How to Make a Home-business Budget Work for Future Planning
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Along with using historical information on revenue and expenses to make projections, you can also set a range using these details. Your budget can show you a best-case scenario for any given time frame, using the best numbers for an optimistic scenario. It also can show you the worst-case scenario, using the lowest number. It’s often best to be conservative with projected revenue.
Future planning can include unexpected expenses and one-time costs. If you do not have adequate cash flow to cover things, such as broken computers or unplanned travel, it is hard to bounce back. By assuming there will be at least one unexpected expense somewhere along the way, you can have money set aside in advance.
Separating Home and Business Expenses in Your Budget
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One critical aspect of creating a home-business budget is ensuring your expenses reflect how you use your home. There are different rules on what can be claimed as an expense or tax-deductible, depending on where you live. Be sure to research this information and carefully track these expenses.
For example, if you use a portion of your home for your business, you may need to note what percentage of the overall home is for such use. You then can use that percentage to note what portion of monthly rent and utilities is business-related. A standard calculation is the total area of the home office/total area of home = % of the home used as an office.
Make Time for Your Home-business Budget
As you create and monitor your budget, be sure to make time in your schedule to keep up with your figures and ensure they are current. If you leave expense and revenue tracking until the end of the month, it is easy to miss a critical piece of the budget. The work you put into a realistic, comprehensive budget will pay off.
