Budget Planner

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a monthly or annual business budget from scratch
• Organize expenses into categories with allocation targets
• Build variance tracking to compare budget vs. actual spending
• Set up adjustment triggers for when spending goes off track

DO NOT use this skill for personal budgets, financial projections (use financial-projection), or investment planning. This is for operational business budgeting.

Core Principle

A BUDGET IS A DECISION-MAKING TOOL, NOT A SPREADSHEET — EVERY LINE ITEM MUST TIE TO A BUSINESS PRIORITY AND HAVE A CLEAR OWNER.

Phase 1: Business Snapshot

Required Inputs

GATE: Do not proceed without monthly revenue and business type.

Phase 2: Budget Framework

Category Structure

Build the budget using these standard categories, adjusted for business type:

## Budget: [Business Name] — [Month/Year or Annual]

### Revenue
| Source | Budgeted | Notes |
|--------|----------|-------|
| [Primary revenue] | $[X] | |
| [Secondary revenue] | $[X] | |
| **Total Revenue** | **$[X]** | |

### Fixed Costs (Do not change month-to-month)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| Rent/workspace | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Software/subscriptions | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Insurance | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Salaries (if applicable) | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Fixed** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |

### Variable Costs (Scale with revenue)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| Marketing/advertising | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Contractors/freelancers | $[X] | [X]% | |
| COGS/fulfillment | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Transaction fees | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Variable** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |

### Growth Investments (Discretionary)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| New tools/equipment | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Education/training | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Hiring | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Growth** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |

### Summary
| | Amount | % of Revenue |
|--|--------|-------------|
| Total Revenue | $[X] | 100% |
| Total Expenses | $[X] | [X]% |
| **Net Profit** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** |

Benchmark Allocations (Solopreneur/Small Business)

Phase 3: Variance Tracking

Monthly Tracking Template

## Variance Report: [Month]

| Category | Budgeted | Actual | Variance | % Variance |
|----------|----------|--------|----------|------------|
| [Category] | $[X] | $[X] | +/-$[X] | +/-[X]% |

### Variance Flags
🔴 Over budget by >15%: [List categories]
🟡 Over budget by 5-15%: [List categories]
🟢 On or under budget: [List categories]

Adjustment Triggers

Define when to take action:

## Adjustment Triggers

| Trigger | Action |
|---------|--------|
| Revenue drops >10% from plan | Cut discretionary spending, pause growth investments |
| Any category exceeds budget by >20% | Review and reallocate or cut before next month |
| Revenue exceeds plan by >15% | Allocate surplus: 50% profit reserve, 30% growth, 20% owner bonus |
| Cash reserve drops below 2 months expenses | Freeze all non-essential spending |
| Marketing spend exceeds 15% without corresponding revenue increase | Audit campaign ROI, pause underperformers |

Phase 4: Deliverable

Present the complete budget document and provide quarterly review reminders.

budget/
└── budget-[YYYY].md (or budget-[YYYY-MM].md for monthly)

Include: Revenue targets, categorized expenses, percentage benchmarks, variance tracking template, and adjustment triggers.

Example: Solopreneur Consultant ($12K/month Revenue)

Anti-Patterns

• Budgeting based on hopes instead of data — use actual revenue from the past 3-6 months, not best-case projections
• No tax reserve — solopreneurs who do not set aside 25-30% for taxes get blindsided at tax time
• Zero buffer — always budget 5-10% for unexpected expenses
• Set and forget — a budget reviewed quarterly is a suggestion. Review monthly, adjust as needed.
• Cutting marketing first — marketing drives revenue. Cut low-ROI marketing, not all marketing.

Recovery

• Irregular income: Budget based on the average of the last 6 months. Create a "minimum viable budget" for low months and a "growth budget" for high months.
• No historical data (new business): Build a conservative budget based on expected revenue, then update monthly with real data for the first 6 months.
• Expenses exceed revenue: Flag immediately. Identify which costs can be cut or deferred, and what revenue increase is needed to break even.
• Multiple revenue streams: Break revenue into separate lines but keep expenses consolidated unless they directly tie to one stream.