How to build a startup budget you can actually fund
Startup Costs | Blank working worksheet | September 6, 2026
https://startup-costs.com/guides/startup-budget/

Result to produce: A funding total, a dated payment ledger and a clear amount still to arrange.

Business and format:
Address or service area:
Prepared by:
Date:

BEFORE YOU START
Bring equipment and premises quotes, a paid staffing plan, customer collection assumptions and the amounts and dates of committed financing. An unknown cost stays unresolved in the ledger; entering zero would hide it.

CALCULATION INPUTS
Opening payments (USD):
Largest cumulative operating cash deficit (USD):
Cash to retain above that deficit (USD):
Committed funds available before payments fall due (USD):

Use the guide calculator for formulas and results. Enter your own values and retain the evidence for each assumption.

DECISION RECORD
1. Opening payment
Amount, due date, quote, refund terms and exclusions
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

2. Operating deficit
Forecast period, lowest cumulative balance and its date
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

3. Retained reserve
Disruption covered and how its cash effect was estimated
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

4. Committed funding
Net usable amount, availability date and conditions
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

5. Funding gap
Amount still missing and the commitment it prevents
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

DECISION RULES
If: A payment date precedes usable funding
Action: Delay or renegotiate that commitment, or arrange confirmed funding before it falls due.

If: A material cost is unquoted
Action: Keep the total provisional and obtain the missing scope and quote.

If: The operating deficit keeps growing at the forecast end
Action: Extend the forecast and revisit operating viability before treating the reserve as sufficient.

YOUR DECISION
Next commitment:
Conditions still to resolve:
Decision and reason:
Next review date:

Sources and background:
SBA: planning a business: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/plan-your-business/
IRS: business recordkeeping: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/recordkeeping

This is a blank personal planning worksheet. Its completion is not an approval, a market estimate or a completed state research record.
The examples and calculator defaults on the guide are authored illustrations. Keep your own evidence and limitations with any result.
Financial information supports planning and education and is not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Results do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing.