Who This Is For
- Businesses that want to plan ahead instead of reacting
- Companies preparing for growth or major investments
- Businesses that need to track performance against goals
- Owners who want to identify problems before they become costly
Why This Matters
You're operating without a budget, making decisions based on gut feel rather than data
You have a budget but never check if you're on track, so it's useless
You don't know why you're over or under budget until it's too late to fix it
You can't identify which areas of your business are performing well or poorly
You're making spending decisions without understanding their impact on your financial goals
You set budgets but they're unrealistic or based on guesswork, so you ignore them
What You'll Receive
Annual budget creation based on your business goals and historical data
Monthly budget vs actual variance analysis
Identification of significant variances and their causes
Department or category-level budget tracking
Budget revisions and adjustments as your business changes
Visual reports showing budget performance
Recommendations for staying on track or adjusting course
Optional Add-ons
How It Works
We work with you to understand your business goals and create a realistic budget
We set up budget tracking in your accounting system
Each month, we compare your actual results to your budget and identify variances
You receive variance analysis reports with insights and recommendations for staying on track
Why FLR
We create budgets based on real data and realistic assumptions, not wishful thinking
Our variance analysis helps you understand not just what happened, but why it happened
We provide actionable insights to help you adjust course when needed
We help you use budgets as a management tool, not just a compliance exercise
What Happens After Setup
With budgeting and variance analysis in place, you'll have a clear plan for the year and regular feedback on how you're performing. You'll catch problems early, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions about where to invest or cut back. This transforms budgeting from a chore into a powerful management tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this included in monthly bookkeeping?
No, budgeting and variance analysis is a premium add-on service. Monthly bookkeeping tells you what happened. Budgeting and variance analysis helps you plan ahead and track performance against your goals, which requires additional analysis and reporting.
How do you create a realistic budget?
We start with your historical financial data to understand your revenue and expense patterns. Then we work with you to incorporate your business goals, planned changes, and market conditions. We create budgets that are ambitious but achievable, based on real data rather than guesswork.
What if my business changes during the year?
Budgets aren't set in stone. We can revise and update your budget as your business evolves. If you land a big client, expand operations, or face unexpected challenges, we'll adjust your budget accordingly and help you track performance against the updated plan.
What's the difference between budgeting and variance analysis?
Budgeting is creating the plan for the year. Variance analysis is comparing your actual results to that plan each month to see where you're ahead or behind. Both work together. You need a budget to analyze variances, and variance analysis makes your budget useful by showing you how you're performing.
How often will I receive variance reports?
We typically provide monthly variance analysis reports after your monthly bookkeeping is complete. This gives you timely feedback on how you're performing against your budget so you can make adjustments as needed.
Can you help if I'm consistently over or under budget?
Yes, that's exactly what variance analysis is for. We'll help you understand why you're off track, whether your budget was unrealistic, your business changed, or there are operational issues. Then we'll work with you to either adjust the budget or create a plan to get back on track.