For me, Labour Day always seems like the start of a new year/phase. With my youngest still in school, it’s the time when we get new school supplies, check out timetables, the hockey practices start up again and homework emerges. It’s also the time that I start planning for the upcoming year.
I’ll start budgeting how the upcoming year looks, looking forward to any changes that I’d like to make to the software that I use, or how I’m going to improve my business. I also start to look at what we have coming up as a family and to make sure that we’ve got the plans in place to make it happen. Can you tell that I’m a planner?
I figured that with this blog post, I’d take the opportunity to provide some information about why budgeting is a good idea for you and/or your small business and include some resources that I’ve found that can help you pull together a budget for your business as well as your personal life.
Why Budgeting is a Good Idea
Budgets are a great tool to help you figure out how you have been spending your money and to also help you plan out how you can change your spending habits or help you towards your larger goals. They keep you honest and on track. They can be a bit hard to get used to and if you are trying to alter some habits (daily coffees at your local coffee shop), then they can be frustrating. However, be patient with yourself and reward yourself every time you make progress toward meeting your budget.
How Often Should You Review Your Budget?
Ideally, you should be comparing your budgets on a monthly basis, however, it may be easier for you to review it on a quarterly basis. Reviewing a budget on a less frequent basis doesn’t really allow you to see how close you are to achieving your goals. It also won’t allow you to make some minor changes if you see yourself going off-track from your goals.
Budgets are hard and they can be difficult to stick with, but they are a great guide to helping you achieve your goals.
Tools to Help You With Your Personal Budgeting
Other tools that would be great in supporting you to achieve your financial goals are working with a Financial Planner or a Money Coach. Both groups of people have the experience to make this task easier and less intimidating. They will also have options available that are customized to you and your lifestyle.
For Personal budgeting, here are some resources:
- this personal budget planner by the Government of Canada
- this Simple Personal Budget MS Excel Template is for those who love spreadsheets
If you subscribe to an online Cash Flow program, like Quicken, there is a budgeting function in there you can take advantage of. It does take time to set it up so it’s a great rainy-day activity.
Tools to Help You With Your Business Budgeting
For Business budgeting, here are some resources:
- BDC has a list of free or low-cost resources:
- If you use online bookkeeping software like QuickBooks or Xero, they have the option to create budgets as well, so I recommend looking into those options if they are available to you.
Best,
Dayna Holland, CPA, CA (she/her)
CEO of Dayna Holland Ltd.
—
Are you a small business owner or self-employed and want to improve your bookkeeping habits so that you can get ahead for the new year? Be sure to check out this blog post for my top three recommendations based on conversations I’ve had this year with entrepreneurs.
Click here to learn more about Dayna Holland, CPA, CA.