Business budget template
Set out the income you plan to earn and the costs you plan to pay this financial year, line by line. As the year goes on, the same sheet shows where actual results are running over or under the plan.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
A business budget is the year's plan in figures: what you aim to earn and what you expect to spend on each kind of cost. business.gov.au frames a budget as a plan for the coming financial year, and its glossary as a list of the revenue and spending planned for a set period. This template holds that yearly plan, then sets the plan for the months so far beside what was actually recorded.
business.gov.au recommends a monthly check of actual results against the budget, using the figures in your profit and loss statement. For that comparison to be fair, the budget needs the same lines and the same accounting basis as the statement. When money is expected to come in or go out is a separate question, answered by a cash flow forecast.
It is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. Add or remove lines to suit the business, and keep the totals and net profit at the bottom.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Line | Yearly budget (AUD) | Budget to date (AUD) | Actual to date (AUD) | Difference (AUD) | Over or under | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 240,000.00 | 54,000.00 | 51,300.00 | 2,700.00 | Under | September quieter than planned |
| Other income | 600.00 | 150.00 | 162.00 | 12.00 | Over | Interest on the business account |
| Total income | 240,600.00 | 54,150.00 | 51,462.00 | 2,688.00 | Under | |
| Cost of goods sold | 96,000.00 | 21,600.00 | 20,750.00 | 850.00 | Under | Lower with the lower sales |
| Wages | 72,000.00 | 18,000.00 | 18,420.00 | 420.00 | Over | Extra hours for a large order |
| Rent | 26,400.00 | 6,600.00 | 6,600.00 | 0.00 | On budget | |
| Advertising and marketing | 6,000.00 | 1,800.00 | 2,240.00 | 440.00 | Over | Spring campaign started early |
| Insurance | 3,600.00 | 900.00 | 900.00 | 0.00 | On budget | Budgeted in the same periods as the profit and loss statement shows it |
| Utilities and phone | 4,800.00 | 1,200.00 | 1,315.00 | 115.00 | Over | Higher winter electricity bill |
| Total costs | 208,800.00 | 50,100.00 | 50,225.00 | 125.00 | Over | |
| Net profit | 31,800.00 | 4,050.00 | 1,237.00 | 2,813.00 | Under | Mostly the shortfall in sales |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Line: An income or cost line that matches a line in your profit and loss statement, followed by the totals and net profit.
- Yearly budget (AUD): The amount planned for the whole financial year.
- Budget to date (AUD): The share of the yearly amount planned for the months completed so far, allowing for busy and quiet months.
- Actual to date (AUD): The amount recorded for the same months, taken from your profit and loss statement.
- Difference (AUD): The gap between the budget to date and the actual figure.
- Over or under: Whether the actual figure is over or under the budget to date, or on budget.
- Notes: The reason behind a difference worth explaining, such as a quiet month or a supplier's price rise.
How to use it
- Download the CSV file, open it in a spreadsheet program and change the lines to match the income and expense lines in your profit and loss statement.
- Have ready the inputs business.gov.au lists: goals for the year, the fixed costs you know about, estimates of variable costs and of income, and figures from past years. For a new business without that history, it points to market research or industry benchmarking.
- Enter the yearly amount for each line, add up income and costs, and check that the planned net profit fits your goals before you settle on the figures.
- Each month, update the budget to date and the actual to date for the months completed, then work out each difference and mark it over or under.
- Look into the largest differences first and note the reason. Because business.gov.au treats the budget as a yearly document with a possible review halfway through, keep the original yearly figures and enter any revised ones beside them.
Related terms
Sources
- Create a budget
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 14 November 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
Related guides
How to make a business budget
What a business budget is, what to gather before you start, how to build one month by month and how to check it against your actual results.
How to read a profit and loss statement
What each line of a profit and loss statement means, how gross and net profit are worked out, and how to compare the figures with past periods and your budget.
How to do a cash flow forecast
How to build a cash flow forecast for a small business, month by month: what you need, how to estimate money in and out, and how to keep it current.