When it comes to running your business, you know that creating a firm budget is the best way to keep your company’s growth on track. However, when you’re first starting out, creating a solid business budget can feel like a daunting process. There’s so much to consider that finding ways to pay for everything you need throughout the month often seems impossible. It doesn’t have to. Here are a few pro tips to help you make a budget that works.

Write Out Your Fixed Expenses

The first thing you should do is figure out how much money you’ll spend every month on fixed costs like rent, insurance, utilities, and other such overhead expenses. Write down the amounts you’ll pay each month and make a note of those numbers. These are the ones that you know you’ll need to cover without fail. If you don’t, you could end up losing your business.

Make an Educated Guess

Other expenses like employee wages, advertising costs, and inventory expenses will change with the seasons and the demand in your business. Though you won’t know exactly how much you’ll spend, you should still estimate those expenses so you can budget for them throughout the year. If you’ve been in business for a while, look at how much you paid for those variable expenses over the last few months. Take the average and budget a little higher to cover any variation. If you’re new to the business, see what’s common in the industry and go from there.

Budget a Little Extra

It’s always better to overestimate the amount of money you’ll spend each month than it is to budget too little. Get in the habit of budgeting for higher costs than you think necessary. This way, you’ll always have the money you need to cover those expenses when things pop up unexpectedly.

Review Your Budget Often

Budgets are dynamic and will need to change with your business. The best thing you can do is get in the habit of reviewing your budget every quarter. If you think it’s not keeping up, make the necessary adjustments so you can keep your business’s finances on track throughout the year. If your budget is too large, you can always scale back, but do so with caution. The last thing you want to do is make too many cuts that end up impacting your company negatively.

Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be able to build a business budget that will make keeping up with your company’s finances a breeze.