Following is a transcript of this episode of the Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast, with audio/video below.
Welcome to the Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast. I am your host Cyndi Meuchel with MoneyMinder, where we’re hoping to make your life as a volunteer way easier.
Stacey writes: Our financial year ends soon, and we are planning for next year’s budget. Do you have any guidance or suggestions for how to hold a budget planning meeting and what we should be looking at rather than rubber-stamping last year’s budget?
It does feel like that sometimes, doesn’t it? If your budget is feeling a little stale, here is how you can go about taking a more critical look.
I would suggest starting by comparing the budgeted amounts and the actual expenses for each of your categories or line items for the past few years. Look for trends in any category that consistently exceed expectations or fall short.
For example, does your fall fundraiser always raise more money than you planned? Maybe it’s time to raise your goal. Is it generating less and less revenue every year? Maybe it’s time to replace it with something else.
Are you still budgeting for old software you don’t use? See if you can get rid of it. Do you have a lot of activity in any categories called “Miscellaneous” or “Other”? Maybe consider breaking those out and putting more definitions around some of that activity.
The whole point of this exercise is to get your group as close as possible to a realistic plan for the year. So, taking a look at your actuals over a period of time and using that to plan for the future is your best bet for creating and managing the most realistic budget for your upcoming year.
Download our free Budgeting Basics guide for lots more ideas and information. My name is Cyndi Meuchel, and this is your Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip for today.
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Connect your Bank, Paypal and Square accounts to MoneyMinder PRO to directly download transactions, saving you time and effort. You just review the transactions to ensure they are properly categorized and fill out any required fields.
Connect your Bank, Paypal and Square accounts to MoneyMinder PRO to directly download transactions, saving you time and effort. You just review the transactions to ensure they are properly categorized and fill out any required fields.
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