Free Excel Business Budget Template
What a Small Business Budget Template Should Track
A useful business budget does two things: it sets a spending plan by category, and it compares that plan to what actually happens each month. Without both sides, a budget is just a wish list - the value comes from seeing where actual spending drifted from the plan and by how much.
For a small business, that usually means categories like rent, payroll, utilities, insurance, marketing, software, supplies, and inventory, tracked at least monthly so drift gets caught before it compounds over a full year.
Inside the Free Excel Business Budget Template
The Monthly Budget sheet lists 16 prefilled small-business categories - rent, payroll and payroll taxes, utilities, insurance, marketing, software, office supplies, professional services, travel, equipment, inventory, shipping, repairs, taxes and licenses, and an open Other row. Enter a budget and actual amount per category and the variance columns fill in on their own.
The Annual Overview sheet takes the year view: one row per month with budget, actual, variance, and a year-to-date actual total, plus a line chart of actual spend by month so you can see the trend at a glance.
Tracking Budget vs. Actual by Month
On the Monthly Budget sheet, the variance in dollars and the variance in percent both calculate the moment you fill in a budget and an actual amount for a category - there's no formula to write or copy down. Categories running over budget show a positive variance; categories under budget show negative.
The summary row above the table totals the budget, the actual, and the overall variance across every category, so you can see at a glance whether the month came in over or under plan before drilling into which categories drove it.
Year-to-Date Totals and Remaining Budget
The Annual Overview sheet carries a running year-to-date actual total that updates as you fill in each month, so you always know cumulative spend without adding it up yourself. The summary shows the full annual budget, the annual actual to date, and the remaining annual budget - the annual budget minus what's been spent so far.
The chart on this sheet plots actual spend by month, which makes seasonal spikes or a steady overspend trend easier to spot than scanning a column of numbers.
How to use it
- Use the Monthly Budget sheet each month: enter budget and actual per category, and the variance $ and % calculate automatically.
- Use the Annual Overview sheet for the year: enter budget and actual per month to build a running year-to-date total.
- Check the summary rows for total variance and remaining annual budget.
- Watch the actual-spend chart on the Annual Overview sheet for month-over-month trends.
Download the free Free Excel Business Budget Template
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Small Business Bookkeeping & Tax Dashboard
A budget tells you what you planned to spend, not what actually happened dollar by dollar. The paid Bookkeeping & Tax Dashboard ($19) logs up to 500 income and 1,000 expense transactions, builds an automatic P&L across 16 Schedule C categories, and adds a tax dashboard plus a CPA-ready export.
See the full versionFrequently asked questions
Can I use this business budget template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the downloaded file to Google Drive, then open it and choose File > Save as Google Sheets. The variance formulas and the chart keep working.
Is this template really free?
Yes. You give an email address to download it, and then it's yours to use with no further cost.
Can I change or add budget categories?
Yes. The 16 categories are prefilled as a starting point - overwrite any row or use the Other row for anything specific to your business.
Is this different from a restaurant or industry-specific budget template?
Yes, this is a generic small-business budget for any industry. If you run a restaurant specifically, the dedicated restaurant budget template covers food-cost and labor-cost ratios this one doesn't.
Is this accounting or tax advice?
No. This template is for record-keeping and planning, not accounting or tax advice. Consult a licensed accountant for guidance specific to your business.