name: Budget Planner
slug: budget-planner
description: Create, manage, and optimize budgets for projects, departments, and organizations with variance tracking and scenario planning
category: finance
complexity: moderate
version: "1.0.0"
author: "ID8Labs"
triggers:
- "create budget"
- "budget planning"
- "budget template"
- "budget vs actual"
- "annual budget"
- "project budget"
tags:
- budgeting
- financial-planning
- variance-analysis
- cost-management
- forecasting

Budget Planner

Expert budget creation and management agent that builds comprehensive budgets, tracks spending against plans, analyzes variances, and optimizes resource allocation. Specializes in zero-based budgeting, rolling forecasts, and multi-scenario planning.

This skill applies structured budgeting methodologies to help organizations plan spending, control costs, and make data-driven allocation decisions. Perfect for annual planning, project budgets, departmental spending, and startup runway management.

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Annual Budget Creation

Objective: Build a comprehensive annual operating budget from scratch

Steps:
1. Gather Historical Data
- Prior year actuals (P&L by month)
- Prior year budget vs actual variances
- Headcount and compensation data
- Vendor contracts and commitments
- Capital expenditure history
- Revenue trends and projections

1. Define Budget Parameters
2. Fiscal year start/end dates
3. Budget cycle (calendar vs fiscal)
4. Currency and exchange assumptions
5. Inflation assumptions (2-4% typical)
6. Headcount growth assumptions

7. Revenue growth targets

8. Revenue Budget

9. Product/service revenue projections
10. Pricing assumptions
11. Volume/unit assumptions
12. Seasonal patterns
13. New product launches
14. Customer retention assumptions

15. Geographic mix

16. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Budget

17. Direct materials costs
18. Direct labor costs
19. Manufacturing overhead
20. Gross margin targets

21. Unit economics assumptions

22. Operating Expense Budget

23. Personnel Costs:

    • Salaries and wages (by department)
    • Benefits (typically 20-30% of salary)
    • Payroll taxes (7.65% FICA + state)
    • Bonuses and commissions
    • Stock-based compensation
    • Contractor costs

24. Facilities Costs:

    • Rent and lease payments
    • Utilities
    • Insurance
    • Maintenance and repairs
    • Property taxes

25. Technology Costs:

    • Software subscriptions (SaaS)
    • Hardware and equipment
    • Cloud infrastructure
    • IT support and services

26. Marketing Costs:

    • Advertising and media
    • Events and conferences
    • Content and creative
    • Marketing technology
    • Agency fees

27. General & Administrative:

    • Legal and professional services
    • Accounting and audit
    • Office supplies
    • Travel and entertainment
    • Training and development

28. Capital Expenditure Budget

29. Equipment purchases
30. Facility improvements
31. Technology infrastructure

32. Depreciation schedules

33. Cash Flow Implications

34. Working capital needs
35. CapEx timing
36. Seasonal cash requirements

37. Financing needs

38. Budget Consolidation

39. Roll up departmental budgets
40. Eliminate intercompany items
41. Create consolidated P&L budget
42. Balance sheet projections

43. Cash flow projections

44. Scenario Development

45. Base case (most likely)
46. Upside case (+10-20% revenue)
47. Downside case (-10-20% revenue)
48. Cost reduction scenarios

Deliverable: Complete annual budget package with P&L, departmental details, and scenarios

Workflow 2: Project Budget Development

Objective: Create a detailed budget for a specific project or initiative

Steps:
1. Project Scope Definition
- Project objectives and deliverables
- Timeline and milestones
- Resource requirements
- Success criteria
- Constraints and dependencies

1. Work Breakdown Structure
2. Decompose project into phases
3. Identify major work packages
4. List activities within each package

5. Estimate effort for each activity

6. Resource Cost Estimation

7. Internal Labor:

   • Identify required roles
   • Estimate hours per role
   • Apply fully-loaded labor rates
   • Account for utilization rates

8. External Resources:

   • Contractor/consultant rates
   • Agency or vendor costs
   • Outsourced services

9. Non-Labor Costs

10. Materials and supplies
11. Software and tools
12. Equipment and hardware
13. Travel and expenses
14. Training and certifications

15. Contingency reserve (10-20%)

16. Cost Phasing

17. Spread costs across timeline
18. Account for payment terms
19. Identify upfront vs. ongoing costs

20. Create monthly cost forecast

21. Budget Controls

22. Approval thresholds
23. Change request process
24. Variance reporting triggers

25. Contingency release criteria

26. Risk-Adjusted Budget

27. Identify cost risks
28. Probability-weighted contingency
29. Management reserve (if applicable)
30. Total project budget with reserves

Deliverable: Project budget with timeline, resource plan, and risk contingencies

Workflow 3: Zero-Based Budgeting

Objective: Build budget from scratch justifying every expense

Steps:
1. Identify Decision Units
- Define budget owners
- Establish decision units (departments, functions)
- Clarify accountability

1. Define Service Levels
2. Minimum level (survival)
3. Current level (maintain status quo)
4. Improvement level (enhanced performance)

5. Each level must be costed

6. Cost Justification

7. For each expense, answer:

   • Why is this needed?
   • What happens without it?
   • What are alternatives?
   • What's the ROI?

8. Decision Package Creation

9. Package 1: Minimum viable operations
10. Package 2: Core operations
11. Package 3: Growth investments

12. Package 4: Strategic initiatives

13. Ranking and Prioritization

14. Stack rank all packages
15. Apply funding constraints
16. Make trade-off decisions

17. Document rationale

18. Final Budget Assembly

19. Fund packages within constraints
20. Document unfunded priorities
21. Create implementation plan

Deliverable: Zero-based budget with prioritized decision packages

Workflow 4: Rolling Forecast Update

Objective: Continuously update budget with latest actuals and projections

Steps:
1. Close Period
- Gather actual results for completed period
- Ensure data completeness
- Reconcile to GL/accounting

1. Variance Analysis
2. Calculate budget vs actual variances
3. Identify significant variances (>5% or material)

4. Categorize as:

   • Timing differences (will normalize)
   • Run-rate changes (permanent)
   • One-time items (non-recurring)

5. Forecast Adjustment

6. Update remaining periods based on:

   • Run-rate from actuals
   • Known commitments
   • Revised assumptions
   • New information

7. Full-Year Outlook

8. Combine YTD actuals + forecast
9. Compare to original budget
10. Calculate expected year-end variance

11. Identify risks to forecast

12. Action Planning

13. If tracking above budget: investment opportunities
14. If tracking below budget: corrective actions
15. Document assumptions and risks

16. Assign owners to actions

17. Reporting Package

18. Executive summary
19. Variance commentary
20. Updated forecast
21. Risks and opportunities
22. Recommended actions

Deliverable: Updated rolling forecast with variance analysis and action plan

Workflow 5: Startup Runway Planning

Objective: Model cash runway and funding needs for startups

Steps:
1. Current Cash Position
- Cash on hand
- Outstanding receivables
- Available credit lines
- Expected fundraise timing

1. Monthly Burn Rate Analysis
2. Current monthly expenses
3. Committed future expenses
4. Planned hiring costs

5. Growth investments

6. Revenue Assumptions

7. Current MRR/ARR
8. Growth rate assumptions
9. Churn assumptions

10. Cash collection timing

11. Runway Calculation

12. Gross burn = Total monthly expenses
13. Net burn = Gross burn - Revenue
14. Runway = Cash / Net Burn

15. Zero cash date projection

16. Scenario Modeling

17. Current trajectory
18. Aggressive growth scenario
19. Conservative/survival scenario

20. Path to profitability scenario

21. Milestone Mapping

22. Key milestones for next funding round
23. Costs to achieve milestones
24. Timeline requirements

25. Funding amount needed

26. Cash Management Actions

27. Expense reduction opportunities
28. Revenue acceleration options
29. Timing optimization
30. Bridge financing options

Deliverable: Runway model with scenarios and funding recommendations

Quick Reference

Budget Templates

Monthly P&L Budget Template

| Line Item | Jan | Feb | Mar | Q1 | Apr | May | Jun | Q2 | ... | FY Total |
|-----------|-----|-----|-----|----|----|-----|-----|----|----|----------|
| **Revenue** |
| Product Revenue | | | | | | | | | | |
| Service Revenue | | | | | | | | | | |
| **Total Revenue** | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| **COGS** |
| Direct Costs | | | | | | | | | | |
| **Gross Profit** | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gross Margin % | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| **Operating Expenses** |
| Personnel | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marketing | | | | | | | | | | |
| Technology | | | | | | | | | | |
| Facilities | | | | | | | | | | |
| G&A | | | | | | | | | | |
| **Total OpEx** | | | | | | | | | | |
| |
| **Operating Income** | | | | | | | | | | |
| Operating Margin % | | | | | | | | | | |

Variance Report Template

# Budget Variance Report: [Period]

## Executive Summary
- Total Revenue: $XXX vs Budget $XXX (X% variance)
- Total Expenses: $XXX vs Budget $XXX (X% variance)
- Net Income: $XXX vs Budget $XXX (X% variance)

## Significant Variances (>5%)

### Favorable Variances
| Line Item | Actual | Budget | Variance | Explanation |
|-----------|--------|--------|----------|-------------|
| | | | | |

### Unfavorable Variances
| Line Item | Actual | Budget | Variance | Explanation |
|-----------|--------|--------|----------|-------------|
| | | | | |

## Full-Year Impact
- Current trajectory vs annual budget
- Risks to achieving budget
- Recommended actions

## Forecast Update
- Revised full-year forecast
- Key assumption changes

Budgeting Best Practices

Planning Phase

• Start with strategic priorities
• Get executive alignment on key assumptions
• Involve budget owners early
• Build in realistic timelines
• Document all assumptions

Execution Phase

• Distribute budgets to owners
• Establish spending approval processes
• Set up variance monitoring
• Create regular reporting cadence
• Enable budget vs actual tracking

Monitoring Phase

• Monthly variance reviews
• Rolling forecast updates
• Action plans for significant variances
• Re-forecast when major changes occur
• Year-end projections

Common Budget Categories

Integration with Other Skills

• Use with cash-flow-forecaster: Convert budget to cash projections
• Use with revenue-modeler: Develop revenue assumptions
• Use with unit-economics-calculator: Validate profitability assumptions
• Use with cost-optimizer: Identify budget reduction opportunities
• Use with financial-reporter: Create budget reporting packages

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Hockey stick projections: Be realistic about growth rates
• Ignoring seasonality: Build monthly fluctuations into budget
• Underestimating personnel costs: Include benefits, taxes, raises
• Forgetting one-time costs: License renewals, annual fees
• No contingency: Include 5-10% buffer for unknowns
• Static budgets: Update forecasts as reality changes
• Sandbbagging: Budgets should be achievable but ambitious
• No accountability: Assign clear owners to every line item