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 to increase your profit margin by 10% over the next fiscal year. That will require ongoing budgeting and forecasting to make sure you are on track.

Aligning your budget with your strategy gives it a deeper meaning. In reality, a business budget is an action plan for achieving strategic objectives –the kind that will mean good things for everyone at your company.

This will also help get more employee buy-in, which we will explore more in the next section.

Further to knowing your why, you should also consider your why for implementing a solution in the first place. What pain points have you been experiencing with the old way of doing things? Maybe you are:

• Taking way too long to get the budget approved.
• Going through multiple lengthy email chains just to find one figure.
• Running into errors and outdated information from merging too many spreadsheets together.
• Dedicating an administrative resource solely to the budget that could be better used elsewhere.

Regardless of what your motivation is, you need to keep it in mind. This will drive your end goal and help you remain true to what you really want to achieve.

What is the end goal of your budgeting solution?