For free budget template for freelancers
Download our budget form free of charge so that you can easily have an overview of your business.
What does the budget template include?
Our free budget template is made in Google Sheets and contains three tabs that easily and simply help you get a full overview of your business.
- One tab where you can keep track of your expenses.
- One tab where you can keep track of your income.
- One tab that gathers the overview of your business.
What is a budget?
A budget is a financial document that outlines in detail an organization's expected income and expenses for a specific period. Most often, it is per month spread over a year.
The budget serves as a plan for how the company will manage its financial resources, balance income against expenses, and achieve financial goals.
A budget helps with an overview of the capital needs in the business, and gives you the opportunity to cut unnecessary expenses, as well as plan if there is a need for additional capital injection in the future.
A budget also helps you to translate an ambition into numbers that can be continually evaluated against.
How do you make a budget?
Creating and setting up a budget for your company requires specific considerations about the company's needs and ambitions. As a freelancer, it is often extra difficult, as the income typically varies from month to month.
- Estimate your income: Start by estimating your average monthly income. Since freelancing often involves fluctuating income, it can be helpful to use an average based on the last 6-12 months of income.
- Identify fixed expenses: List your regular expenses such as rent, software subscriptions, office supplies, and insurance. These expenses typically remain constant each month.
- Consider variable expenses: Include variable expenses such as marketing, travel expenses, and freelancer-specific expenses such as equipment or cost of joining network.
- Set money aside for tax and VAT: If you don't have an admin solution that handles things for you, it is important to set aside tax and VAT. It may be a good idea to set aside a fixed percentage of each payment for this purpose.
- Plan for unexpected expenses and downtime: Freelancing is notoriously volatile, so having one is critical emergency funds or savings for periods when there is little deadlock.
- Analyze and adjust regularly: Review your budget regularly, monthly or quarterly, to ensure it continues to reflect your financial situation and adjust it as needed.
