Budgeting Tool

Don’t just make your best guess when planning your church’s budget for the next fiscal year.
The Budgeting Tool will walk you through practical ways to forecast your church’s income and expenses using your own year-to-date actuals. You’ll be able to look at current trends, create forecasts, and use those forecasts as you build your next budget.
Be sure to watch the instructional videos throughout the tool. They’ll guide you through each step and help you understand how to use forecasting as part of your budget planning process.
_{Note: The budgeting tool and instructional videos use the dates from the original examples. Simply update the dates and months to reflect your church's current budgeting cycle.}

Before You Begin

You'll get the most out of the tool if you have:

• Your current-year budget
• Actual income to-date
• Actual expenses to-date
• Your prior year's December income
• Your prior year's January–November income
• Your chart of accounts or account listing
• Any known changes for next year, such as staffing, facilities, ministry expansions, or debt changes

Then:

One important note: A forecast isn't a budget. Your forecast tells you what may happen if current trends continue. Your budget is where you intentionally decide what you want to happen.