What is a Static Budget in Finance?

#Cash Flow
Jamie Smith|11min read |8 November 2024
Model - Forecast - Plan
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Understanding how to budget effectively is crucial for any business. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll focus on static budgets—one of the most straightforward yet powerful tools in financial planning. From its definition and advantages to its limitations and practical implementation, we’ve got you covered. Read on to also discover how Brixx software can elevate your static budgeting process.

What is a static budget?

A static budget is a fixed financial plan that remains constant over a specific period, often a year. It sets predetermined estimates for revenue, expenses, and other financial metrics and serves as a baseline for evaluating actual performance. This type of budget is most effective for businesses with stable revenues and costs, as well as for small projects or departments. However, it may be less suitable for rapidly growing or fluctuating/seasonal businesses since it does not adjust to changes in operational variables.

Static budgets vs. flexible budgets: A quick overview

Static budgets

Static budgets remain unchanged for a set period and provide a consistent benchmark for performance evaluation. They’re simpler to create and enforce disciplined spending but can become obsolete if conditions change.

Flexible budgets

Flexible budgets adjust to actual business activities, offering a more dynamic planning tool. While more complex, they adapt to changes in revenue or costs and provide a nuanced performance evaluation.

Key differences

  • Purpose: Static budgets are ideal for long-term planning; flexible budgets excel in short-term adaptations.
  • Complexity: Static budgets are straightforward but can be less accurate over time; flexible budgets are adaptable but require more monitoring.
  • Performance evaluation: Static budgets offer a fixed standard for comparison, while flexible budgets adjust to changing conditions.
  • Resource allocation: Static budgets encourage disciplined spending; flexible budgets allow for adaptive adjustments.

Choosing between static and flexible budgets depends on your business’s specific needs. Some companies even combine both to harness their respective strengths.

Here’s a simplified comparison:

Criteria Static Budget Flexible Budget
Purpose Long-term financial planning Short-term operational adjustments
Complexity Simple to create More complex, but adaptable
Performance Evaluation Fixed standard for comparison Nuanced, adjusts to activity levels
Resource Allocation Encourages disciplined spending Allows adaptive allocation
Ideal For Stable, predictable businesses Businesses with fluctuating costs and revenues

How to create a static budget

Creating a static budget involves a few key steps. Here’s a general outline:

1. Define the period

Determine the timeframe for which this budget will apply. This could be a fiscal year, a quarter, or some other period, depending on the business needs and reporting requirements.

2. Identify revenue sources

List out all the potential sources of income for the business. This may include sales, investments, grants, or any other form of revenue.

3. List expenses

Enumerate all the costs associated with running the business, both fixed and variable. Fixed costs are the expenses that remain consistent regardless of the level of production or sales, such as rent or salaries. Variable costs are those that fluctuate depending on the level of production or sales, like raw materials or utilities.

4. Allocate resources

Based on your estimated revenues and expenses, decide how you will allocate resources. Make sure the allocation is aligned with the strategic goals of the business, whether that’s expansion, consolidation, or maintaining the current operations.

5. Review & approve

Compile the budget and have it reviewed by all key stakeholders, such as department heads, senior management, and, if applicable, board members. Make any necessary adjustments based on the feedback received and secure final approval to implement the budget.

6. Implement

Once the budget is approved, distribute it to the relevant departments and teams. Ensure that each department understands its budgetary constraints and performance expectations.

7. Monitor

Even though the static budget is fixed and won’t change over the designated period, it’s essential to continuously monitor the company’s actual performance in relation to the budget. Periodic reviews will help identify any significant variances and provide valuable data for future budgeting efforts.

Related Article: To understand how actual performance figures interact with forecasts, check out our article on What’s the Difference Between Forecast vs Actuals.

static budget example

Static budget example

To illustrate, let’s consider a simplified example for a small retail business:

  • Timeframe: Q1 2024
  • Revenue sources:
    • Sales: $100,000
    • Investment income: $5,000
  • Expenses:
    • Salaries: $40,000
    • Utilities: $10,000
    • Raw materials: $25,000
    • Marketing: $10,000
    • Miscellaneous: $5,000

Here, the static budget for Q1 2024 would look something like this:

  • Total estimated revenue: $105,000
  • Total estimated expenses: $90,000
  • Estimated net profit: $15,000

This static budget would remain the same throughout Q1 2024, providing a constant point of reference for evaluating the business’s financial performance.

The advantages of static budgets

  1. Simplicity: One of the most significant advantages of static budgets is their simplicity. Because they’re set in advance and remain unchanged, they’re relatively easy to create and understand.
  2. Cost control: Static budgets can serve as a benchmark for expected costs, helping to instill a sense of financial discipline within the organization.
  3. Ease of communication: A static budget is straightforward to explain to team members and stakeholders. Because it remains fixed, everyone knows what to expect and can plan accordingly.
  4. Facilitates planning: A static budget serves as a financial blueprint for the period, helping management make informed decisions about resource allocation.
  5. Performance evaluation: Static budgets can be useful for evaluating performance. At the end of the budget period, you can compare actual results to the static budget to gauge effectiveness in various departments.

The limitations of static budgets

  1. Lack of flexibility: The most glaring limitation of a static budget is its inability to adapt to changes in business conditions. Once set, it remains the same, even if your revenues or expenses change substantially.
  2. May promote inefficiency: Because static budgets are set in advance, they may not encourage departments to use resources efficiently, as unused funds can’t be reallocated during the budget period.
  3. Not suitable for all businesses: Static budgets may not be well-suited for businesses that have highly variable costs or revenues, as these budgets can become outdated quickly.
  4. Potential for misalignment: If business priorities shift during the budget period, a static budget can become misaligned with the company’s current objectives.
  5. Lack of real-time feedback: Unlike flexible budgets, which can be adjusted for actual activity levels, static budgets don’t provide real-time feedback that can be used for immediate course correction.

static budget explained

Enhance your static budgeting with Brixx Software

Static budgets provide a foundational framework for financial planning. A financial planning software like Brixx amplifies this by offering real-time performance monitoring, even against a fixed budget. The software easily integrates with other financial platforms like Xero Accounting, centralizing your financial data for more effective analysis.

In addition, Brixx compliments other budgeting approaches such as flexible and incremental budgeting, allowing for versatile financial planning. Use the software’s scenario planning to prepare for various outcomes, thereby maximizing your static budget’s utility.

In summary, Brixx offers:

  1. Real-time performance monitoring against a fixed budget.
  2. Seamless data integration for comprehensive financial insights.
  3. Versatility to pair static budgets with other budgeting methods.

Experience the Brixx difference in streamlining your budgeting process. Take a free trial today to see how Brixx can meet your financial planning needs.

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