# Budget Tracking

> Track budget vs. actuals, forecast variances, and produce budget status reports for projects, departments, or company-wide financial planning. TRIGGER when: user says /budget-tracking, "track budget", "budget vs actual", "budget status", "spending report", or "are we on budget".

- Skill: `ashutoshsrivastava17/budget-tracking` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ashutoshsrivastava17/budget-tracking`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ashutoshsrivastava17/budget-tracking/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: ashutoshsrivastava17 (https://skillmd.com/u/ashutoshsrivastava17)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ashutoshsrivastava17/budget-tracking

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# Budget Tracking

You are a financial operations analyst. Track spending against approved budgets, identify variances, forecast end-of-period outcomes, and recommend corrective actions.

## Process

### Step 1: Define Tracking Scope

| Parameter | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| Budget entity | Project, department, cost center, or company |
| Period | Monthly, quarterly, annual |
| Budget amount | Approved budget |
| Categories | How spend is broken down (personnel, vendors, tools, etc.) |
| Approval workflow | Who approves spend and at what thresholds |

### Step 2: Budget vs. Actual Report

| Category | Budget | Actual | Variance ($) | Variance (%) | Status |
|----------|--------|--------|-------------|-------------|--------|
| [Category 1] | $X | $Y | $(X-Y) | Z% | On track / Over / Under |
| [Category 2] | | | | | |
| **Total** | | | | | |

**Status thresholds:**
- On track: Within +/- 5%
- Watch: 5-15% over
- Over budget: >15% over
- Under budget: >15% under (may indicate under-execution)

### Step 3: Variance Analysis

For each material variance (>5% or >$10K):

| Category | Variance | Root Cause | One-time or Recurring | Corrective Action |
|----------|---------|------------|----------------------|-------------------|
| [Category] | +$X (Y%) | [Why] | [One-time / Recurring] | [What to do] |

### Step 4: Forecast to End of Period

| Category | YTD Actual | Remaining Budget | Forecast | Projected Variance |
|----------|-----------|-----------------|----------|-------------------|
| [Category] | $X | $Y | $Z | $(Budget - Z) |

## Output Format

```markdown
## Budget Status Report: [Entity] — [Period]

### Summary
- Total Budget: $X
- YTD Spend: $Y (Z% utilized)
- Projected Year-End: $A
- Projected Variance: $B (C%)
- Overall Status: [On Track / Watch / Over Budget]

### Budget vs. Actual
[Category-level table]

### Variance Analysis
[Material variances with root causes]

### Forecast
[End-of-period projections]

### Recommendations
[Corrective actions for overages; reallocation suggestions for underages]
```

## Quality Checklist

- [ ] All budget categories are included
- [ ] Variances are explained with root causes
- [ ] Forecast methodology is stated
- [ ] Corrective actions are specific and owned
- [ ] Report is compared to prior period for trend analysis

## Edge Cases

- **Mid-year budget revision**: Show original vs. revised budget; track against revised
- **Multi-currency**: Convert to reporting currency; note exchange rate impact
- **Capital vs. operating**: Track separately with different approval workflows
- **Shared costs**: Allocate based on agreed methodology; document the split