Free Small Business Budget Template (Download Excel)
Budgeting template for small businesses to track monthly income and expenses. It allows users to plan their budget by entering amounts in categories such as service revenue, direct costs, and operating expenses. The sheet includes tabs for 'Budget vs Actuals' and 'Annual View', providing insights into variances and year-to-date totals. Users can customize their business name and category lists, making it adaptable for various business types. The template is designed to help businesses compare their planned budget against actual results effectively.
Content article
The Free Small Business Budget Template provides a comprehensive overview of income and expenses across various categories for a fictional business over the year 2026.
In the "Budget vs Actuals" tab, the service revenue is projected at $15,000 for January 2026, but the actual revenue recorded is only $14,000, resulting in a negative variance of $1,000, which is a 6.7% shortfall. Maintenance plans also show a similar trend, with a budget of $500 but an actual income of $450, leading to a $50 deficit and a 10% variance. Job materials, classified as a direct cost, have a budget of $2,500 but an actual expense of $2,800, indicating a $300 overage, or 12%. The total income for the month is budgeted at $15,500 but falls to $14,450 in actuals, reflecting an overall negative variance of $1,050, or 6.8%.
Direct costs are budgeted at $6,500 but exceed that with actual expenses of $6,700, resulting in a $200 over-budget alert. Operating expenses are budgeted at $1,600 and come in slightly under at $1,580, providing a small favorable variance of $20. The net profit is projected at $7,400 but is reported at $6,170, showing a significant negative variance of $1,230, or 16.6%.
Moving to the "Annual View," the service revenue maintains a consistent budget of $15,000 each month, totaling an annual budget of $180,000. However, the actual revenue totals $154,000, leading to a substantial negative variance of $26,000, or 14.4%. Maintenance plans, expected to generate $6,000 over the year, only yield $4,950, a $1,050 deficit. Job materials are budgeted at $30,000 but exceed expectations with actual costs of $30,800, resulting in an annual overage of $800, or 2.7%.
In the "Budget" tab, for January 2026, service revenue is planned at $15,000, while maintenance plans are set at $500, and job materials are budgeted at $2,500. Direct labor is allocated $4,000, and fuel expenses are expected to be $600. Each operating expense category, including vehicle repairs, tools and supplies, insurance, licenses, software, advertising, office, and other expenses, is uniformly budgeted at $125. The same budget structure continues into February and March, maintaining the same amounts for each category.
The "Settings" tab outlines the business name as Example Local Services, with a report date set for November 11, 2026. The categories include service revenue, maintenance plans, job materials, and various operating expenses, all categorized correctly for reporting purposes.