Financial Literacy
How to Set a Realistic Budget Using Last Year's Financials
By Matthew Slomowicz·April 20, 2026·4 min read
A budget built from a guess is a wish list. A budget built from last year's actual numbers is a plan, and it only takes clean books to build.
Start with actuals, not assumptions
Pull last year's monthly P&L and use actual revenue and expense patterns as your baseline, rather than starting from a blank spreadsheet and guessing.
Adjust for known changes
Layer in anything you already know is changing (a new hire, a price increase, a lease renewal) on top of that real baseline, rather than trying to forecast from scratch.
Reviewing actual results against this budget every month is what turns it into a working tool instead of a document that gets filed away and forgotten.
Want books like this for your business?
Book a free 20-minute discovery call: no pressure, just a clear read on where your books stand.
Book a discovery call →