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
- 2. Overhead budget template
- 3. Multiple-project budget template
- 4. Startup budget template
- 5. Labor budget template
- 6. Cash flow budget template
- 7. Administrative budget template
- 8. Event budget template
- 9. Departmental budget template
- 10. Monthly business expenses template
- How to use our SMB budget templates
- How to create a budget for your small business
- What should a business budget include?
- Small business budget tips
- Automate your small business
- Small business budget FAQ
10 budget templates for your small business
Check out our small business budget templates, designed to help you plan your finances, manage your expenses, and pretend like you're one spreadsheet away from striking it rich.
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
-
Taxes
-
Rent
-
Utilities
-
Insurance
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
If you're
managing multiple projects like website development or event planning, each with its own budget and expenses, you need a multiple-project budget to help keep your head on straight. This type of budget will help you track the following items per project:-
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
Startups need to ensure financial success from the get-go, so they can reinvest profit into the business and potentially attract more investors.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:
-
Wages
- Benefits
-
Bonuses
-
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
-
Insurance
-
Training and development
-
Communication expenses
-
Marketing
-
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.
8. Event budget template
Best for: Event planners; marketing teams; businesses hosting large gatherings
Planning an event is a balancing act, and a detailed event budget template will help you avoid surprises. This template covers all the essential costs associated with your event, including:
-
Venue rental
-
Entertainment
-
Equipment rental
-
Catering expenses
-
Marketing
An event budget template ensures you have a clear understanding of your spending across different categories. This helps prevent overspending and can even highlight opportunities to cut unnecessary expenses. (Do you really need that second ice sculpture?)
9. Departmental budget template
Best for: Large organizations with multiple departments
Have more than one department? Or at least more than two people pretending to be different departments? Then you need a departmental budget template to keep everything in check when parts of your company handle separate budgets. It centralizes spending on things like:
-
Salaries
-
Operational expenses
-
Training and development
-
Marketing and advertising
-
Department-specific project costs
This template allows department heads to manage their resources effectively while aligning with the company's overall financial goals, giving them a better grasp of each team's financial health. So, when the marketing team wants to splurge on a Cameo from Carson Kressley, you can confidently say, "Sure, but let's review the numbers first."
10. Monthly business expenses template
Best for: Small businesses managing regular operating costs
Running a business means juggling countless expenses, and staying on top of them is vital for long-term success. A monthly business expenses template gives you a clear picture of your regular outflows, such as:
-
Utilities
-
Office supplies
-
Marketing
-
Travel expenses
Tracking your monthly expenses helps you maintain control over cash flow and prepares you for any financial hiccups. With this template, you'll see where you can cut costs—like maybe ditching that Adobe subscription if Photoshop hasn't been touched since the Obama administration.
How to use our SMB budget templates
These professional budget templates are designed to simplify the budgeting process, making it accessible even if you're not a financial expert. Using them is straightforward:
-
Select the appropriate template: Choose the template that best fits your business needs.
-
Input financial data: Enter your projected or actual financial figures.
-
Make it your own: Customize it to match your business. Add or subtract categories based on what you actually spend money on.
-
Update as needed: Regularly update the templates to reflect any changes in your business activities.
How to create a budget for your small business
It's cliché 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:
-
Separate business and personal expenses. For the love of Suze Orman, do not mix your personal and business expenses. If you haven't already, open a dedicated business bank account. This makes it easier to track, categorize, and analyze your finances.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Conduct periodic reviews. A budget isn't a "set it and forget it" deal—regular reviews help you stay on track with your financial goals and adjust to changes. Try to review your budget monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
-
Monthly: Compare your spending against your budgeted figures to catch any deviations. Look for insights into cash flow, sales trends, and expense management.
-
Quarterly: Dive deeper into performance over the last three months. Analyze trends to fine-tune future projections 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.
-
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.
What should a business budget include?
Now that you've got the basic steps down, let's talk about what actually goes into a company budget. Here's the stuff you should absolutely not forget:
-
Projected revenue: Estimate the income you expect to generate. This can be based on historical data or market research. And no, you can't just manifest six figures.
-
Fixed costs: These are recurring expenses that don't change much over time, like rent, salaries, and insurance.
-
Variable costs: These expenses vary depending on your business activities, such as raw materials, contractor fees, and how much you need to bribe the delivery guy during peak season.
-
Cash flow projections: Use this to anticipate the timing of income and expenses to ensure you have enough cash on hand.
-
Profit margins: Calculate the difference between your revenue and expenses to understand profitability.
Small business budget tips
Before you run off to print your budget templates, let's go over some quick tips to help you minimize the financial carnage.
-
Regularly update your budget: I'm not saying you need to obsess over it, but you should keep your budget current by updating it with actual figures. This helps in identifying trends and making necessary adjustments.
-
Monitor performance against the budget: Regularly compare your actual performance with your budgeted figures. This practice helps spot discrepancies early and take corrective action.
-
Be realistic: Be honest with yourself and your numbers. If you're struggling to keep the lights on, you probably don't need that Herman Miller.
-
Plan for contingencies: Set aside funds for unexpected expenses—like when the office fridge mysteriously dies and everyone panics about their yogurt.
-
Use budgeting software: If you've got more than a basic budget to maneuver, a spreadsheet can feel quaint.
Accounting software simplifies the budgeting process and makes tracking and adjustments much easier. -
Seek professional advice: If you're unsure about any aspect of budgeting, don't hesitate to consult a financial advisor or accountant. YouTube tutorials will only get you so far.
Automate your small business
Knowing when or where to invest money into your business is just one of the many tasks you have on your plate as a small business owner. Learn how
automation for small businesses can help take some of those recurring tasks off your hands, so you can focus on growing your business.If you do stick with a spreadsheet, you can automated the data entry with
Zapier's Sheets integrations, sending information to and from Sheets. Learn more abouthow to automate Google Sheets, or try one of these pre-made templates.Zapier is the leader in workflow automation—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack.
Learn more.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.
How do you write a budget for a small business?
Writing a budget for a small business involves estimating your income, listing all your expenses, and subtracting your expenses from your income. Start by looking at past financial records, if available, to make informed projections. Then, use a budget template to organize all the information and make calculations easier.
Use your budget as a tool for decision-making, not just as a recordkeeping exercise.
How often should I review my budget?
It's advisable to review your budget at least monthly. Regular reviews allow you to compare actual performance against your projections, helping you identify issues early. Monthly reviews will help keep you proactive rather than reactive in managing your finances. Quarterly and annual reviews are also important for longer-term planning and goal-setting.
What are common categories to include in a small business budget?
Common categories to include in a small business budget are:
-
Revenue streams
-
Cost of goods sold
-
Operating expenses (rent, utilities, salaries, etc.)
-
Discretionary spending (training, travel)
-
Marketing and advertising costs
-
Debt repayments
-
Taxes
Including these categories ensures a comprehensive view of your financial obligations and helps in effective planning.
What is the best free business budgeting software?
The best free budgeting business software will depend on what your business needs, but Wave is generally a popular free option. Or you can use a spreadsheet—scroll up for some free small business budget templates.
Related reading:
- The best free small business software
- The best CRMs for small businesses
- How to create effective document templates
- 21 free Google Sheets templates to boost productivity
This article was originally published in September 2023. The most recent update, with contributions from Allisa Boulette, was in October 2024.