All too often, it is easy to fall into the trap of using a budget to maintain the status quo. The sales department spends X dollars on employee expenses, so we will put that in. The telephone system costs X amount, so that goes in. After we tally up the…

What makes a meaningful budget? Aligned with short-term and long-term goals. Takes into account past trends. Accounts for more than what you plan to spend. Driven by strategy. Provides clear vision to your team. An effective budget is not just numbers on a sheet. You want your budget to balance…

When you are actually implementing the budgeting solution, you also want to make sure the workflow setup is a good fit for your team. For example, you want to give people enough time to complete their parts of the budget, but also enough time to analyze it. A strong budget…

The best budget is not going to succeed unless your employees do their part. You need to have staff onboard, not just for the budget itself, but also for the new budgeting solution. This goes back to knowing your why –when you have a strong reason for making a strategic…

Before implementing a budgeting solution, you need to make sure your users know why they are budgeting. What is the goal? Make sure they know they are not budgeting just for the sake of it. This ties into having a strong strategic vision for the business. Say that you want…

First and foremost, you must understand your requirements and resources –which includes your current IT infrastructure, available budget, and human resources. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your existing processes. Consider: What workflow problems do you encounter? What pain points do you wish could be addressed? What elements in your…

Just because your budget is complex does not mean that your budgeting process has to be. As you ramp up your forecasting, you need a tool that adapts with you. Spreadsheets and email just do not provide the flexibility you need and are often very administratively heavy to update regularly….

If you want to start including more frequent forecasting in your business, then you need to know the best ways to go about it. No one wants to spend more time and money than they need to when the end goal is to save time and money. Start with the…

How do you know if a rolling budget and monthly forecasting is right for you? We can start by looking at who it is not right for. If your business: Has primarily/only fixed expenses or Has little fluctuation in revenue or Is looking to stay status quo and not grow…

You know budgeting is important and you know forecasting is equally so. At its most basic, a rolling forecast helps you stay on track and give you an idea of how you are tracking towards your goals. But more than that, it can help you anticipate industry trends, navigate challenges,…