Spreadsheets are magical tools capable of being customized to track anything from your fitness goals to your budget. However, when it comes to creating the perfect budget for your business, it can be tricky to know where to start. That’s where templates come in! Templates are a fantastic way to manage your finances based on your financial situation or goals.
You may know that we created a personal Google budget template spreadsheet, but let’s discuss the best free business budget templates. Here are 20 templates made specifically for small business owners to help you take control of your business’s finances. The first thirteen are more encompassing of general small business needs, while the last seven are designed with specific types of businesses in mind.
This straightforward budgeting template for small businesses is designed by the financial giant Intuit that runs Turbotax, Quickbooks, and Mint. So you know it’s comprehensive. It has income, expenses, and summary breakdowns to help you track your finances in one place. You can find it housed right on the templates menu in Sheets.
Capterra created this fantastic sheet that allows you to enter your annual projected revenue and expenses. It then breaks them down by month. Each month, you can adjust the projected rates with your actual rates to track spending and profit through the entire year.
Smartsheet’s template is a great choice for any new startup. It has a breakdown of funding, whether from investors or loans, as well as a great list of potential expenses for you to consider. The sheet balances these numbers against each other to determine where you’re at with funding and what you need to move forward.
Another fantastic startup budget template, the Small Business Association’s template is honestly one of the simplest and most straightforward. It breaks down various categories to help you project both your monthly expenses and your total investment to kick start the business.
For startups that want to be more conservative with their numbers, Gusto’s budget sheet may be a better option. Not only does it give you guidelines to calculate your expenses, it also helps you differentiate between essential and non-essential expenses, as well as helps you project expected losses, something many new business owners forget to factor in.
If you’re looking for a snapshot of your annual operating expenses broken down by month, then InvoiceBerry’s template may be just the thing. It breaks expenses down into months and calculates the variance between your budget and actual expenses to help you track which months put you over budget.
As an entrepreneur, you face the challenge of budgeting your personal finances as well as investing in your business. InvoiceBerry’s personal budget sheet can help you identify streams of income and personal expenses monthly so you know how much you can afford to put towards your business.
If your business has multiple departments to account for, this sheet will help you stay organized. Whether you’re tracking money spent on office supplies, apparel, technology, salaries, or all of the above, this budget sheet puts it all together.
Whether you’re selling products or providing services, this spreadsheet has you covered. It has a sheet for service based businesses and another one for product based business to help you separate your revenue and expenses based on your output.
Keeping track of multiple products at different price points can be a challenge. This sheet offers space to keep track of how much products cost to make, how much they’re selling for, and what percentage of the overall revenue each product accounts for. This way you can identify the value each product adds to your business.
- XL’s Project Budget Sheet
When you’re planning out a specific project, do you spend time making a budget for it? XL’s project budget sheet makes it easy to identify how much each step will cost and helps you plan ahead for the expenses.
Another great project budget sheet, Project Manager’s template helps you identify potential costs of labor, materials, and equipment to plan out your project. This way you have a better chance of avoiding surprise expenses and can accurately estimate what the project will cost.
Every small business should at least consider marketing to some extent. The Score’s marketing budget template is a good reminder to view marketing as an investment in your business rather than an expense. It helps you break down what’s realistic to help you meet your goals.
For new restaurants, Food Truck Empire made a great budgeting template that encompasses all your new restaurant’s needs. The sheet includes space for all the expenses you could think of, such as food and beverages inventory, kitchen equipment, table dressings, advertising, and employees.
You can also potentially add to this spreadsheet. For example, you may add an amortization schedule if you took out a restaurant business loan.
For budding photography businesses, Loren Jackson’s budget sheet is a great option to help you stay organized. Designed specifically with photographers in mind, it lets you project your bookings and earnings to evaluate and plan ahead.
Blue Skies put together a budgeting template specifically for landscaping and gardening
businesses to help track your unique expenses and tackle the industry like a pro. They even put together a series of short videos that walk through how to maximize your use of the template.
House cleaning comes with a lot of costs up front because of the cleaning supplies you’ll need. This budget sheet helps to break down some of those needs and sets you up for a successful cleaning business. Like Blue Skies’ other budget sheet, this one also has video tutorials.
As an event planner, it can be tricky to manage all the little costs that slip through the cracks leading up to an event. This handy little sheet helps break down event costs and revenue so you can accurately budget and plan ahead.
Daycare and childcare should be fun and engaging, and this budgeting template from HiMama reflects that with pastels and cute graphics that dress up their practical budget. The template itself helps break down expenses and income to give you a sense of where you’re at.
Whether you’re looking to start a consulting business or a similar writing, editing, or bookkeeping service, this template helps break down the actuals and budget. It provides space for you to list out operating costs, staffing needs, and even track your bookings.
Simply choose one (or a few) that fit your business needs, import it into Google Sheets or Excel, and start adding in your expenses and revenue. Happy budgeting!
Bio: Sara Carter is a co-founder of Enlightened Digital. When she’s not looking up the latest on business and technology, you can find her cooking with her kids.
