The Budget

• 1Do you have a written budget for your business listing projected revenues or sales by sources, projected expenditures or costs by categories, etc.?
• 1aHow do you keep track of how well the business is doing?
• 2How often do you prepare a budget for this business?
• 2aWhat is the first month of your current budget?
• 3Do you, another owner, an employee or someone else prepare the budget?
• 3aAbout how many hours does it typically take you to prepare the budget? An estimate is fine.
• 4When you start preparing your budget, what is the first factor you usually build into it? Is it?
• 4aWhat is the second factor you usually build into the budget? Is it?
• 5How do you typically project expenses for the next budget? Do you typically:?
• 6How do you forecast or project revenues for the next budget? Do you typically:?
• 7Approximately, how many major expense categories does this business’s budget have?
• 8Approximately, how many major “source of revenue” categories does this business’s budget have?
• 9Does your budget have cash flow projections that account for expected seasonality or ups and downs in either revenues or expenditures?
• 9aIs that because you don’t expect seasonality or other irregular cash flows, or because it makes your budget too complicated?
• 10Do you consider the expenses in your budget more like flexible spending guidelines or strict spending boundaries?
• 11Do you keep your budget on some type of computer program, such as Quicken or Quick Books?
• 12How often do you typically review the budget and compare your projections to what is actually happening?
• 13At this time, how close are your expenditures or costs running to those you originally projected in your budget? Are they:?
• 13aWhat is the primary reason for variance from your cost projections?
• 13bWhat is the primary reason for variance from your cost projections?
• 14At this time, how close are your revenues or sales running to those you originally projected in your budget? Are they:?
• 14aWhat is the primary reason for variance from your revenues or sales projections?
• 14bWhat is the primary reason for variance from your revenues or sales projections?
• 15Do you have a capital budget, that is, a budget that projects future capital expenditures and acquisition dates for major pieces of business equipment, land, vehicles and things of that nature?
• 15aHow many years out do you project capital needs?
• 16Before entering this business, had you ever declared bankruptcy?Top 100 question

Volume 7, Issue 4, 2007
ISSN -

William J. Dennis, Jr.
NFIB Research Foundation