How do I make a simple budget for a small business?

Open a spreadsheet with one column per month for 2027. Pull the last 12 months of bank and card statements, then fill in expected sales for each month, your fixed costs, your variable costs as a percentage of sales, owner pay, a tax set-aside and a buffer. Total each month and check that money in covers money out.

What is the difference between a budget and a cash flow forecast?

A budget sets out what you expect to earn and spend over the year. A cash flow forecast shows when the money actually lands in and leaves your bank account, month by month, starting from your opening balance. Many small businesses use one sheet for both by adding an opening and closing bank balance row to the budget.

How do I forecast sales for next year?

Start with the same month last year, then adjust for anything you know will change: a price increase, a new service, a lost client, a new location or more staff hours. Keep the quiet months honest. If January was slow in 2026, plan for it in 2027 rather than hoping it will be different.

How do I build 2027 wage increases into my budget?

Find your new rate and the date it starts, then work out the increase per hour times hours per week times the number of weeks left in the year from that date. Add employer payroll costs on top. In the UK the National Living Wage for workers 21 and over is £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027. Many US states raise their rate on 1 January 2027.

How much cash buffer should a small business keep?

There is no single right number. A practical way to set one is to total your fixed costs for one month, pick how many months you want covered, and put a fixed amount into a separate account every month until you reach it. Even a small monthly amount is better than no buffer line at all.

Can GBot make my business budget?

GBot does not connect to your bank, keep your books or file taxes. You can paste your monthly numbers into the chat and Max will help you read them and suggest next steps. Sam can rework your price list or quotes if the budget shows a gap, and Mia can draft the price-change notice for you to approve.

How to Make a 2027 Small Business Budget (Free Template)

The short answer: to make a 2027 small business budget, pull the last 12 months of bank and card statements, forecast sales for each month of 2027, list your fixed costs, set variable costs as a percentage of sales, and add the 2027 changes you already know about (wages, tax payments, renewals). Give owner pay, tax and a cash buffer their own lines. Then compare budget to actual once a month.

This guide is for cleaners and home services, trades, salons and barbers, gyms and studios, shops, makers and small agencies. It includes a fill-in template you can copy into any spreadsheet and a worked example. It is a planning guide, not tax or accounting advice.

Budget vs cash flow forecast

A budget is your plan for the year: what you expect to sell and what you expect to spend, line by line.

A cash flow forecast tracks timing: when money actually reaches your bank account and when it leaves. Australia's business.gov.au describes it as an estimate of future sales and costs that shows whether you will have enough income to cover your costs, built from an opening balance, cash in, cash out and a closing balance for each month (set up a cash flow statement).

For a small business, one sheet can do both jobs. Build the budget first, then add an opening bank balance row at the top and a closing balance row at the bottom.

Step 1: pull 12 months of real numbers

Download bank and card statements for November 2025 to October 2026 (or your last full 12 months). Sort every line into a few buckets:

Sales (money in from customers)
Costs that move with sales (supplies, stock, card fees, fuel, commissions)
Costs that stay the same (rent, insurance, software, phone, loan payments)
Wages and payroll costs
Owner drawings or salary
Tax payments

Decide whether you are recording sales when you make them or when the money arrives. The SBA's guide to managing finances explains the difference: the accrual method records a sale when it happens, the cash method only when payment is received. For a first budget, the cash method is easier because it matches your bank statement.

Step 2: forecast sales month by month

Start with the same month last year and adjust each one for what you know:

A price increase from a set date
A new service, class or product line
Clients won or lost
More or fewer staff hours
Closures, holidays and your own time off

Do not spread the year's sales evenly across 12 months. A salon's December, a gardener's spring and a gift shop's November look nothing like their quiet months, and the budget should show that. If you are planning promotions, line them up with the 2027 small business marketing calendar.

Step 3: list fixed costs

Fixed costs are the bills that arrive whatever you sell. Write the monthly amount and the renewal month for each:

Rent and business rates or property costs
Insurance
Software subscriptions and phone
Vehicle or equipment payments
Accountant or bookkeeper
Planned marketing spend

Mark any contract that renews in 2027 and note whether the price is likely to change. Annual bills (insurance, licences, memberships) go in the month you actually pay them, which is where a cash flow view earns its keep.

Step 4: variable costs as a percentage of sales

Costs that rise and fall with sales are easier to budget as a percentage. If supplies were 4% of sales last year and card fees about 3%, set those percentages for each month of 2027 and let the totals follow your sales forecast. If you raise prices, the percentage usually falls a little; if a supplier raises theirs, update the percentage.

Step 5: add the 2027 changes you already know about

Put these in before the year starts, not when the first bill arrives:

Wages. Many US states raise their minimum wage on 1 January 2027, and the UK National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over rises to £13.21 an hour from 1 April 2027 (Low Pay Commission on GOV.UK). Our 2027 minimum wage checklist has the state figures and the cost formula.
Employer payroll costs. In the UK, employer Class 1 National Insurance is 15% above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, which runs to 5 April 2027 (HMRC rates and thresholds). In the US, ask your payroll provider for your employer tax rates.
Tax payments. UK Self Assessment tax owed for the 2025 to 2026 tax year must be paid by 11:59pm on 31 January 2027 (GOV.UK deadlines). In the US, sole proprietors generally need to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more (IRS estimated taxes); the Form 1040-ES page has the worksheet and payment dates.
Renewals. Rent reviews, insurance renewals and software price changes you have already been told about.

Step 6: owner pay, tax set-aside, buffer and profit

Four lines that budgets often leave out:

Owner pay. A fixed monthly amount you take out, budgeted like a bill.
Tax set-aside. A percentage of profit moved to a separate account each month. Ask your accountant for your percentage.
Buffer. Total one month of fixed costs, choose how many months you want covered, and fund it a little every month.
Profit. What is left after everything above. If it is negative in most months, the budget has done its job by showing you early.

Fill-in 2027 budget template

Copy this into a spreadsheet, add one column per month (January to December 2027) and a total column.

Line	How to fill it	Jan 2027	Year total
Opening bank balance	Last month's closing balance
Sales forecast	Same month last year, adjusted
Other income	Grants, refunds, interest
Total in	Sum of the lines above (excluding opening balance)
Supplies and stock	% of sales
Card and payment fees	% of sales
Fuel, travel, commissions	% of sales
Wages	Hours x rate, new rate from its start date
Payroll costs	From your payroll provider
Rent and property	Fixed
Insurance, licences	Month you pay
Software and phone	Fixed
Marketing	Planned spend
Equipment or vehicle	Loan or lease payment
Accountant	Fixed or month you pay
Owner pay	Fixed monthly amount
Tax set-aside	Your accountant's % of profit
Buffer savings	Fixed monthly amount
Total out	Sum of costs
Closing bank balance	Opening + total in − total out

Worked example: a two-person cleaning business

These figures are illustrative, not benchmarks. A home cleaning business (owner plus one part-time cleaner) expects $108,000 in sales for 2027.

Variable costs: supplies 4%, card fees 3%, fuel 5%, so 12% of sales = $12,960
Cleaner: 25 hours a week x $18 x 52 weeks = $23,400, plus $2,400 payroll costs from the provider's figure
Fixed costs: insurance $1,800, software and phone $1,200, marketing $2,400, van payments $4,800, accountant $1,200 = $11,400
Profit before owner pay and tax: $108,000 − $12,960 − $23,400 − $2,400 − $11,400 = $57,840
Tax set-aside at an example rate of 20% (use your accountant's figure): $11,568
Owner pay: $3,500 a month = $42,000
Left for the buffer: $4,272 a year, about $356 a month

That is thin. A 5% price increase on the same bookings would add $5,400 in sales. If the owner prefers to keep prices, the other levers are chasing late payers faster, cutting a fixed cost or filling quiet weekday slots.

Step 7: check budget vs actual every month

Book 15 minutes in the first week of each month:

Type last month's actual sales and costs next to the budget.
Circle any line more than 10% off.
Pick one fix for the month.
Update the forecast for the rest of the year if something has really changed.

If you set goals for the year, keep this check alongside the one-page 2027 goals sheet so the numbers and the goals are reviewed together.

If the numbers do not work

Prices. Work out the cost per job or per visit, then make one clear change with notice. Use the price increase templates and update your price list page.
Collections. Late payers squeeze cash even when the budget looks fine on paper. The overdue invoice reminder emails give you a schedule to follow. business.gov.au also lists ways to improve your cash flow, including the timing of when you pay and get paid.
Costs. Cancel software nobody opens, rebid insurance at renewal and drop products that do not sell.

Where GBot fits

GBot is a set of AI assistants for small businesses at $19.99/mo. For your 2027 budget:

Max helps you read the monthly numbers you paste in and suggests what to look at next.
Sam reworks your price list or a quote with the math when the budget shows a gap.
Mia drafts the price-change notice or the note to your team.
Kai looks up what nearby businesses charge before you set new prices.

Nothing goes out until you approve it. GBot does not connect to your bank, keep your books, run payroll or file taxes.