Free budget template for freelancers
Download our free budget template for an easy overview of your business.
What does the budget template contain?
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 revenue.
- One tab that brings your business overview together.
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 out 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 provide an overview of the capital needs of your business and allows you to cut unnecessary expenses and plan for additional capital injections in the future.
A budget also helps you translate an ambition into numbers that can be continuously evaluated against.
How do you create a budget?
Creating and setting up a budget for your business requires specific considerations about your business needs and ambitions. As a freelancer, this is often particularly difficult as revenue typically varies from month to month.
- Assess your income: Start by estimating your average monthly income. As 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: Calculate 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 networking costs.
- Set aside money for tax and VAT: If you don't have an admin solution that takes care of things for you, it's important to set aside tax and VAT. You may want to set aside a fixed percentage of each payment for this purpose.
- Plan for contingencies and downturns: Freelancing is notoriously volatile, so it's critical to have an emergency fund or savings for periods of stagnation.
- 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.
