Budgeting is like a battle; you need to have a well-planned strategy in place to ensure victory.

These tips for better business budgeting may seem simple in their conceptualization, but all too often those at the top – the ones designing and administering the budgeting process – forget about them.

Want to make your business budgeting process more effective and efficient? Never forget these three tried and true tips.

1. Be realistic with your timelines. The concept of budgeting as a chore is almost universally accepted. Employees dislike the task because it requires pushing other tasks down the priority ladder and an inability to devote the time to regular tasks that need attention. Appreciating this fact will allow you to better craft a realistic timeline for completion and show your team members that you recognize the ‘burden’, thereby resulting in better business budgeting.

2. Consider collaboration. Getting team members to talk about the budget, rather than having individual employees or independent departments working in isolation, will ultimately yield better results. Your budgets don’t exist in their own unique bubble – together they make (or should make) one cohesive unit, and encouraging collaboration throughout the budgeting process will help ensure that numbers are more reflective of actual needs/values. This can make the entire budget more effective in the long run as this helps to establish a more in-depth understanding across the board. This can also work to improve accountability.

3. Design budgets based on who is completing them. Each department within your organization may deal with budgets in a variety of ways. Taking this into account when designing the system and the templates will allow for better flexibility and greater overall usability. With business budgeting, a one-size-fits-all system rarely works for anyone.

One of the best ways to streamline the budgeting process is to improve the existing system – not replace it completely. You can do this by implementing a system that integrates with your current tools (here we’re thinking Excel). This way, you make use of the things that make Excel better without getting rid of that familiar, user-friendly interface your team members are used to and know how to work with.

At True Sky, we can appreciate the intricacies involved in obtaining the most accurate numbers without forcing all operations to a grinding halt – that doesn’t work in any scenario. Our tool utilizes what your employees already know but provides better capabilities and accessibility. Combined with the three tips outlined above, we can help you streamline your business budgeting process to achieve a much greater degree of overall control. Find out more by visiting www.truesky.com today.