Budgeting tells you where you plan to spend money. Forecasting tries to predict what'll actually happen based on historical patterns and market indicators. Think of budgets as intentions and forecasts as educated guesses grounded in data.

Most businesses benefit from having both. The forecast helps you adjust the budget when reality doesn't match expectations—which happens more often than people admit.

Depends heavily on your industry and data quality. Retail businesses with stable patterns might see 85-92% accuracy for 90-day forecasts. Professional services tend closer to 70-80% because project timing varies more.

The real value isn't hitting exact numbers—it's spotting trends early enough to do something about them. A forecast that's off by 15% but shows you a cash crunch coming in Q3 is still incredibly useful.

Absolutely, though the approach looks different. A business turning over 0K annually doesn't need the same complexity as a M operation. Simple rolling forecasts updated monthly often work better than elaborate models.

The key is matching the forecasting effort to your decision-making needs. If you're mainly worried about maintaining cash flow and timing major purchases, you don't need scenario planning for seventeen different market conditions.

Excel still dominates for businesses under 50 people. It's familiar, flexible, and doesn't require subscription fees. Once you grow larger or need real-time collaboration, dedicated platforms like Anaplan or Adaptive Insights make more sense.

We teach both approaches in our programs. The September 2025 cohort will spend roughly equal time on spreadsheet techniques and cloud-based tools, since you'll likely use both throughout your career.

Monthly updates work for most stable businesses. If you're in a volatile industry or going through rapid growth, weekly revisions might be necessary. The update frequency should match how quickly your operating reality changes.

Don't fall into the trap of constant revision though. Some businesses update forecasts so often they never actually use them for decision-making. Set a schedule and stick to it unless something major shifts.

Start with your accounting system—revenue, expenses, and cash flow form the foundation. Then layer in operational metrics specific to your business. A restaurant needs table turnover rates and food cost percentages. A consultancy needs billable hours and project pipeline data.

External data like industry benchmarks or economic indicators can improve accuracy, but get your internal numbers solid first. Bad internal data plus great external data still gives you garbage forecasts.