Virtual CFO
Budgeting
Annual budgeting for an Australian business builds a month by month plan from your actual historical numbers over the 1 July to 30 June financial year, then tracks real performance against it monthly so variances get explained rather than found at year end.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
AUD
- Cash today
- $244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
A budget built for the Australian year
The Australian financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, and the budget is built to that calendar from your historical actuals in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks Online, tied to a specific growth or staffing plan rather than an across the board percentage increase.
Structure that matches the business
A single location professional services firm needs a simpler budget than a multi site hospitality group or a manufacturer running several product lines. We split the budget by location, department or product line only where that split changes a real decision.
What the monthly review adds
Once the budget is set, comparing it to actuals every month is where the value sits: which line ran ahead, which fell behind, and why. That budget versus actual review feeds into FP&A work for ongoing analysis rather than a once a year exercise.
Statutory obligations built into the calendar
Quarterly BAS due dates, the 25 per cent base rate entity or 30 per cent standard company tax rate, and compulsory superannuation at the minimum 12 per cent rate on qualifying earnings are built into the budget as scheduled cash outflows, so they are planned for rather than a surprise in the quarter they land. A business approaching the A$75,000 GST turnover threshold gets a flag in the budget well before registration becomes compulsory, so the switch to reporting GST on sales does not land as a surprise mid year. See pricing for how budgeting work is scoped.
Prepared under senior review
The budget itself is built by our team, with every version under senior review before it reaches you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Budgeting
When should we build next year's budget?
Most Australian businesses start a month or two before the 1 July financial year begins, using the prior 9 to 12 months of actuals as the base.
Do you include BAS and super obligations as budgeted outflows?
Yes. Quarterly BAS payments and compulsory superannuation contributions are built in on the dates they are due, since they are among the more common causes of a cash surprise if left out.
What happens if we blow past the budget in one area?
We flag it in the monthly review, explain what drove it, and help decide whether it is timing, a one off, or a sign the budget itself needs revising.
What is not included in the budgeting service?
We do not set your strategic targets. We translate the goals your management sets into a structured budget by month and, where relevant, by location or entity.
What software is the budget built in?
Usually a shared spreadsheet or a connected planning tool layered over your Xero or QuickBooks Online file, whichever fits how your team already works.
When during the year should we build a budget?
Businesses often build it a month or two before their fiscal year starts, but a mid-year budget is still useful as a reset.
Do you update the budget once it is set?
The budget itself stays fixed as the baseline. We track actual performance against it monthly and build a separate revised forecast when conditions change.
Can the budget cover multiple locations or entities?
Yes. Multi-location and multi-entity budgets roll up to a consolidated view while keeping each unit's numbers visible.
What software works with budgeting?
Budgeting runs inside Excel or Google Sheets, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
Related services
- Virtual CFOFP&AOngoing financial planning and analysis: budget-to-actual tracking, margin and cost analysis, and the monthly pack that explains why the numbers moved.
- Virtual CFO13-week cash flow forecastA rolling week-by-week cash forecast that shows what is coming in, what is going out, and where the next 13 weeks get tight.
- Virtual CFOKPI designA short list of the numbers that actually run your business, defined once and tracked consistently, instead of a dashboard nobody opens.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.