental sales, grants, and other sources of income. On the expense side, you consider costs such as salaries, supplies, equipment, and any other expenses unique to that department.

The goal of a departmental budget is to help the department manage its finances wisely. It acts as a guide for making decisions and allocating resources effectively. By comparing the actual numbers to the budgeted amounts, department heads can see if they're on track or if adjustments need to be made.

A capital budget is all about planning for big investments in the long term. It focuses on deciding where to spend money on things like upgrading equipment, maintaining facilities, developing new products, and hiring new employees.

The budget looks at the costs of buying new stuff, upgrading existing things, and even considers depreciation, which is when something loses value over time. It also considers the return on investment, like how much money these investments might bring in or how they could save costs in the future.

The budget also looks at different ways to finance these investments, whether it's through loans, leases, or other options. It's all about making smart decisions for the future, evaluating cash flow, and choosing investments that will help the company grow and succeed.

A labor budget helps you plan and manage the costs related to your employees. It involves figuring out how much your business will spend on wages, salaries, benefits, and other labor-related expenses.

To create a labor budget, you'll need to consider factors like how much work needs to be done, how many folks you'll need to get it done, and how much it'll all cost. This can help your business forecast and control labor-related expenses and ensure adequate staffing levels.

By having a labor budget in place, your business can monitor and analyze your labor costs to make informed decisions and optimize your resources effectively.

A project budget is the financial plan for a specific project.

Let's say you have an exciting new project you want to tackle. A project budget helps you figure out how much money you'll need and how it will be allocated. It covers everything from personnel to equipment and materials — basically, anything you'll need to make the project happen.

By creating a project budget, you can make sure the project is doable from a financial standpoint. It helps you keep track of how much you planned to spend versus how much you actually spend as you go along. That way, you have a clear idea of whether you're staying on track or if there are any financial challenges that need attention.

How to Create a Business Budget

While creating a business budget can be straightforward, the process may be more complex for larger companies with multiple revenue streams and expenses.

No matter the size of your business, here are the basic steps to creating a business budget.

1. Gather financial data.

Before you create a business budget, it’s important to gather insights from your past financial data. By looking at things like income statements, expense reports, and sales data, you can spot trends, learn from past experiences, and see where you can make improvements.

Going through your financial history helps you paint a true picture of your income and expenses. So, when you start creating your budget, you can set achievable targets and make sure your estimates match what's actually been happening in your business.

2. Find a template, or make a spreadsheet.

There are many free or paid budget templates online. You can start with an already existing budget template. We list a few helpful templates below.

You may also opt to make a spreadsheet with custom rows and columns based on your business.

3. Fill in revenues.

Once you have your template, start by listing all the sources of your business’ income. With a budget, you’re planning for the future, so you’ll also need to forecast revenue streams based on previous months or years. For a new small business budget, you’ll rely on your market research to estimate early revenue for your company.

When you estimate your revenue , you're essentially figuring out how much money you have to work with. This helps you decide where to allocate your resources and which expenses you can fund.

4. Subtract fixed costs for the time period.

Fixed costs are the recurring costs you have during each month, quarter, or year. Examples include insurance, rent for office space, website hosting, and internet.

The key thing to remember about fixed costs is that they stay relatively stable, regardless of changes in business activity. Even if your sales decrease or production slows down, these costs remain the same.

However, it's important to note that fixed costs can still change over the long term, such as when renegotiating lease agreements or adjusting employee salaries.

5. Consider variable costs.

Variable costs will change from time to time. Unlike fixed costs, variable costs increase or decrease as the level of production or sales changes.

Examples include raw materials needed to manufacture your products, packaging and shipping costs, utility bills, advertising costs, office supplies, and new software or technology.

You may always need to pay some variable costs, like utility bills. However, you can shift how much you spend toward other expenses, like advertising costs, when you have a lower-than-average estimated income.

6. Set aside time for business budget planning.

Unexpected expenses might come up, or you might want to save to expand your business. Either way, review your budget after including all expenses, fixed costs, and variable costs. Once completed, you can determine how much money you can save. It’s wise to create multiple savings accounts. One should be used for emergencies. The other holds money that can be spent on the business to drive growth.

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How to manage a business budget.

There are a few key components to managing a healthy business budget.

Budget Preparation

The process all starts with properly preparing and planning the budget at the beginning of each month, quarter, or year. You can also create multiple budgets, some short-term and some long-term. During this stage, you will also set spending limits and create a system to regularly monitor the budget.

Budget Monitoring

In larger businesses, you might delegate budget tracking to multiple supervisors. But even if you’re a one-person show, keep a close eye on your budget. That means setting a time in your schedule each day or week to review the budget and track actual income and expenses. Be sure to compare the actual numbers to the estimates.

Budget Forecasting

With regular budget tracking, you always know how your business is doing. Check in regularly to determine how you are doing in terms of revenue and where you have losses. Find where you can minimize expenses and how you can move more money into savings.

Why is a Budget Important for a Business?

A budget is crucial for businesses. Without one, you could easily be drowning in expenses or unexpected costs.

The business budget helps with several operations. You can use a business budget to keep track of your finances, save money to help you grow the business or pay bonuses in the future, and prepare for unexpected expenses or emergencies.

You can also review your budget to determine when to take the next leap for your business. For example, you might be dreaming of a larger office building or the latest software, but you want to make sure you have a healthy net revenue before you make the purchase.

Best Free Business Budget Templates

1. marketing budget template.

Knowing how to manage a marketing budget can be a challenge, but with helpful free templates like this marketing budget template bundle , you can track everything from advertising expenses to events and more.

This free bundle includes eight different templates, so you can create multiple budgets to help you determine how much money to put toward marketing, plus the return on your investment.

2. Small Business Budget Template

For small businesses, it can be hard to find the time to draw up a budget, but it’s crucial to help keep the business in good health.

Capterra offers a budget template specifically for small businesses. Plus, this template works with Excel. Start by inputting projections for the year. Then, the spreadsheet will project the month-to-month budget. You can input your actual revenue and expenses to compare, making profits and losses easy to spot.

3. Startup Budget Template

What if you don’t have any previous numbers to rely on to create profit and expense estimates? If you are a startup, this Gusto budget template will help you draw up a budget before your business is officially in the market. This will help you track all the expenses you need to get your business up and running, estimate your first revenues, and determine where to pinch pennies.

4. Free Business Budget Template

You might be familiar with Intuit. Many companies, big and small, rely on Intuit’s services like Quickbooks and TurboTax. Even if you don’t use the company’s paid financial services, you can take advantage of Intuit’s free budget template , which works in Google Sheets or Excel.

It features multiple spreadsheet tabs and simple instructions. You enter your revenue in one specific tab and expenses in another. You can also add additional tabs as needed. Then, like magic, the spreadsheet uses the data in the income and expense tabs to summarize the information. This template can even determine net savings and the ending balance.

5. Department Budget Sheet

A mid- to large-size company will have multiple departments, all with different budgetary needs. These budgets will all be consolidated into a massive, company-wide budget sheet. Having a specific template for each department can help teams keep track of spending and plan for growth.

This free template from Template.net works in either document or spreadsheet formats. This budget template can help different departments keep track of their income and spending.

6. Project Budget Template

Every new project comes with expenses. This free budget template from Monday will help your team estimate costs before undertaking a project. You can easily spot if you're going over budget midway through a project so you can adjust.

This template is especially useful for small companies that are reporting budgets to clients and for in-house teams getting buy-in for complex projects.

7. Company Budget Template

Want to keep track of every penny? Use this template from TemplateLab to draw up a detailed budget. The list of expenses includes fixed costs, employee costs, and variable costs. This business template can be especially useful for small businesses that want to keep track of expenses in one, comprehensive document.

Create a Business Budget to Help Your Company Grow

Making your first business budget can be daunting, especially if you have several revenue streams and expenses. Using a budget template can make getting started easy. And, once you get it set up, these templates are simple to replicate.

With little planning and regular monitoring, you can plan for the future of your business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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6 templates to manage your business, personal, and program spend on an annual, quarterly, and monthly basis.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

Business budget templates to help you reach your goals

Keep track of your finances—monitor income and expenses, forecast cash flow and profits, and identify areas for cost reductions—with these free business budget templates..

Free business budget templates

Creating and sticking to a budget is essential to run a successful business. Exceeding your budget can quickly land you in financial trouble. It’s important to keep track of your business expenses, and using a business budget template can help you do so. Creating a business budget can also help you identify unnecessary expenses or help you cut costs. These business budget templates can help you track payroll expenses, insurance fees, utilities, and more. Use these business budget templates for startups, small businesses, or large businesses. You can easily edit these free business budget templates in Excel . Change the fonts, colors, and more, or add your business logo for a professional look. You can use these business budget templates to keep track of weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly business budgets. Print your budget out or share them digitally. You can also upload them to OneDrive if you want to collaborate on your business budget with other employees. Explore more templates that can help you grow your business .

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7 free small business budget templates for future-proofing your finances

As a small business owner, you're likely balling with a lot more than your personal checking account. If you don't properly manage your business finances, there's more on the line than an overdraft fee—you now have an entire organization to account for.

Small business budgets are necessary to balance revenue, estimate how much you'll spend, and project financial forecasts, so you can stay out of the red and keep your business afloat.

But creating a small business budget template isn't a small task. Since I don't have a business to run, I did the heavy lifting for you—check out these free, downloadable templates for your small business budgeting.

Table of contents:

1. Static budget template

Best for: Multiple departments or revenue streams; Industries with complex operations

A static budget combines all the function-specific budgets a business uses into one. Typically, a static budget includes the following items (plus any other budgets your business might use):

Cash flow projections: Estimations of how much money will flow into and out of your business. They also help you decide when, how, and what you should spend money on.

Total expected spending: All estimated expenses, including labor and administrative costs. 

By integrating all of your budgets and projections, the static budget provides a full picture of your business's estimated expenses and financial strategy for the upcoming fiscal year. 

2. Overhead budget template

Best for: Service-based businesses

It's easy to forget about expenses that aren't directly tied to production, like delivery charges or utilities. But these costs exist (and can add up quickly), so you need an overhead budget. A detailed overhead budget template will include:

Administration expenses

It compares your budgeted amount to actual figures (warning: it may be a rude awakening) and can help improve accuracy for future financial planning. 

Predicting overhead spending helps you plan how to use other funds more practically too—if you know how much you'll spend on overhead, you can make better business decisions. For example, you'd know whether you can afford to invest money into other initiatives like adding a delivery service or upgrading equipment.

3. Multiple-project budget template

Best for: Project-based industries

Product-by-product COGS (cost of goods sold)

Labor costs

Equipment and resource costs

Indirect project expenses like travel

A multiple-projects budget establishes estimates for everything you need to get projects across the finish line. It also lets you track costs to ensure you're not spending more than you accounted for in the budget.

4. Startup budget template

Best for: New small businesses and startups

But unlike established small businesses, you don't have past financial data to base expenses on. That's why you need a startup budget to focus on expenses for your first year of business, including items like:

Funding from investors and loans

Licensing and permits

Logo and website design

Website domain

Business software

Security installation 

Overhead expenses

Capital expenses

5. Labor budget template

Best for: Larger businesses with lots of employees

Unless you're a one-person show, you'll need a labor budget. And even if you are a one-person show, it's good to know if you can afford to pay yourself. A labor budget breaks down all employee-related costs like: 

Payroll taxes

Contract labor

Break down employee costs into direct, indirect, fixed, and variable categories to clarify how your company allocates its resources. You can also consider different scenarios more easily when you understand the breakdown of labor costs.

For example, you can simulate the impact of adding or reducing staff in specific departments or assess the effects of different compensation structures on different teams.

An accurate forecast of labor costs ensures you can sustainably meet your staffing needs and can help you make informed hiring decisions. Down the road, it can also help you determine if you can afford to give your staff raises, bonuses, or additional benefits.

6. Cash flow budget template

Best for: Businesses with fluctuating income and expenses; Seasonal businesses; Retail

As important as it is to be mindful of how much money you're spending, you should also track how much money you're making . A cash flow budget helps estimate how money is flowing in and out of your business. It includes:

Starting balance (set at the beginning of the month, quarter, or year)

Projected cash inflow from all revenue streams

Estimated cash expenditures

Ending balance (calculated at the end of the month, quarter, or year)

This type of budget lets you proactively manage your resources, anticipate potential cash shortages, and strategize for growth. For instance, if you know you're only going to break even this year, you may wait on expanding or making a large investment. 

7. Administrative budget template

Best for: Businesses focused on streamlining operations

An administrative budget includes all those general expenses that the company as a whole needs to function. This type of budget accounts for: 

Depreciation expenses

Training and development

Communication expenses

Accounting fees

While you could technically include administrative expenses in an overhead budget and call it a day, a separate administrative budget gives more of an eagle-eye view of how well your business is operating. 

Without an eye on administrative costs, you may be spending unnecessarily or lose focus on areas where it'd be wiser to invest your money. In other words, you could be spending way too much on fancy pens when you should be saving up to upgrade your cash register. 

Periodic budget reviews

A budget isn't a "set it and forget it" deal. Regular budget reviews can help you stay on track with your financial goals and respond proactively to changing market conditions. 

You should compare your estimated budget to actual spending. Then you can see where you went over and where you can splurge more. Try to review your budget monthly, quarterly, and yearly.

Monthly: Compare actual performance against your budgeted figures for the month. Identify any deviations and look for insights into cash flow, sales trends, and expense management.

Quarterly: Dive deeper into performance over the last three months. Use trends to project revenue and expenses for the upcoming quarter and identify areas for improvement.

Yearly: Reflect on your long-term financial objectives for the fiscal year. Assess the effectiveness of your budgeting strategies, and set new budget targets for the upcoming year. 

How to design your small business budget plan

It's cliched but true: you gotta spend money to make money. But that's no excuse to start throwing cash at your business willy-nilly.

Budgeting forces you to prioritize your objectives, so you spend money on the things that matter most. Here's how to create a small business budget in four steps:

Identify your working capital for the budgeting period. Add up your current assets like cash, accounts receivable, and inventory. Then subtract current liabilities like accounts payable and short-term debt. The remaining amount is what you have left to cover your operational expenses during the budgeting period.

Separate business and personal expenses. If you haven't already, open a dedicated business bank account. This makes it easier to track, categorize, and analyze your finances.

Determine your fixed and variable costs. Make a list of costs that stay the same every month (fixed costs) and what changes (variable costs). These will change based on the purpose of the budget. For instance, a labor budget will only consider employee-related costs.

Calculate your total expenses. Add up all the costs for your business, including fixed costs, variable costs, labor, and any other applicable expenses. This total is how much your business needs to run. Any leftover money from your working capital can be allocated toward other business investments. 

Budgeting methods

If you've budgeted before and hated it, you may just have been using an ineffective budgeting method for your preferences. Here are a few budgeting methods to try instead: 

Traditional: This budget is set for a determined amount of time and uses last year's numbers as a benchmark. Once you set your budget, you don't change it unless you get approval for an adjustment.

Rolling: This dynamic approach spans a continuous time frame instead of a fixed time period. As each month or quarter passes, you add a new budget period and drop the oldest period. This lets businesses adjust projections based on real-time performance and market conditions.

Flexible: This budget changes along with your sales forecast. As real-time sales activity deviates from budgeted amounts, you recalculate the budget to reflect the new data. 

Small business budget FAQ

Still don't know where to start with your small business budget? Check out the answers to these common questions before you open a new Google Sheet.

What should a business budget include?

A business budget should include all income sources and expenses. Income sources could include projected revenue from sales, loans, or potential investor funding. Expenses may include items like office space rent, employee salaries, insurance, and marketing. Add anything that helps paint a full picture of your finances.

How much does the average small business startup cost?

What is the best free business budgeting software.

The best free budgeting business software will depend on what your business needs, but you can try apps like Mint or Wave. Or you can use a spreadsheet—scroll up for some free small business budget templates.

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Cecilia Gillen

Cecilia is a content marketer with a degree in Media and Journalism from the University of South Dakota. After graduating, Cecilia moved to Omaha, Nebraska where she enjoys reading (almost as much as book buying), decor hunting at garage sales, and spending time with her two cats.

• Small business
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Template Highlights

• Download the business budget template in Microsoft Excel or as a PDF.
• In the first table, list the startup expenses of your business. These could include accountant and legal fees, promotional and marketing activities, and staff training.
• As you add budget items, the total will be calculated automatically.
• In the second table, list your monthly operating expenses. These will depend on the industry of your business, but could include: payroll and employee salaries, transportation and travel, rent, and taxes.
• The total will be calculated automatically as you add items to the table.
• The final budget will be calculated automatically when you complete the two tables.

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A business budget estimates future revenue and expenses in detail, so that you can see whether you’re on track to meet financial expectations for the month, quarter or year. Think of your budget as a point of comparison — you run your actual numbers against it to determine if you’re over or under budget.

From there, you can make informed business decisions and pivot accordingly. For example, maybe you find that your expenses are over budget for the quarter, so you may hold off on a large equipment purchase.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a business budget, along with why budgets are crucial to running a successful business.

» MORE: What is accounting? Definition and basics, explained

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QuickBooks Online

How does a business budget work?

Budgeting uses past months’ numbers to help you make financially conservative projections for the future and wiser business decisions for the present. If you’ve had a few bad months and predict another slow one, you can prepare to minimize expenses where possible. If business has been booming and you’re bringing in new customers, maybe you invest in buying more inventory to satisfy increased demand.

Creating a business budget from scratch can feel tedious, but you might already have access to tools that can help simplify the process. Your small-business accounting software is a good place to start, since it houses your business’s financial data and may offer basic budgeting reports.

To create a budget in QuickBooks Online , for example, you break down your estimated income and expenses across each area of your business. Then, the software calculates figures like gross profit, net operating income and net income for you.

You can then compare actual versus projected figures side by side by running a Budget vs. Actuals report. Businesses that need more in-depth features, like cash flow forecasting or the ability to use different projection methods, might subscribe to business budgeting software in addition to accounting software.

If your small business doesn’t have access to these features or has simple financials, you can download free small-business budget templates to manually create and track your budget. Regardless of which option you choose, your business will likely benefit from hiring an accountant to help manage your budget, course-correct when the business gets off track, and make sure taxes are being paid correctly.

Why is a business budget important?

A business budget encourages you to look beyond next week and next month to next year, or even the next five years.

Creating a budget can help your business do the following:

Maximize efficiency. 

Establish a financial plan that helps your business reach its goals. 

Point out leftover funds that you can reinvest.

Predict slow months and keep you out of debt.

Estimate what it will take to become profitable.

Provide a window into the future so you can prepare accordingly.

Creating a business budget will make operating your business easier and more efficient. A business budget can also help ensure you’re spending money in the right places and at the right time to stay out of debt.

How to create a business budget in 6 steps

The longer you’ve been in business, the more data you’ll have to inform your forward-looking budget. If you run a startup, however, you’ll want to do extensive research into typical costs for businesses in your industry, so that you have working estimates for revenue and expenses.

From there, here’s how to put together your business budget:

1. Examine your revenue

One of the first steps in any budgeting exercise is to look at your existing business and find all of your revenue sources. Add all those income sources together to determine how much money comes into your business monthly. It’s important to do this for multiple months and preferably for at least the previous 12 months, provided you have that much data available.

Notice how your business’s monthly income changes over time and try to look for seasonal patterns. Your business might experience a slump after the holidays, for example, or during the summer months. Understanding these seasonal changes will help you prepare for the leaner months and give you time to build a financial cushion.

Then, you can use those historic numbers and trends to make revenue projections for future months. Make sure to calculate for revenue, not profit. Your revenue is the money generated by sales before expenses are deducted. Profit is what remains after expenses are deducted.

2. Subtract fixed costs

The second step for creating a business budget involves adding up all of your historic fixed costs and using them to reliably predict future ones. Fixed costs are those that stay the same no matter how much income your business is generating. They might occur daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, so make sure to get as much data as you can.

Examples of fixed costs within your business might include:

Debt repayment.

Employee salaries.

Depreciation of assets.

Property taxes.

Insurance .

Once you’ve identified your business’s fixed costs, you’ll subtract those from your income and move to the next step.

3. Subtract variable expenses

As you compile your fixed costs, you might notice other expenses that aren’t as consistent. Unlike fixed costs, variable expenses change alongside your business’s output or production. Look at how they’ve fluctuated over time in your business, and use that information to estimate future variable costs. These expenses get subtracted from your income, too.

Some examples of variable expenses are:

Hourly employee wages.

Owner’s salary (if it fluctuates with profit). 

Raw materials.

Utility costs that change depending on business activity.

During lean months, you’ll probably want to lower your business’s variable expenses. During profitable months when there’s extra income, however, you may increase your spending on variable expenses for the long-term benefit of your business.

4. Set aside a contingency fund for unexpected costs

When you’re creating a business budget, make sure you put aside extra cash and plan for contingencies.

Although you might be tempted to spend surplus income on variable expenses, it’s smart to establish an emergency fund instead, if possible. That way, you’ll be ready when equipment breaks down and needs replacing, or if you have to quickly replace inventory that's damaged unexpectedly.

5. Determine your profit

Add up all of your projected revenue and expenses for each month. Then, subtract expenses from revenue. You may also see the resulting number referred to as net income . If you end up with a positive number, you can expect to make a profit. If not, that’s a loss — and that can be OK, too. Small businesses aren’t necessarily profitable every month, let alone every year. This is especially true when your business is just starting out. Compare your projected profits to past profits to confirm whether they’re realistic.

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6. Finalize your business budget

Are the resulting profits enough to work with, or is your business overspending? This is your opportunity to set spending and earning goals for each month, quarter and year. These goals should be realistic and achievable. If they don’t line up with your projections, make sure to establish a strategy for making up the difference.

As time goes on, regularly compare your actual numbers to your budget to determine whether your business is meeting those goals, and course correct if necessary.

» MORE: Ways your small business can spend smarter

A business budget projects future revenue and expenses so you can create a smart, realistic spending plan. As the year progresses, comparing your actual numbers against your budget can help you hold your business accountable and make sure it reaches its financial goals.

A business budget includes projected revenue, fixed costs, variable costs and the resulting profits. You can also factor in contingency funds for unforeseen circumstances like equipment failure.

On a similar note...

A How-To Guide for Creating a Business Budget

Amanda Smith

Reviewed by

September 23, 2022

This article is Tax Professional approved

Most business owners know how important a business budget is when it comes to managing expenses and planning for the future—but in a challenging economic environment like the one we’ve been experiencing, your business budget takes on even greater significance.

With inflation running rampant and the possibility of a recession looming, business owners need to be able to forecast their cash flow, manage their expenses, and plan for the future. Creating a detailed business budget is the first step.

Whether you want to revamp your budgeting method, or you’ve never created a business budget before, this guide will walk you through the process.

I am the text that will be copied.

What is a business budget?

A budget is a detailed plan that outlines where you’ll spend your money monthly or annually.

You give every dollar a “job,” based on what you think is the best use of your business funds, and then go back and compare your plan with reality to see how you did.

A budget will help you:

• Forecast what money you expect to earn
• Plan where to spend that revenue
• See the difference between your plan and reality

What makes a good budget?

The best budgets are simple and flexible. If circumstances change (as they do), your budget can flex to give you a clear picture of where you stand at all times.

Every good budget should include seven components:

1. Your estimated revenue

This is the amount you expect to make from the sale of goods or services. It’s all of the cash you bring in the door, regardless of what you spent to get there. This is the first line on your budget. It can be based on last year’s numbers or (if you’re a startup ), based on industry averages.

2. Your fixed costs

These are all your regular, consistent costs that don’t change according to how much you make—things like rent, insurance, utilities, bank fees, accounting and legal services, and equipment leasing.

Further reading: Fixed Costs (Everything You Need to Know)

3. Your variable costs

These change according to production or sales volume and are closely related to “ costs of goods sold ,” i.e., anything related to the production or purchase of the product your business sells. Variable costs might include raw materials, inventory, production costs, packaging, or shipping. Other variable costs can include sales commission, credit card fees, and travel. A clear budget plan outlines what you expect to spend on all these costs.

The cost of salaries can fall under both fixed and variable costs. For example, your core in-house team is usually associated with fixed costs, while production or manufacturing teams—anything related to the production of goods—are treated as variable costs. Make sure you file your different salary costs in the correct area of your budget.

Further reading: Variable Costs (A Simple Guide)

4. Your one-off costs

One-off costs fall outside the usual work your business does. These are startup costs like moving offices, equipment, furniture, and software, as well as other costs related to launch and research.

5. Your cash flow

Cash flow is all money traveling into and out of a business. You have positive cash flow if there is more money coming into your business over a set period of time than going out. This is most easily calculated by subtracting the amount of money available at the beginning of a set period of time and at the end.

Since cash flow is the oxygen of every business, make sure you monitor this weekly, or at least monthly. You could be raking it in and still not have enough money on hand to pay your suppliers.

6. Your profit

Profit is what you take home after deducting your expenses from your revenue. Growing profits mean a growing business. Here you’ll plan out how much profit you plan to make based on your projected revenue, expenses, and cost of goods sold. If the difference between revenue and expenses (aka “ profit margins ”) aren’t where you’d like them to be, you need to rethink your cost of goods sold and consider raising prices .

Or, if you think you can’t squeeze any more profit margin out of your business, consider boosting the Advertising and Promotions line in your budget to increase total sales.

7. A budget calculator

A budget calculator can help you see exactly where you stand when it comes to your business budget planning. It might sound obvious, but getting all the numbers in your budget in one easy-to-read summary is really helpful.

In your spreadsheet, create a summary page with a row for each of the budget categories above. This is the framework of your basic budget. Then, next to each category, list the total amount you’ve budgeted. Finally, create another column to the right—when the time period ends, use it to record the actual amounts spent in each category. This gives you a snapshot of your budget that’s easy to find without diving into layers of crowded spreadsheets.

See the sample below.

Pro tip: link the totals on the summary page to the original sums in your other budget tabs . That way when you update any figures, your budget summary gets updated at the same time. The result: your very own budget calculator.

You can also check out this simple Startup Cost Calculator from CardConnect. It lays out some of the most common expenses that you might not have considered. From there, you can customize a rough budget for your own industry.

Small business budgets for different types of company

While every good budget has the same framework, you’ll need to think about the unique budgeting quirks of your industry and business type.

Seasonal businesses

If your business has a busy season and a slow season, budgeting is doubly important.

Because your business isn’t consistent each month, a budget gives you a good view of past and present data to predict future cash flow . Forecasting in this way helps you spot annual trends, see how much money you need to get you through the slow months, and look for opportunities to cut costs to offset the low season. You can use your slow season to plan for the next year, negotiate with vendors, and build customer loyalty through engagement.

Don’t assume the same thing will happen every year, though. Just like any budget, forecasting is a process that evolves. So start with what you know, and if you don’t know something—like what kind of unexpected costs might pop up next quarter— just give it your best guess . Better to set aside money for an emergency that doesn’t happen than to be blindsided.

Ecommerce businesses

The main budgeting factor for ecommerce is shipping. Shipping costs (and potential import duties) can have a huge impact.

Do you have space in your budget to cover shipping to customers? If not, do you have an alternative strategy that’s in line with your budget—like flat rate shipping or real-time shipping quotes for customers? Packaging can affect shipping rates, so factor that into your cost of goods sold too. While you’re at it, consider any international warehousing costs and duties.

You’ll also want to create the best online shopping experience for your customers, so make sure you include a good web hosting service, web design, product photography, advertising, blogging, and social media in your budget.

Inventory businesses

If you need to stock up on inventory to meet demand, factor this into your cost of goods sold. Use the previous year’s sales or industry benchmarks to take a best guess at the amount of inventory you need. A little upfront research will help ensure you’re getting the best prices from your vendors and shipping the right amount to satisfy need, mitigate shipping costs, and fit within your budget.

The volume of inventory might affect your pricing. For example, if you order more stock, your cost per unit will be lower, but your overall spend will be higher. Make sure this is factored into your budget and pricing, and that the volume ordered isn’t greater than actual product demand.

You may also need to include the cost of storage solutions or disposal of leftover stock.

Custom order businesses

When creating custom ordered goods, factor in labor time and cost of operations and materials. These vary from order to order, so make an average estimate.

Budgeting is tricky for startups—you rarely have an existing model to use. Do your due diligence by researching industry benchmarks for salaries, rent, and marketing costs. Ask your network what you can expect to pay for professional fees, benefits, and equipment. Set aside a portion of your budget for advisors—accountants, lawyers, that kind of thing. A few thousand dollars upfront could save you thousands more in legal fees and inefficiencies later on.

This is just scratching the surface, and there’s plenty more to consider when creating a budget for a startup. This business startup budget guide from The Balance is a great start.

Service businesses

If you don’t have a physical product, focus on projected sales, revenue, salaries, and consultant costs. Figures in these industries—whether accounting, legal services, creative, or insurance—can vary greatly, which means budgets need flexibility. These figures are reliant on the number of people required to provide the service, the cost of their time, and fluctuating customer demand.

Small business budgeting templates

A business budget template can be as simple as a table or as complex as a multi-page spreadsheet. Just make sure you’re creating something that you’ll actually use.

Create your budget yearly—a 12-month budget is standard fare—with quarterly or monthly updates and check-ins to ensure you’re on track.

Here are some of our favorite templates for you to plug into and get rolling.

• The Balance has a clear table template that lists every budget item, the budgeted amount, the actual amount, and the difference between the two. Use this one if you’re looking to keep it simple.
• Capterra has both monthly and annual breakdowns in their Excel download. It’s straightforward, thorough, and fairly foolproof.
• Google Sheets has plenty of budget templates hiding right under your nose. They’re easy to use, and they translate your figures into clear tables and charts on a concise, visual summary page.
• Smartsheet has multiple resources for small businesses, including 12-month budget spreadsheets, department budget templates, projection templates, project-by-project templates, and startup templates. These templates are ideal if you’re looking for a little more detail.
• Scott’s Marketplace is a blog for small businesses. Their budget template comes with step-by-step instructions that make it dead simple for anyone.
• Vertex42 focuses on Excel spreadsheets and offers templates for both product-based and service-based businesses, as well as a business startup costs template for anyone launching a new business.

Budgeting + bookkeeping = a match made in heaven

Making a budget is kind of like dreaming: it’s mostly pretend. But when you can start pulling on accurate historical financials to plan the upcoming year, and when you can check your budget against real numbers, that’s when budgets start to become useful.

The only way to get accurate financial data is through consistent bookkeeping.

Don’t have a regular bookkeeping process down pat? Check out our free guide, Bookkeeping Basics for Entrepreneurs . We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to get going yourself, for free.

If you need a bit more help, get in touch with us. Bookkeeping isn’t for everyone, especially when you’re also trying to stay on top of a growing business—but at Bench, bookkeeping is what we do best.

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How to Write a Small Business Financial Plan

Noah Parsons

4 min. read

Updated April 22, 2024

Creating a financial plan is often the most intimidating part of writing a business plan.

It’s also one of the most vital. Businesses with well-structured and accurate financial statements are more prepared to pitch to investors, receive funding, and achieve long-term success.

Thankfully, you don’t need an accounting degree to successfully create your budget and forecasts.

Here is everything you need to include in your financial plan, along with optional performance metrics, funding specifics, mistakes to avoid , and free templates.

• Key components of a financial plan

A sound financial plan is made up of six key components that help you easily track and forecast your business financials. They include your:

Sales forecast

What do you expect to sell in a given period? Segment and organize your sales projections with a personalized sales forecast based on your business type.

Subscription sales forecast

While not too different from traditional sales forecasts—there are a few specific terms and calculations you’ll need to know when forecasting sales for a subscription-based business.

Expense budget

Create, review, and revise your expense budget to keep your business on track and more easily predict future expenses.

How to forecast personnel costs

How much do your current, and future, employees’ pay, taxes, and benefits cost your business? Find out by forecasting your personnel costs.

Profit and loss forecast

Track how you make money and how much you spend by listing all of your revenue streams and expenses in your profit and loss statement.

Cash flow forecast

Manage and create projections for the inflow and outflow of cash by building a cash flow statement and forecast.

Balance sheet

Need a snapshot of your business’s financial position? Keep an eye on your assets, liabilities, and equity within the balance sheet.

What to include if you plan to pursue funding

Do you plan to pursue any form of funding or financing? If the answer is yes, then there are a few additional pieces of information that you’ll need to include as part of your financial plan.

Highlight any risks and assumptions

Every entrepreneur takes risks with the biggest being assumptions and guesses about the future. Just be sure to track and address these unknowns in your plan early on.

Plan your exit strategy

Investors will want to know your long-term plans as a business owner. While you don’t need to have all the details, it’s worth taking the time to think through how you eventually plan to leave your business.

• Financial ratios and metrics

With your financial statements and forecasts in place, you have all the numbers needed to calculate insightful financial ratios.

While including these metrics in your plan is entirely optional, having them easily accessible can be valuable for tracking your performance and overall financial situation.

Key financial terms you should know

It’s not hard. Anybody who can run a business can understand these key financial terms. And every business owner and entrepreneur should know them.

Common business ratios

Unsure of which business ratios you should be using? Check out this list of key financial ratios that bankers, financial analysts, and investors will want to see.

Break-even analysis

Do you want to know when you’ll become profitable? Find out how much you need to sell to offset your production costs by conducting a break-even analysis.

How to calculate ROI

How much could a business decision be worth? Evaluate the efficiency or profitability by calculating the potential return on investment (ROI).

• How to improve your financial plan

Your financial statements are the core part of your business plan that you’ll revisit most often. Instead of worrying about getting it perfect the first time, check out the following resources to learn how to improve your projections over time.

Common mistakes with business forecasts

I was glad to be asked about common mistakes with startup financial projections. I read about 100 business plans per year, and I have this list of mistakes.

How to improve your financial projections

Learn how to improve your business financial projections by following these five basic guidelines.

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• Financial plan templates and tools

Download and use these free financial templates and calculators to easily create your own financial plan.

Sales forecast template

Download a free detailed sales forecast spreadsheet, with built-in formulas, to easily estimate your first full year of monthly sales.

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Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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• What to include for funding

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How to Create a Business Budget, With Free Budget Template

A budget helps you estimate your spending and revenue so your business remains financially stable.

Table of Contents

Creating a budget for your business may seem daunting. However, it’s a crucial first step in any successful business plan . While a business budget can take multiple forms, it will include how much money you have coming in and what you must spend to continue operating. It also shows how much money you must earn to continue making a profit and paying your expenses.

What is a business budget template?

A business budget template is a customizable worksheet business owners can use as a budget planning guide. Budget planning templates can be a huge help for business owners who don’t have time to create a business budget from scratch. They’re handy tools that give you a place to record all your numbers in an organized way, helping you set up an easy-to-read budget you can update quickly. 

Budgets can be complicated, so consider downloading a template if this is your first time creating a business budget. Even if you choose to create your own, referring to templates or sample budgets may be helpful to keep yourself on the right track.

Free small business budget template

If you’re unsure where to begin, download Business.com’s free budget template . This template will help you track your expenses, estimate your monthly income and record what you earned and spent. 

Our budget template has five tabs. To use it, take the following steps:

• Make a copy or download the template. 
• On the first tab, Instructions , replace the Your business’s name text with your actual business name. Once you do that, your business name will automatically fill in on the other pages.

Here’s a breakdown of how to use the other four tabs.

Annual budget

The Annual Budget tab examines how much money your business brings in each year. Use this tab to input your company’s yearly revenue and expenses. Be as specific and detailed as possible because this information is used throughout the budget template.

Monthly budget

The Monthly Budget tab shows your monthly expenses. Since you already filled out the Annual Budget information, this data has been prorated and you have monthly estimates for each of your yearly totals.

By default, each month’s budget is weighted equally. However, you can change this by updating the percentages in line 5. Your percentages must add up to 100.

Monthly actuals

The Monthly Actuals tab is for financial tracking . You’ll use this tab to track your actual expenses and revenue as they come in each month, allowing you to see how much money your business is making.

The Overview tab shows how your actual numbers compare to your budget. It gives an overview of your annual and monthly budgets. This information helps you see where your business is doing well and identify areas for improvement. To see your finances for a particular month, select that month from the drop-down list in line 4.

Why do you need a business budget template?

A business budget template is vital to keep your expenses and financial goals updated. A good template makes it easy to see how much money you have available, what you need to pay for and how much money you have left after covering your necessary fixed and variable expenses .

Your business budget template will show you if you can grow your business, give yourself or your employees raises and purchase inventory and assets . If you don’t have sufficient money coming in, it will reveal which bills you don’t have the funds to pay or if you are nearing bankruptcy .

If you must apply for a business loan or grant, the application may ask for financial accounting documentation, such as a monthly or annual budget, to give the lender an idea of your business’s financial standing and how you manage your money. For these reasons, having an up-to-date budget from the beginning is in your best interest.

How do you create a startup business budget?

If your business is new or in the planning stages, creating a budget is tricky ― even with a template – because you don’t have actual numbers to plug in. Still, it’s something you need for your business plan and loan applications.

Here are five steps to help you create a startup budget to get your business off on the right foot.

1. Set your budget goal.

Your budget goal is the total amount you are willing to spend on your business. Setting this number helps you establish clear parameters for your budget from the beginning and keep your spending in check.

To set your goal, consider the amount of money you currently have or can realistically obtain. How much money makes sense for you to spend? Keep in mind that loans must be repaid, often with interest and you shouldn’t deplete your personal savings. 

2. Categorize your expenses.

For this step, brainstorm all potential expenses on a budget worksheet. Begin with your startup costs , which are any one-time expenses related to starting your business.

Startup costs could include a building (if you’re buying, not renting), computers and photography equipment. Be specific and write down the exact costs of every item you must purchase and any associated costs. For example, to build a website, you must pay for a designer, host, domain name, plugins, stock photos and security software.

Next, categorize each item as “essential,” “nonessential,” or “later”:

• Essential items: Essential items, as the name suggests, are purchases crucial to starting your business, such as a business license.
• Nonessential items: Nonessential items will make your life easier but are not crucial to your business’s operation. For example, professionally designed logos or websites are likely nonessential elements. What you deem “nonessential” can be subjective but try to look at your business as a whole and use your best judgment.
• Later items: Later items can be put off for at least six months and are not required for your business’s immediate functions. Examples include a fresh coat of paint for your building or a state-of-the-art voice-over-internet-protocol phone system . 

Add up your essential and nonessential items to get your estimated startup costs.

3. Estimate your losses.

Your losses are how long you will go without turning a profit while accumulating overhead expenses. Losses are a result of a new business needing time to build a customer base and your budget must reflect them.

Start by calculating your estimated monthly overhead costs, including subcontractors, payroll, software subscriptions, website fees, rent and advertising fees. This will create your operating budget.

Next, estimate how many months you will go without revenue. Forecasting income can be difficult when starting out, so determine your break-even number and use that figure to make an educated guess.

4. Build in a safety net.

Given the unpredictable nature of starting a business, it’s easy to exceed your estimated budget. Building some financial padding into your budget can help you cover unexpected costs. 

Think of this money like a vehicle’s airbags ― they’re used only in an actual emergency. To create your safety net, add 10 percent to each expense in your startup budget and 15 percent to your monthly operating costs.

5. Refine your budget.

Now that you have some rough numbers to work with, it’s time to tighten them up to make your budget more actionable. Start by going through your nonessential startup items. Is there anything you can cut out or move to the “later” category? Can you reduce the cost of any items by buying something secondhand or trading labor?

Next, look at your overhead costs and determine if any are unnecessary and can be cut. If you can’t get your budget to balance, you can also reevaluate your essential costs. Go through them with a trusted advisor or colleague to determine if they are all truly essential to starting your business.

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Business Budget Template

Having a business budget is essential for any size business. A business budget helps you decide whether you can grow your business, give yourself a raise, purchase additional inventory and assets, and whether you may be able to avoid bankruptcy.

It's possible to modify a personal budget spreadsheet to apply to a business, but if you are using our Income Statement Template , you'll want to use the business budget spreadsheet so that you can create a budget that is parallel to your income statement.

For those who are just starting a business, or thinking of starting a business, you might be interested in the free Business Start Up Costs template. A startup cost analysis is an important part of a good business plan and can help you get things off the ground before you begin using a more detailed business budget.

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

"No installation, no macros - just a simple spreadsheet" - by Jon Wittwer

Description

This spreadsheet contains two sample business budgets designed for companies providing services or selling products.

Service Providers : The Services worksheet is a simple business budget that separates income and business expenses into categories that closely match those used in an income statement. The categories are fairly comprehensive, but it is also easy to add, remove, and modify the categories.

Retailers, Manufacturers, Publishers : The Goods worksheet includes the categories in the Services worksheet, but also has a Cost of Goods Sold section for recording inventory and purchases and calculating Gross Profit.

12-Month Business Budget

This worksheet is a variant of the above business budget, with sales and business expenses broken down by month . This is helpful for budgeting quarterly expenses and other business expenses that occur at specific times of the year.

The Goods worksheet lets you record sales and cost of goods sold for multiple products .

Business Budget for Multiple Products

This version allows you to perform a detailed analysis of your business expenses and cost of goods sold (COGS) if you are selling multiple products. Columns are also included for calculating the Percentage of Total Sales for each product and the various expenses.

Using the Business Budget Spreadsheet

These business budget templates are pretty simple to modify and customize. However, here are some things you should know and keep in mind as you use these templates:

Double-Check the Formulas

If you add or move categories around, make sure to double-check the calculations, especially the SUM() formulas that calculate the totals and subtotals, to make sure that the right cells are summed.

Conditional Formatting for red Values

The Difference is calculated as Actual - Budget. Conditional formatting is used to highlight the Difference red if income is less than the budget amount or if business expenses are more than the budget. In other words, a red value means you ought to take a closer look at it.

Analyzing Cost of Goods Sold

The costs associated with producing and purchasing goods are variable costs that increase or decrease with the volume of production and sales, such as wages for direct labor required to produce the goods, packaging, inventory purchases, shipping, and commissions. These costs are usually compared to the total sales. A careful study of these costs can help you determine pricing for your products, which products are more profitable, etc.

Multiple Products

The Goods spreadsheet is set up initially to record total net sales for each quarter. If you want to perform a more detailed analysis for multiple products, you can insert additional rows and separate the sales and costs according to product, or you can use the bonus spreadsheet that is designed for performing a detailed analysis for multiple products.

Income Taxes

A separate section under business expenses calculates the Net Income Before Taxes by subtracting the Total Expenses from Total Income. This helps you make a simple estimate of the income taxes, assuming all the Expenses are tax deductible. If you have any taxable expenses make sure to subtract those values from the Net Income Before Taxes before estimating your income tax budget.

Budgeting Large Non-Recurring Expenses

One of the reasons for budgeting is of course to help you determine whether you will be able to afford upgrades, new construction, asset purchases, etc. However, this budget spreadsheet is mainly for comparing your operating income and expenses to make sure that in your normal business activities you are earning more than you are spending. You would typically look at your Net Income to determine whether you will be able to expand your business, make large asset purchases, etc.

More Business Budgeting Resources

• Small Business Budgeting Tips and Techniques at investopedia.com
• Drafting Your Budget at entrepreneur.com

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10 Free Business Plan Templates in Word, Excel, & ClickUp

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

February 13, 2024

Turning your vision into a clear and coherent business plan can be confusing and tough. 

Hours of brainstorming and facing an intimidating blank page can raise more questions than answers. Are you covering everything? What should go where? How do you keep each section thorough but brief?

If these questions have kept you up at night and slowed your progress, know you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve put together the top 10 business plan templates in Word, Excel, and ClickUp—to provide answers, clarity, and a structured framework to work with. This way, you’re sure to capture all the relevant information without wasting time. 

And the best part? Business planning becomes a little less “ugh!” and a lot more “aha!” 🤩

What is a Business Plan Template?

What makes a good business plan template, 1. clickup business plan template, 2. clickup sales plan template, 3. clickup business development action plan template, 4. clickup business roadmap template, 5. clickup business continuity plan template, 6. clickup lean business plan template, 7. clickup small business action plan template, 8. clickup strategic business roadmap template , 9. microsoft word business plan template by microsoft, 10. excel business plan template by vertex42.

A business plan template is a structured framework for entrepreneurs and business executives who want to create business plans. It comes with pre-arranged sections and headings that cover key elements like the executive summary , business overview, target customers, unique value proposition, marketing plans, and financial statements.  

A good business plan template helps with thorough planning, clear documentation, and practical implementation. Here’s what to look for:

• Comprehensive structure: A good template comes with all the relevant sections to outline a business strategy, such as executive summary, market research and analysis, and financial projections 
• Clarity and guidance: A good template is easy to follow. It has brief instructions or prompts for each section, guiding you to think deeply about your business and ensuring you don’t skip important details
• Clean design: Aesthetics matter. Choose a template that’s not just functional but also professionally designed. This ensures your plan is presentable to stakeholders, partners, and potential investors
• Flexibility : Your template should easily accommodate changes without hassle, like adding or removing sections, changing content and style, and rearranging parts 🛠️ 

While a template provides the structure, it’s the information you feed it that brings it to life. These pointers will help you pick a template that aligns with your business needs and clearly showcases your vision.

10 Business Plan Templates to Use in 2024

Preparing for business success in 2024 (and beyond) requires a comprehensive and organized business plan. We’ve handpicked the best templates to help you guide your team, attract investors, and secure funding. Let’s check them out.

If you’re looking to replace a traditional business plan document, then ClickUp’s Business Plan Template is for you!

This one-page business plan template, designed in ClickUp Docs , is neatly broken down into the following sections:

• Company description : Overview, mission, vision, and team
• Market analysis : Problem, solution, target market, competition, and competitive advantage
• Sales and marketing strategy : Products/services and marketing channels
• Operational plan : Location and facilities, equipment and tools, manpower, and financial forecasts
• Milestones and metrics: Targets and KPIs

Customize the template with your company logo and contact details, and easily navigate to different sections using the collapsible table of contents. The mini prompts under each section guide you on what to include—with suggestions on how to present the data (e.g., bullet lists, pictures, charts, and tables). 

You can share the document with anyone via URL and collaborate in real time. And when the business plan is ready, you have the option to print it or export it to PDF, HTML, or Markdown.

But that’s not all. This template is equipped with basic and enterprise project management features to streamline the business plan creation process . The Topics List view has a list of all the different sections and subsections of the template and allows you to assign it to a team member, set a due date, and attach relevant documents and references.

Switch from List to Board view to track and update task statuses according to the following: To Do, In Progress, Needs Revision, and Complete. 

This template is a comprehensive toolkit for documenting the different sections of your business plan and streamlining the creation process to ensure it’s completed on time. 🗓️

If you’re looking for a tool to kickstart or update your sales plan, ClickUp’s Sales Plan Template has got you covered. This sales plan template features a project summary list with tasks to help you craft a comprehensive and effective sales strategy. Some of these tasks include:

• Determine sales objectives and goals
• Draft positioning statement
• Perform competitive analysis
• Draft ideal customer persona
• Create a lead generation strategy

Assign each task to a specific individual or team, set priority levels , and add due dates. Specify what section of the sales plan each task belongs to (e.g., executive summary, revenue goals, team structure, etc.), deliverable type (such as document, task, or meeting), and approval state (like pending, needs revisions, and approved).

And in ClickUp style, you can switch to multiple views: List for a list of all tasks, Board for visual task management, Timeline for an overview of task durations, and Gantt to get a view of task dependencies. 

This simple business plan template is perfect for any type of business looking to create a winning sales strategy while clarifying team roles and keeping tasks organized. ✨

Thinking about scaling your business’s reach and operations but unsure where or how to start? It can be overwhelming, no doubt—you need a clear vision, measurable goals, and an actionable plan that every member of your team can rally behind. 

Thankfully, ClickUp’s Business Development Action Plan Template is designed to use automations to simplify this process so every step toward your business growth is clear, trackable, and actionable.

Start by assessing your current situation and deciding on your main growth goal. Are you aiming to increase revenue, tap into new markets, or introduce new products or services? With ClickUp Whiteboards or Docs, brainstorm and collaborate with your team on this decision.

Set and track your short- and long-term growth goals with ClickUp’s Goals , break them down into smaller targets, and assign these targets to team members, complete with due dates. Add these targets to a new ClickUp Dashboard to track real-time progress and celebrate small wins. 🎉

Whether you’re a startup or small business owner looking to hit your next major milestone or an established business exploring new avenues, this template keeps your team aligned, engaged, and informed every step of the way.

ClickUp’s Business Roadmap Template is your go-to for mapping out major strategies and initiatives in areas like revenue growth, brand awareness, community engagement, and customer satisfaction. 

Use the List view to populate tasks under each initiative. With Custom Fields, you can capture which business category (e.g., Product, Operations, Sales & Marketing, etc.) tasks fall under and which quarter they’re slated for. You can also link to relevant documents and resources and evaluate tasks by effort and impact to ensure the most critical tasks get the attention they deserve. 👀

Depending on your focus, this template provides different views to show just what you need. For example, the All Initiatives per Quarter view lets you focus on what’s ahead by seeing tasks that need completion within a specific quarter. This ensures timely execution and helps in aligning resources effectively for the short term.

This template is ideal for business executives and management teams who need to coordinate multiple short- and long-term initiatives and business strategies.

In business, unexpected threats to operations can arise at any moment. Whether it’s economic turbulence, a global health crisis, or supply chain interruptions, every company needs to be ready. ClickUp’s Business Continuity Plan Template lets you prepare proactively for these unforeseen challenges.

The template organizes tasks into three main categories:

• Priorities: Tasks that need immediate attention
• Continuity coverage: Tasks that must continue despite challenges
• Guiding principles: Resources and protocols to ensure smooth operations

The Board view makes it easy to visualize all the tasks under each of these categories. And the Priorities List sorts tasks by those that are overdue, the upcoming ones, and then the ones due later.

In times of uncertainty, being prepared is your best strategy. This template helps your business not just survive but thrive in challenging situations, keeping your customers, employees, and investors satisfied. 🤝

Looking to execute your business plan the “lean” way? Use ClickUp’s Lean Business Plan Template . It’s designed to help you optimize resource usage and cut unnecessary steps—giving you better results with less effort.

In the Plan Summary List view, list all the tasks that need to get done. Add specific details like who’s doing each task, when it’s due, and which part of the Business Model Canvas (BMC) it falls under. The By Priority view sorts this list based on priorities like Urgent, High, Normal, and Low. This makes it easy to spot the most important tasks and tackle them first.

Additionally, the Board view gives you an overview of task progression from start to finish. And the BMC view rearranges these tasks based on the various BMC components. 

Each task can further be broken down into subtasks and multiple checklists to ensure all related action items are executed. ✔️

This template is an invaluable resource for startups and large enterprises looking to maximize process efficiencies and results in a streamlined and cost-effective way.

The Small Business Action Plan Template by ClickUp is tailor-made for small businesses looking to transform their business ideas and goals into actionable steps and, eventually, into reality. 

It provides a simple and organized framework for creating, assigning, prioritizing, and tracking tasks. And in effect, it ensures that goals are not just set but achieved. Through the native dashboard and goal-setting features, you can monitor task progress and how they move you closer to achieving your goals.

Thanks to ClickUp’s robust communication features like chat, comments, and @mentions, it’s easy to get every team member on the same page and quickly address questions or concerns.

Use this action plan template to hit your business goals by streamlining your internal processes and aligning team efforts.

For larger businesses and scaling enterprises, getting different departments to work together toward a big goal can be challenging. The ClickUp Strategic Business Roadmap Template makes it easier by giving you a clear plan to follow.

This template is packaged in a folder and split into different lists for each department in your business, like Sales, Product, Marketing, and Enablement. This way, every team can focus on their tasks while collectively contributing to the bigger goal.

There are multiple viewing options available for team members. These include:

• Progress Board: Visualize tasks that are on track, those at risk, and those behind
• Gantt view: Get an overview of project timelines and dependencies
• Team view: See what each team member is working on so you can balance workloads for maximum productivity

While this template may feel overwhelming at first, the getting started guide offers a step-by-step breakdown to help you navigate it with ease. And like all ClickUp templates, you can easily customize it to suit your business needs and preferences.

Microsoft’s 20-page traditional business plan template simplifies the process of drafting comprehensive business plans. It’s made up of different sections, including:

• Executive summary : Highlights, objectives, mission statement, and keys to success
• Description of business: Company ownership and legal structure, hours of operation, products and services, suppliers, financial plans, etc.
• Marketing: Market analysis, market segmentation, competition, and pricing
• Appendix: Start-up expenses, cash flow statements, income statements, sales forecast, milestones, break-even analysis, etc.

The table of contents makes it easy to move to different sections of the document. And the text placeholders under each section provide clarity on the specific details required—making the process easier for users who may not be familiar with certain business terminology.

No business template roundup is complete without an Excel template. This business plan template lets you work on your business financials in Excel. It comes with customizable tables, formulas, and charts to help you look at the following areas:

• Highlight charts
• Market analysis
• Start-up assets and expenses
• Sales forecasts
• Profit and loss
• Balance sheet
• Cash flow projections
• Break-even analysis

This Excel template is especially useful when you want to create a clear and visual financial section for your business plan document—an essential element for attracting investors and lenders. However, there might be a steep learning curve to using this template if you’re not familiar with business financial planning and using Excel.

Try a Free Business Plan Template in ClickUp

Launching and running a successful business requires a well-thought-out and carefully crafted business plan. However, the business planning process doesn’t have to be complicated, boring, or take up too much time. Use any of the above 10 free business plan formats to simplify and speed up the process.

ClickUp templates go beyond offering a solid foundation to build your business plans. They come with extensive project management features to turn your vision into reality. And that’s not all— ClickUp’s template library offers over 1,000 additional templates to help manage various aspects of your business, from decision-making to product development to resource management .

Sign up for ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan today to fast-track your business’s growth! 🏆

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Top 10 Free Excel Business Budget Templates for 2023

What Is Budgeting?

Why is budgeting important, how to create a budget template, how to make a monthly budget template, why use a template for budgeting, how to use an excel budget template, top free excel business budget templates, 1. business case excel template, benefits of using a business case excel template, 2. p&l statement excel template, benefits of using a p&l statement excel template, 3. revenue forecasting excel template, benefits of using a revenue forecasting excel template, 4. balance sheet excel template, benefits of using a balance sheet excel template, 5. income statement excel template, 6. startup business budget excel template, 7. expense-tracking excel template, 8. cash runway excel template, 9. unit economics excel template, 10. operating budget excel template.

A business budget is an essential tool for any business, no matter how big or small. It helps you stay on track with your finances and ensure that all areas of your organization run efficiently. With a budget in place, you can quickly identify areas where costs are getting out of control and make adjustments before they become problematic.

Creating a budget can be daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with Excel. Thankfully, many free Excel business budget templates are available that make it easy to set up your own budget. These templates provide an easy-to-follow format that allows you to quickly input your income and expenses so you can get started right away.

Budgeting is a process of predicting and managing your income and expenses. It helps you plan out how much money you will need to cover your business costs for the month or year ahead. With budgeting, you can track spending, identify areas where you may be overspending, and make adjustments as needed to stay within your budget.

Budgeting is essential for any business, as it allows you to plan ahead and ensure your organization is on the right track financially. Without a budget, setting goals and tracking progress can be challenging. A budget also helps you identify areas where costs are getting out of control so you can take corrective action before they become too costly.

When creating a budget template, it's essential to include all the categories and items relevant to your business. This includes revenue sources, fixed costs such as rent or utilities, variable expenses like advertising or travel, and any other relevant items. Once you have identified these categories, you can enter them into an Excel spreadsheet. It's important to remember that budgeting can be complex, and you should always consult a professional if you need help.

Once all the information has been entered into your template, it's time to begin tracking income and expenses. This will give you an accurate picture of how much money is coming in and going out each month. As the months progress, you can easily adjust your budget if it becomes necessary. This way, you'll always have an accurate picture of your financial situation and be able to adjust accordingly.

Using a free Excel business budget template, you can quickly and easily create a comprehensive budget that will help keep your finances in check. Once you're comfortable with the budget, you can modify it as needed to accommodate any changes in your business. With a bit of time and effort, you can have an adequate budget in place that will keep your business running smoothly.

Creating a monthly budget template is similar to creating a one-time budget. Start by identifying all the relevant categories and items to your business. Once you have all the information gathered, enter it into an Excel spreadsheet. You can then use this template to track your monthly expenses and income. As the months pass, adjust your budget based on new developments or changes in your business.

Using a template for budgeting provides several benefits. It allows you to quickly create accurate and up-to-date budgets, allowing you to make informed decisions about your finances. Additionally, templates make it easy to track expenses and income so you can adjust as needed. Finally, free Excel business budget templates can save time and money as you won't need to hire a professional to help with budgeting.

Using an Excel budget template is a great way to get started creating your business budget. All of the free templates provided here include a simple format that's easy to use and understand. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your Excel budget template:

• Start by entering all your income sources, such as sales revenue, interest income, and other sources of revenue.
• Next, enter your expenses, such as payroll, rent, supplies, and other operating costs.
• Make sure to include taxes and other overhead costs in your budget.
• Set up a timeline for budgeting so you can stick to it throughout the year.
• Run reports and analyze the data in your budget. This will help you identify areas where costs are getting out of control or where there may be opportunities to save money.

By taking the time to create an accurate and up-to-date business budget, you can ensure that your organization runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible. With the help of free Excel business budget templates, you can quickly and easily create a budget that works for your organization.

A business case excel template helps businesses easily analyze and evaluate different scenarios to inform decision-making. This type of template includes pivoting tables, graphs, financial projections, and other valuable data that can help you make the best possible decisions for your organization. Business cases are often used to compare various investment or product opportunities to determine which one is the most profitable.

There are many benefits to using a business case excel template, such as:

• Streamlining the decision-making process by providing relevant data and insights that help inform decisions.
• Creating an organized structure for analyzing different scenarios and options.
• Consolidating data into one place to make it easier to analyze and compare.
• Generating various reports that can be used to track performance and make informed decisions.
• The ability to customize the template for specific needs or goals.

Creating a business case template in Excel can help you analyze data and make informed decisions that will benefit your organization.

Download the Business Case Excel Template for Free.

A Profit and Loss (P&L) statement Excel template is a spreadsheet that helps businesses analyze their financial performance and make informed decisions. This type of template includes tables and graphs that can be used to track income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. It also provides insight into cash flow and profitability.

Using a P&L statement Excel template provides several benefits, such as:

• Giving an overview of the business's financial performance over some time.
• Breaking down income and expenses into categories to make it easier to analyze.
• Being able to track profit margins, cash flow, and other vital metrics.
• Generating reports that can be used to inform decision-making.
• Analyzing different scenarios to identify areas for improvement.

By using a P&L statement Excel template, businesses can quickly and easily analyze their financial performance and make informed decisions that will benefit the organization.

Download the P&L Statement Excel Template for Free.

A revenue forecasting Excel template helps businesses predict future financial performance by analyzing historical trends and data. This type of template includes a variety of graphs, charts, and tables that can be used to analyze past performance and make projections for the future. Revenue forecasting is often used to set business goals and inform strategic plans.

Using a revenue forecasting Excel template has many benefits, such as:

• Allowing businesses to develop reliable projections and estimates based on past performance.
• Identifying trends and insights that can inform decision-making.
• Generating various reports and dashboards that can be used to track performance.
• Establishing goals and benchmarks that can be used to measure success.

Download the Revenue Forecasting Excel Template for Free.

The best picks for business budgeting software tools to monitor your financial performance and ensure your business is using its resources efficiently.

A balance sheet Excel template is a spreadsheet that helps businesses track financial transactions and analyze the organization's overall health. This template includes several sections, such as assets, liabilities, and equity. A balance sheet provides an overview of a company's finances, showing how much money it has in cash, investments, or debts.

Using a balance sheet excel template has many benefits, such as:

• Allowing businesses to analyze and compare financial data easily.
• Creating an organized structure for tracking assets and liabilities.
• Generating various reports that can be used to measure performance.

By creating a balance sheet excel template, businesses can quickly and efficiently track their financial data and make informed decisions about their organization's finances.

Download the Balance Sheet Excel Template for Free.

An income statement Excel template helps businesses analyze and track their financial performance. This template includes several sections, such as revenue, expenses, and net income. An income statement provides an overview of a company's profitability, showing how much money it has earned or lost over a given period.

Download the Income Statement Excel Template for Free.

A startup business budget Excel template helps businesses manage their finances and plan for the future. This template includes several sections: revenue projection, expenses, and cash flow. Companies can use a startup business budget template to analyze their financial performance accurately and determine the best course of action for their organization.

Download the Startup Business Budget Excel Template for Free.

Top Free Google Sheets Templates and Financial Statements to help you manage your business financials, monitor performance, and make informed decisions.

An expense-tracking Excel template or an expense-tracker Excel template helps businesses track and analyze their spending. This template includes several sections, including expenses by category, total costs, and monthly averages. By using an expense tracking template, businesses can quickly and easily identify areas of overspending or unnecessary expenses so they can make better decisions about their finances.

Download the Expense-Tracking Excel Template for Free.

A cash runway Excel template is a type of spreadsheet that helps businesses track their cash flow and analyze the short-term financial health of the organization. This template includes several sections, such as cash inflows, outflows, and balances. A cash runway provides an overview of a company's ability to pay its expenses and manage liquidity, showing how much cash is available to the organization at any given time.

Download the Cash Runway Excel Template for Free.

A unit economics Excel template is a spreadsheet that helps businesses analyze the profitability of individual products, services, or customer segments. This template includes several sections, such as revenue per unit, cost per unit, and operating profit per unit. Using a unit economics Excel template, businesses can accurately analyze the profitability of different product lines and identify potential areas for improvement.

Download the Unit Economics Excel Template for Free.

An operating budget Excel template helps businesses track and manage their expenses. This type of template includes several sections, such as fixed costs, variable costs, and capital investments. An operating budget provides an overview of a company's expected expenses over a given period of time, helping the organization make smart decisions about its finances.

Download the Operating Budget Excel Template for Free.

Using the top free Excel business budget templates is an effective way for businesses to create and maintain financial plans. From business cases to revenue forecasting and balance sheets, these templates help businesses stay organized and make informed decisions that benefit their organization.

Hady has a passion for tech, marketing, and spreadsheets. Besides his Computer Science degree, he has vast experience in developing, launching, and scaling content marketing processes at SaaS startups.

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Free Financial Templates for a Business Plan

By Andy Marker | July 29, 2020

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In this article, we’ve rounded up expert-tested financial templates for your business plan, all of which are free to download in Excel, Google Sheets, and PDF formats.

Included on this page, you’ll find the essential financial statement templates, including income statement templates , cash flow statement templates , and balance sheet templates . Plus, we cover the key elements of the financial section of a business plan .

Financial Plan Templates

Download and prepare these financial plan templates to include in your business plan. Use historical data and future projections to produce an overview of the financial health of your organization to support your business plan and gain buy-in from stakeholders

Business Financial Plan Template

Use this financial plan template to organize and prepare the financial section of your business plan. This customizable template has room to provide a financial overview, any important assumptions, key financial indicators and ratios, a break-even analysis, and pro forma financial statements to share key financial data with potential investors.

Download Financial Plan Template

Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Financial Plan Projections Template for Startups

This financial plan projections template comes as a set of pro forma templates designed to help startups. The template set includes a 12-month profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement for you to detail the current and projected financial position of a business.

‌ Download Startup Financial Projections Template

Excel | Smartsheet

Income Statement Templates for Business Plan

Also called profit and loss statements , these income statement templates will empower you to make critical business decisions by providing insight into your company, as well as illustrating the projected profitability associated with business activities. The numbers prepared in your income statement directly influence the cash flow and balance sheet forecasts.

Pro Forma Income Statement/Profit and Loss Sample

Use this pro forma income statement template to project income and expenses over a three-year time period. Pro forma income statements consider historical or market analysis data to calculate the estimated sales, cost of sales, profits, and more.

‌ Download Pro Forma Income Statement Sample - Excel

Small Business Profit and Loss Statement

Small businesses can use this simple profit and loss statement template to project income and expenses for a specific time period. Enter expected income, cost of goods sold, and business expenses, and the built-in formulas will automatically calculate the net income.

‌ Download Small Business Profit and Loss Template - Excel

3-Year Income Statement Template

Use this income statement template to calculate and assess the profit and loss generated by your business over three years. This template provides room to enter revenue and expenses associated with operating your business and allows you to track performance over time.

Download 3-Year Income Statement Template

For additional resources, including how to use profit and loss statements, visit “ Download Free Profit and Loss Templates .”

Cash Flow Statement Templates for Business Plan

Use these free cash flow statement templates to convey how efficiently your company manages the inflow and outflow of money. Use a cash flow statement to analyze the availability of liquid assets and your company’s ability to grow and sustain itself long term.

Simple Cash Flow Template

Use this basic cash flow template to compare your business cash flows against different time periods. Enter the beginning balance of cash on hand, and then detail itemized cash receipts, payments, costs of goods sold, and expenses. Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate total cash payments, net cash change, and the month ending cash position.

Download Simple Cash Flow Template

12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Template

Use this cash flow forecast template, also called a pro forma cash flow template, to track and compare expected and actual cash flow outcomes on a monthly and yearly basis. Enter the cash on hand at the beginning of each month, and then add the cash receipts (from customers, issuance of stock, and other operations). Finally, add the cash paid out (purchases made, wage expenses, and other cash outflow). Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate your cash position for each month with.

‌ Download 12-Month Cash Flow Forecast

3-Year Cash Flow Statement Template Set

Use this cash flow statement template set to analyze the amount of cash your company has compared to its expenses and liabilities. This template set contains a tab to create a monthly cash flow statement, a yearly cash flow statement, and a three-year cash flow statement to track cash flow for the operating, investing, and financing activities of your business.

Download 3-Year Cash Flow Statement Template

For additional information on managing your cash flow, including how to create a cash flow forecast, visit “ Free Cash Flow Statement Templates .”

Balance Sheet Templates for a Business Plan

Use these free balance sheet templates to convey the financial position of your business during a specific time period to potential investors and stakeholders.

Small Business Pro Forma Balance Sheet

Small businesses can use this pro forma balance sheet template to project account balances for assets, liabilities, and equity for a designated period. Established businesses can use this template (and its built-in formulas) to calculate key financial ratios, including working capital.

Download Pro Forma Balance Sheet Template

Monthly and Quarterly Balance Sheet Template

Use this balance sheet template to evaluate your company’s financial health on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. You can also use this template to project your financial position for a specified time in the future. Once you complete the balance sheet, you can compare and analyze your assets, liabilities, and equity on a quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year basis.

Download Monthly/Quarterly Balance Sheet Template - Excel

Yearly Balance Sheet Template

Use this balance sheet template to compare your company’s short and long-term assets, liabilities, and equity year-over-year. This template also provides calculations for common financial ratios with built-in formulas, so you can use it to evaluate account balances annually.

Download Yearly Balance Sheet Template - Excel

For more downloadable resources for a wide range of organizations, visit “ Free Balance Sheet Templates .”

Sales Forecast Templates for Business Plan

Sales projections are a fundamental part of a business plan, and should support all other components of your plan, including your market analysis, product offerings, and marketing plan . Use these sales forecast templates to estimate future sales, and ensure the numbers align with the sales numbers provided in your income statement.

Basic Sales Forecast Sample Template

Use this basic forecast template to project the sales of a specific product. Gather historical and industry sales data to generate monthly and yearly estimates of the number of units sold and the price per unit. Then, the pre-built formulas will calculate percentages automatically. You’ll also find details about which months provide the highest sales percentage, and the percentage change in sales month-over-month. 

Download Basic Sales Forecast Sample Template

12-Month Sales Forecast Template for Multiple Products

Use this sales forecast template to project the future sales of a business across multiple products or services over the course of a year. Enter your estimated monthly sales, and the built-in formulas will calculate annual totals. There is also space to record and track year-over-year sales, so you can pinpoint sales trends.

Download 12-Month Sales Forecasting Template for Multiple Products

3-Year Sales Forecast Template for Multiple Products

Use this sales forecast template to estimate the monthly and yearly sales for multiple products over a three-year period. Enter the monthly units sold, unit costs, and unit price. Once you enter those values, built-in formulas will automatically calculate revenue, margin per unit, and gross profit. This template also provides bar charts and line graphs to visually display sales and gross profit year over year.

Download 3-Year Sales Forecast Template - Excel

For a wider selection of resources to project your sales, visit “ Free Sales Forecasting Templates .”

Break-Even Analysis Template for Business Plan

A break-even analysis will help you ascertain the point at which a business, product, or service will become profitable. This analysis uses a calculation to pinpoint the number of service or unit sales you need to make to cover costs and make a profit.

Break-Even Analysis Template

Use this break-even analysis template to calculate the number of sales needed to become profitable. Enter the product's selling price at the top of the template, and then add the fixed and variable costs. Once you enter those values, the built-in formulas will calculate the total variable cost, the contribution margin, and break-even units and sales values.

Download Break-Even Analysis Template

For additional resources, visit, “ Free Financial Planning Templates .”

Business Budget Templates for Business Plan

These business budget templates will help you track costs (e.g., fixed and variable) and expenses (e.g., one-time and recurring) associated with starting and running a business. Having a detailed budget enables you to make sound strategic decisions, and should align with the expense values listed on your income statement.

Startup Budget Template

Use this startup budget template to track estimated and actual costs and expenses for various business categories, including administrative, marketing, labor, and other office costs. There is also room to provide funding estimates from investors, banks, and other sources to get a detailed view of the resources you need to start and operate your business.

Download Startup Budget Template

Small Business Budget Template

This business budget template is ideal for small businesses that want to record estimated revenue and expenditures on a monthly and yearly basis. This customizable template comes with a tab to list income, expenses, and a cash flow recording to track cash transactions and balances.

Download Small Business Budget Template

Professional Business Budget Template

Established organizations will appreciate this customizable business budget template, which  contains a separate tab to track projected business expenses, actual business expenses, variances, and an expense analysis. Once you enter projected and actual expenses, the built-in formulas will automatically calculate expense variances and populate the included visual charts. 

‌ Download Professional Business Budget Template

For additional resources to plan and track your business costs and expenses, visit “ Free Business Budget Templates for Any Company .”

Other Financial Templates for Business Plan

In this section, you’ll find additional financial templates that you may want to include as part of your larger business plan.

Startup Funding Requirements Template

This simple startup funding requirements template is useful for startups and small businesses that require funding to get business off the ground. The numbers generated in this template should align with those in your financial projections, and should detail the allocation of acquired capital to various startup expenses.

Download Startup Funding Requirements Template - Excel

Personnel Plan Template

Use this customizable personnel plan template to map out the current and future staff needed to get — and keep — the business running. This information belongs in the personnel section of a business plan, and details the job title, amount of pay, and hiring timeline for each position. This template calculates the monthly and yearly expenses associated with each role using built-in formulas. Additionally, you can add an organizational chart to provide a visual overview of the company’s structure. 

Download Personnel Plan Template - Excel

Elements of the Financial Section of a Business Plan

Whether your organization is a startup, a small business, or an enterprise, the financial plan is the cornerstone of any business plan. The financial section should demonstrate the feasibility and profitability of your idea and should support all other aspects of the business plan. 

Below, you’ll find a quick overview of the components of a solid financial plan.

• Financial Overview: This section provides a brief summary of the financial section, and includes key takeaways of the financial statements. If you prefer, you can also add a brief description of each statement in the respective statement’s section.
• Key Assumptions: This component details the basis for your financial projections, including tax and interest rates, economic climate, and other critical, underlying factors.
• Break-Even Analysis: This calculation helps establish the selling price of a product or service, and determines when a product or service should become profitable.
• Pro Forma Income Statement: Also known as a profit and loss statement, this section details the sales, cost of sales, profitability, and other vital financial information to stakeholders.
• Pro Forma Cash Flow Statement: This area outlines the projected cash inflows and outflows the business expects to generate from operating, financing, and investing activities during a specific timeframe.
• Pro Forma Balance Sheet: This document conveys how your business plans to manage assets, including receivables and inventory.
• Key Financial Indicators and Ratios: In this section, highlight key financial indicators and ratios extracted from financial statements that bankers, analysts, and investors can use to evaluate the financial health and position of your business.

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IT Services

How to build a scalable IT budget

How much business could your business do without IT?

These days, “none” is far and away the most common answer.

Yet many organizations struggle with how to approach spending and budgeting related to IT. Information technology may be the backbone of a business, but it usually isn’t front and center in strategic discussions and high-level decision-making. And whatever spending is happening, the budgeting process underneath it often doesn’t scale well.

We know that IT budgets are growing: 57% of CIOs expected their IT budgets to increase last year. An effective IT budget is about more than just spending more money. It’s about spending that money wisely — and determining how much money should be spent on IT in the first place.

How often should an IT budget be evaluated?  

Many organizations with established IT budgeting procedures evaluate that budget yearly. 

Why yearly? Because the process can be lengthy, involving numerous stakeholders and significant amounts of documentation. And the larger your organization, the more complex this business process gets. It’s not uncommon for the evaluation process to take months, so it’s impractical to shorten the budget lifecycle.

For IT services firms supporting clients in the IT budget evaluation and creation process, a yearly cycle can prevent overburdening your team and allow you to stagger clients throughout the calendar year.

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Who should be involved in the process?   

Keeping the right stakeholders involved in the IT budgeting process helps ensure that the budget is holistic (covering everything necessary), realistic (within the company’s overall financial means), and well-managed (administered and allocated responsibly).

The personnel involved should include any of the following, where they exist:

Chief information officer (CIO)

Chief financial officer (CFO)

IT managers, IT directors, IT department heads

IT project managers and project leads

Representatives from major divisions/departments

If the organization has a project management office (PMO), that group should also play a role.

It’s worth noting that entities outside the CIO and IT domains play an increasing role in IT budgeting as the process gets democratized across lines of business. Teodora Siman, an IDC research manager , elaborates:

“We’re seeing more influence come from outside of IT, where the CIO orchestrates technology across the business, and [technology decisions] are a collaborative conversation with business leaders who are focused on outcomes and customer-centricity.”

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• Key items to include in an IT budget

Organizations differ in where certain expenses fall in the budget, but most IT budgets should include at least these five areas:

Physical employee equipment: IT money is used to purchase laptops, desktops, printers, phones, networking equipment, servers, and other hardware.

Staff salaries: Employees within the IT department or division are typically paid out of the IT budget

Cybersecurity, backup, and disaster recovery (DR): Preventive expenditures here help to hedge against disasters, natural or otherwise.

Infrastructure and maintenance: Money is allocated to repair and upgrade devices and infrastructure and to pay for ongoing IT infrastructure operational costs (internet access, cloud services, software licenses, etc.).

IT project management: IT project management costs that are not accounted for in your overall project management budget should appear here.

How to plan a budget that serves the future of the organization  

Planning an IT budget can be relatively simple for a startup or small professional services firm, a massive months-long process at an enterprise level, or anywhere in between.

Whatever the size and scope of your IT budget planning, we’ve boiled the process down to six key elements. Below, we’ll provide clear, concise planning tips to help you create an IT budget to propel your organization forward.

Assess the current landscape (internal and external)

One key strategy for planning is considering the context around your IT budget. Is business booming? Is your industry more broadly in flux? Are you growing (and if so, how quickly)? Or is this a year where it’s clear the purse strings need to tighten?

And what about the technology landscape? We aren’t necessarily seeing quantum leaps in computing power at the individual user or device level. But consider the capabilities of AI and machine learning to churn through data or for generative AI to enhance workflows and extend human capacity.

Any successful IT budget needs to be grounded in these realities. They inform how much is likely to be available and what sorts of changes that budget needs to accommodate.

Integrate business objectives and cross-department goals

Next, remember that your IT budget isn’t an island or a destination. It’s a way to achieve goals and objectives. So make sure your budget doesn’t live in a silo. Instead, it should be built atop existing business objectives and priorities. 

Including business objectives and cross-departmental goals in budget planning ensures that your IT division is growing with, not against, the broader organization. By building your IT budget around the business’s core objectives, you can avoid unnecessary spending on IT projects that don’t further the mission.

This improves the organization’s financial health, affects employee morale and effectiveness, and can even advance market competitiveness. 

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Set clear guidelines for expense categories

One principle is consistent for any kind of budgeting: the more clarity, the better.

It’d be preposterous to lump your entire IT budget into a single line item: you need to know where the money’s going more specifically than that. But true clarity requires more than a few vague expense categories. You’ll need to get as specific as possible and set clear guidelines with team members on what expenses go where.

With clearer and more numerous expense categories, it will be easier to understand IT spend after the fact, helping you create progressively more accurate IT budgets year after year.

Consider flexible purchase options

IT costs can be inconsistent and spiky: it’s easy enough to plan for an upgrade cycle on PCs for your workforce, but the cost of replacing a server is a different beast. Big technology investments are sometimes needed, and the larger your organization scales, the more unwieldy these IT expenditures can become.

So, as you plan your IT budget, consider flexible purchasing options for your IT investments, including fair market value leases, consumption-based billing, and installment payment agreements.

This is one reason so many organizations are turning to the cloud: procuring your computing and software needs from a cloud provider tends to flatten out these spikes. Managed IT service providers can provide a similar cost-leveling function, and in the right situations, this business model can deliver notable cost savings alongside better IT support and the broad expertise needed to meet diverse IT needs.

Use KPIs to monitor effectiveness

Next, make sure to track the effectiveness of your IT budget processes by tracking the right metrics. Key performance indicators (KPIs) can help here, but the trick is finding the KPIs that deliver the right information in the right way.

For example, IT project team efficiency , on-time project completion percentage, average hardware age, software utilization rate, and a few dozen other measures could all be helpful — but not all are helpful all the time. 

Which KPIs are right for monitoring budget effectiveness depends on what your business is trying to achieve. Cost savings, increased efficiency, greater accuracy, and better customer responsiveness are all fantastic priorities, but they may compete against one another in some ways. 

So first, you must establish which priorities take precedence. Only then can you select the KPIs to help you measure progress on those priorities. 

Educate stakeholders about IT spending

Last, make sure you continually educate stakeholders in the IT budget about how spending works in IT. You’ll be working with people across a spectrum of specialties and skill sets, and not everyone will be a financial or IT expert. 

It’s up to you to invest in these stakeholders. By teaching them about the mechanisms for IT spending (such as those flexible purchase options), your budgetary goals, and the tools you’ll use to measure success, you’ll garner better support and get more useful feedback.

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For a successful overall IT strategy, businesses and IT leaders must prioritize the IT initiatives that best fit a company’s business goals and strategic needs — while staying within appropriate levels of IT spending.

Because while digital transformation is key to continued growth, it’s neither easy nor inexpensive.

For most professional services firms, managing IT projects and budgets well requires understanding and adhering to the business’s strategic plan and creating a technology roadmap that supports the overall business strategy. It also demands the ability to plan, visualize, strategize, organize, and ultimately execute projects well.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• How often should an IT budget be evaluated?
• Who should be involved in the process?
• How to plan a budget that serves the future of the organization

Ben is a Senior Content Marketing Specialist at Teamwork.com. Having held content roles at agencies and SaaS companies for the past 8 years, Ben loves writing about the latest tech trends and work hacks in the agency space.

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