FerroxLabs Build an Annual Budget
Estimated time: 30-45 minutes
This workflow builds an annual budget by category, with quarterly checkpoints and variance flags, then a tracking dashboard to monitor it through the year. Act as the CFO: gather the target and constraints, propose a category structure, build the budget, set variance thresholds, and ship a tracking dashboard. Each build step is followed by a review checkpoint where the user can refine before proceeding.
Step 1: Kickoff and gather targets (uses: finance-budget)
Tell the user you will build an annual budget by category, with quarterly checkpoints and variance flags. Ask for: target revenue for the year (or the planned forecast), and any known constraints such as debt payments, founder salary, fixed contracts, and must-fund initiatives. For prior-year actuals, offer to read any file dropped into the chat (P&L export, prior budget) or pull from a connected source (Stripe, or the connected ledger, database, or Google Sheets workbook). If neither is available, ask them to attach last year's P&L and base the targets on it.
- Input: user-stated target revenue, constraints, prior-year P&L or actuals
- Output: target_and_constraints (the agreed targets and hard constraints)
- Key focus: anchor the budget on a real revenue target and the non-negotiables
Step 2: Infer category structure (uses: finance-budget)
From the target and constraints, infer a recommended category structure appropriate to the business stage. Present it clearly, explain the reasoning, and invite the user to add or remove categories to match their accounting setup. Confirm the final category list before building.
- Input: target_and_constraints
- Output: categories (the confirmed budget category structure)
- Key focus: a category structure that matches how the business actually accounts
Step 3: Build the annual budget (uses: finance-budget)
Build the annual budget in annual_budget mode using the target, constraints, and confirmed categories. Produce a by-category budget with a quarterly breakdown. Show the full output.
- Input: target_and_constraints, categories
- Output: annual_budget (by-category budget with quarterly breakdown)
- Key focus: numbers that sum to the target and respect every constraint
Step 4: Review and refine the budget (uses: finance-budget)
Present the annual budget and ask whether to proceed to variance flags or refine. If the user wants changes, capture their feedback and rebuild the budget against it, then re-present. Loop up to three refinement passes until the user approves, then proceed.
- Input: annual_budget, user refinement feedback
- Output: approved annual_budget
- Key focus: get explicit sign-off before locking the budget
Step 5: Set variance thresholds (uses: finance-budget)
Using the approved budget, build variance thresholds in variance_thresholds mode: the per-category overrun and underrun bands that should trigger a flag. Show the output.
- Input: approved annual_budget
- Output: variance_thresholds (per-category flag bands)
- Key focus: thresholds tight enough to catch drift, loose enough to avoid noise
Step 6: Build the tracking dashboard (uses: finance-report)
Build a tracking dashboard in tracking_dashboard mode from the budget and the variance thresholds, so actuals can be checked against budget through the year. Show the output.
- Input: approved annual_budget, variance_thresholds
- Output: dashboard (the tracking dashboard)
- Key focus: a dashboard that makes overruns obvious at a glance
Step 7: Final review and ship (uses: finance-report)
Present the full package: budget, variance thresholds, and tracking dashboard. Ask whether to ship or refine the thresholds or dashboard. If the user wants changes, capture feedback and rebuild the dashboard against it (up to two passes), then re-present. On approval, assemble and deliver the budget package document with sections for target and constraints, categories, annual budget, variance thresholds, and tracking dashboard.
- Input: approved annual_budget, variance_thresholds, dashboard, user feedback
- Output: budget_package (the shipped annual budget document)
- Key focus: one clean deliverable the user can track against all year