Many non-profit organizations have March 31st year-ends. If that is the case for your group, then this is the first week of the new year. Is your budget ready? If you are spending money this week, do you know if the expenditure is in the budget?
There should be a budget process each month, like this; at the end of each month one should enter the actual financial results into the budget tool which your organization is using. This will gradually turn your budget into a forecast of this year’s actual results. The monthly actual results are then used to prepare the budget for the same month next year. This way, you always have 12 months of budget and there is a constant focus on the budget, not just a couple of times a year when you are working on the budget.
Too many groups wait months to approve the budget and that leaves decisions being made without the benefit of the budget. If your group feels that a budget is a worthwhile thing, then it is always worthwhile, and you should always have one.
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