UK Business Budget Template
A free UK business budget template with budget-versus-actual columns and automatic totals.
- Accounting standard
- FRS 102 (UK GAAP)
- Financial year
- Company accounting reference period (commonly 31 Mar or 31 Dec); tax year 6 Apr–5 Apr
- Currency
- GBP (£)
- Filed with
- Companies House & HMRC
| Budget | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Sales income | £850,000 | £850,000 |
| Other income | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| Total income | £870,000 | £870,000 |
| Salaries and wages | £300,000 | £300,000 |
| Rent and premises | £60,000 | £60,000 |
| Marketing | £40,000 | £40,000 |
| Other overheads | £120,000 | £120,000 |
| Net surplus / (deficit) | £350,000 | £350,000 |
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How to Fill In a UK Business Budget Template
A business budget sets out expected income and costs for a period, giving you a plan to measure actual performance against as the year unfolds. Unlike the statutory statements, a budget isn’t filed anywhere — it’s a management tool, but a critical one for cash planning and spotting problems early.
This template uses a simple Budget-versus-Actual layout so you can see at a glance where the business is ahead of or behind plan.
What is a business budget?
A business budget is a forward-looking plan of expected income and expenditure for a future period, typically a financial year. Comparing budgeted figures against actual results as the period progresses — often called budget-versus-actual analysis — helps identify variances early enough to act on them.
What to include
- Sales income — the revenue you expect to generate from your core trading activity.
- Other income — any additional income outside core sales, such as interest or grants.
- Total income — the sum of sales and other income.
- Salaries and wages — expected staff costs for the period.
- Rent and premises — property-related costs including rent, rates and utilities.
- Marketing — planned spend on advertising and promotion.
- Other overheads — remaining operating costs not captured elsewhere.
- Net surplus / (deficit) — total income less all costs, showing the planned profit or loss for the period.
Step-by-step guide
- Estimate sales income for the period based on historical trends, pipeline or contracted work.
- Add any other income you expect, such as interest received or grant funding.
- List planned salaries and wages, including any planned hires or pay reviews.
- Enter rent and premises costs, using current lease terms or expected renewal rates.
- Enter planned marketing spend and any other overheads you expect to incur.
- Review the net surplus or deficit in the Budget column to confirm the plan is realistic.
- As the period progresses, fill in the Actual column with real results from your accounting records.
- Compare Budget against Actual regularly and investigate any significant variances.
UK-specific rules
A business budget has no statutory filing requirement in the UK — it is an internal management document, not something submitted to Companies House or HMRC. That said, lenders assessing a loan application, or investors reviewing a business plan, will often expect to see a budget alongside historical statutory accounts.
Keeping the budget in the same £ format and terminology as your statutory profit and loss account (turnover, overheads, etc.) makes it easier to compare budget-versus-actual figures directly against your year-end results.