Virtual CFO
Budgeting
An annual budget for a Saudi Arabia company is built by month and department from your real numbers, carrying GOSI and WPS payroll cost, VAT timing and any Zakat or corporate income tax due, then tracked against actuals every month once the year starts.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
SAR
- Cash today
- SAR 244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
A baseline built from your real numbers
The budget is built from historical actuals in QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books and your own growth plan, broken out by month and by department, branch or entity where that split matters. Businesses often build it a month or two before their fiscal year starts, though a mid-year reset is still worth doing if the current plan no longer matches reality.
Payroll and tax lines that carry real Saudi cost
A payroll line for the year carries the actual GOSI split: 21.5% combined for a Saudi employee across pension and unemployment, against 2% employer-only for a non-Saudi hire, plus the Wage Protection Program cycle through Mudad each month. Where the company reports Zakat and corporate income tax, the budget carries the 2.5% Zakat charge on the Saudi or GCC ownership share and the 20% corporate income tax on any non-Saudi share as a planned cash line, not an afterthought discovered near the 120-day filing deadline.
Tracked, not just filed away
Once the year starts, a budget-versus-actual report each month shows the variance and explains it in plain terms, and a revised forecast is built separately when a variance changes the year's outlook. The original budget stays fixed as the baseline it was built to be, so a trend is measured against a consistent line rather than a moving target.
Multi-entity and multi-branch roll-ups
A family group or a company operating across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam branches gets a consolidated view that still shows each unit's own numbers underneath, so a branch manager sees their own budget while ownership sees the group total. The file itself stays yours to keep, not a locked template you lose access to once the engagement ends.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Budgeting
When during the year should a Saudi Arabia business build its budget?
Most build it a month or two before the fiscal year starts. A mid-year budget is still useful as a reset if the current plan has fallen out of date.
How does GOSI factor into the payroll budget line?
The budget carries the actual cost split, 21.5% combined for a Saudi employee against 2% employer-only for a non-Saudi hire, rather than one flat payroll percentage across the whole team.
Can the budget cover several branches or related entities?
Yes. Multi-branch and multi-entity budgets roll up to a consolidated total while keeping each unit's own numbers visible underneath.
Does the budget include our Zakat or corporate income tax line?
Yes, as a planned cash figure based on the 2.5% Zakat rate on the Saudi or GCC ownership share and the 20% corporate income tax on any non-Saudi share. Preparing and filing the actual return stays with our team and the taxpayer or a licensed tax agent, never a budgeting exercise on its own.
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
- Restaurants and multi-entity franchise groupsBookkeeping for restaurant groups and franchise operators running several locations or legal entities at once.
- ManufacturingBookkeeping for small and mid-size manufacturers tracking raw materials, work in process and finished goods inventory.
- Professional servicesBookkeeping for professional service firms such as engineering, architecture and IT consulting billing clients by project or retainer.
- Agencies and consultanciesBookkeeping for marketing agencies, design studios and consulting firms billing clients on retainers and project fees.
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.