Now that we’re a full month into 2019 already, it is an ideal time to take a critical look at your business processes and evaluate what is working well, and what isn’t. The budgeting process is one of the most critical, so it better be good! If you’re worried it may not be as good as it should be, this blog will help establish a process that can help your organization build a stronger one.

Step 1: Set expectations in advance, and make business budgeting a part of the culture. It is important to make sure that all employees involved (end users, all the way up to management) are committed. Set standards for everyone to follow and outline specific objectives.

Step 2: Don’t work in isolation. Get people from each department involved to best understand realistic needs, and create a budget that will be as accurate and achievable as possible. Collaboration and communication between all departments and employees involved is key.

Step 3: Base the new budget on actual numbers. Resources should not be allocated based on last year’s budget, plus inflation. Departments that drive the largest profits and growth should be fully funded before moving down the list. Although this may lead to some smaller departments not receiving the full funding they wish, this is just strategy.

Step 4: Hold everyone, including yourself, accountable to the results. If things need to change, change them, but make sure everyone knows about the change and why it is necessary. Make contributors aware that their numbers matter and are crucial to operations.

When it comes to business budgeting, it isn’t too difficult to adopt a process that improves your existing one; hopefully these best practices can help you and your organization.

At True Sky, our system includes security settings and audit trails, along with other settings, to hold each employee and department accountable for their numbers. We are committed to helping you achieve success with your budgeting, planning and forecasting, and have the solutions to make this year the best one yet for you. Call us at 1 855 878 3759, or visit www.truesky.com for more information.