Budgeting & Forecasting

Budget With Confidence. Forecast With Clarity.

Build your budget from the drivers that matter most to your business, using 20+ projection methods plus custom assumptions and KPIs. Then your forecast rolls forward throughout the year as actual results come in.

How It Works

From Historical Data to Rolling Forecast in Four Steps

PlanGuru follows the same order a seasoned CFO would,
so every projection builds on the one before it.

1. Import Your History

Bring in your chart of accounts and at least two years of monthly actuals so every projection method is available to you.

2. Project the Income Statement

Start with revenue and work down. Pick a projection method for each account — growth rates, trends, percent of other accounts and more.

3. Project the Balance Sheet

Use specialized methods like Average Days to Collect and Days Cost of Sales that link directly to your income statement projections.

4. Archive & Forecast

Lock in your budget for budget-vs-actual comparisons, then manage a rolling forecast as actuals come in.
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Projection methods built in
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Fully integrated financial statements
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Automated cash flow statement
Projection Methods

The Right Method for Every Account

Double-click any account to choose how it’s projected. Your options adapt to the account type, with these five methods always available, no matter which account you’re working on.

Know the number? Just enter it.

For fixed costs, contracted amounts or one-time items, type values straight into the months you need. Simple, fast and fully in your control.

Tie expenses to what drives them.

Project cost of sales, commissions or merchant fees as a percentage of revenue — or any other account. When the driver changes, everything linked to it updates.

Grow from last year’s actuals.

Apply a growth rate to your prior-year history and PlanGuru carries your seasonality forward automatically. Ideal for a quick, defensible first pass.

Let your history do the math.

Project accounts from trends and averages in your actual results. With two years of monthly history imported, these methods are ready to go.

Model the way your business really works.

Build custom calculations from operational data — units, headcount, locations, members — and use them to drive any account. More on this below.

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Assumptions & KPIs

Driver-Based Budgeting for Any Business Model

Assumptions and KPIs is one of PlanGuru’s most versatile features. Create custom calculations based on the non-financial and operational data unique to your business — then use them to project your financial accounts.

  • Project revenue from units, price, customers or locations
  • Drive expenses from headcount, square footage or volume
  • Works for franchises, nonprofits, service firms and more
  • Change one assumption and watch every linked account update
Balance Sheet

Specialized Methods for Every Balance Sheet Account

Your latest balances carry forward automatically. From there, specialized methods adjust each running balance based on your income statement projections. Hover a card to see how.

Trade Receivables

How long does it take your customers to pay?

Average Days to Collect

Enter your average collection period and PlanGuru projects receivables from your revenue forecast — so slower-paying customers show up in your cash, not just your sales.

Inventory

How much stock do you keep on hand?

Days Cost of Sales

Set inventory as days of cost of sales and your balance moves with your projected activity — growing when sales ramp up and easing when they slow.

Other Current Assets

Paying for insurance or software up front?

Prepaid Expenses

Model prepaid expenses that are paid once and recognized over time, keeping both your income statement and your cash timing accurate.
Cash Flow Statement

Your Cash Flow Statement Builds Itself

Once your projections are in place, PlanGuru generates a complete cash flow statement from your income statement and balance sheet activity. No formulas to write, no links to break — just a clear view of where cash is coming from and where it’s going.

Explore Cash Flow Forecasting →

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Budget + Forecast

Lock In Your Budget. Keep Your Forecast Moving.

When you’re happy with your projections, archive the budget. PlanGuru preserves the original plan and creates a forecast you can update all year.

Archived Budget

Your original plan, locked down for reference.

  • Preserves your original projections exactly as approved
  • Powers budget-vs-actual comparisons
  • A fixed benchmark for owners, boards and lenders

Rolling Forecast

A living plan that evolves with your business.

  • Updates as you import actual results each month
  • Run scenario planning and what-if analysis
  • See where you’re headed — not just where you planned to be

Help Is Built Right In

Every projection method comes with a guided walkthrough and a tutorial video. Just click the question mark next to any method to learn how it works — right inside the software.



Frequently Asked Questions

Budgeting & Forecasting FAQs

Ready to Build a Budget You Can Trust?

See how PlanGuru turns your historical data into an integrated budget and rolling forecast — in a fraction of the time spreadsheets take.