Budget calculator
Fewer things are more critical to your business’ financial future than an accurate and realistic budget. Sounds simple—and it can be—but effective budgeting can make a huge difference in your bottom line. Use this budget calculator to get a clear view of your organization’s financial outlook.
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What is a business budget?
There are different types of budgets depending on what kind of performance measure you want to examine. Here, we’ll define a budget as a projection of how much your company will spend versus how much revenue it will generate over a period of time. Depending on the results, you can then make more informed decisions when it comes to managing your cash flow, allocating money for expenses, and setting revenue targets.
How to manage your budget like a pro
Proper budgeting is key to financial success and your peace of mind. Here are a few helpful tips:
- Research the ins and outs of your industry. Is it seasonal in nature? What are the most substantial threats? How easily will your business be affected by changes in regulations and taxes?
- Know the difference between reality and optimism. Both are great things when it comes to running a business, but a budget should be an accurate projection and not based on overzealous targets. You may even want to create “best-case” and “worst-case” budgets to give yourself a safety net.
- It’s okay to keep your budget flexible. In fact, it’s good practice to re-visit your budget often and to make amendments based on actual results versus your projections.
- Maintaining an up-to-date budget throughout the year will help prepare you for tax time. See how Wave’s accounting software can help you create robust and detailed reports—free.
- You can use Wave to view a detailed breakdown of your business expenses based on the purchases you made.
- Check out our other accounting tools that can help you calculate cash flow, budget, burn rate, and more!
How to use the budget calculator
To calculate your budget with this free tool, follow these instructions:
- Under "Monthly savings", enter the amount of money you have saved in an emergency fund, stored in investments, and set aside in a retirement savings account.
- Under "Monthly expenses", enter the amount of money you spend on regular expenses, including food, housing, and transportation.
- Under "Annual expenses", enter the amount of money you spend on annual payments, including home insurance, car insurance, and taxes.
- Under "Income", enter the amount of money you earn from monthly pay, tax returns, and other sources of income.
- See your results based on the information you've entered and gain a clear picture of whether you're currently over or under your budget.
Essential parts of a budget
There are 5 main elements you should consider when building your budget:
- Savings: This is the money you have set aside in savings accounts, rainy day funds, and investments.
- Fixed expenses: These are your regular expenses that cost you the same amount of money each month, including rent payments, insurance premiums, and internet bills.
- Variable expenses: These are regular expenses that may change in cost on a monthly basis, including car maintenance, groceries, and credit card payments.
- Discretionary expenses: These are expenses that are spent on leisure and entertainment, including going out to restaurants, buying tickets to concerts, and vacations.
- Income: This is money you earn from invoicing customers, getting paid from your full-time job, and other sources of income.
There are 5 main elements you should consider when building your budget:
- Savings: This is the money you have set aside in savings accounts, rainy day funds, and investments.
- Fixed expenses: These are your regular expenses that cost you the same amount of money each month, including rent payments, insurance premiums, and internet bills.
- Variable expenses: These are regular expenses that may change in cost on a monthly basis, including car maintenance, groceries, and credit card payments.
- Discretionary expenses: These are expenses that are spent on leisure and entertainment, including going out to restaurants, buying tickets to concerts, and vacations.
- Income: This is money you earn from invoicing customers, getting paid from your full-time job, and other sources of income.
Benefits of setting up a budget for your business
- A budget can help you set up a rainy day account money in the event of an emergency
- A well-organized budget can help you impress lenders and attract potential investors
- Know exactly how much money you have available each month to pay off debts
- Use a budget to help you make financial decisions, like large purchases or investments
- Know how much wiggle room you have for additional expenses each month
Budget calculator
FAQs
What should I include in my budget?
How do different types of businesses plan their budgets?
What are some ways I can increase my budget?
What is an operating budget?
How do I track my expenses?
How to manage your budget like a pro
Proper budgeting is key to financial success and your peace of mind. Here are a few helpful tips:
- Research the ins and outs of your industry. Is it seasonal in nature? What are the most substantial threats? How easily will your business be affected by changes in regulations and taxes?
- Know the difference between reality and optimism. Both are great things when it comes to running a business, but a budget should be an accurate projection and not based on overzealous targets. You may even want to create “best-case” and “worst-case” budgets to give yourself a safety net.
- It’s okay to keep your budget flexible. In fact, it’s good practice to re-visit your budget often and to make amendments based on actual results versus your projections.
- Maintaining an up-to-date budget throughout the year will help prepare you for tax time. See how Wave’s accounting software can help you create robust and detailed reports—free.
- You can use Wave to view a detailed breakdown of your business expenses based on the purchases you made.
- Check out our other accounting tools that can help you calculate cash flow, budget, burn rate, and more!
Powerful accounting software that has everything you need to confidently run your business.