reaperinvest Budget Planner
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Create a monthly or annual business budget from scratch
- Organize expenses into categories with allocation targets
- Build variance tracking to compare budget vs. actual spending
- Set up adjustment triggers for when spending goes off track
DO NOT use this skill for personal budgets, financial projections (use financial-projection), or investment planning. This is for operational business budgeting.
Core Principle
A BUDGET IS A DECISION-MAKING TOOL, NOT A SPREADSHEET — EVERY LINE ITEM MUST TIE TO A BUSINESS PRIORITY AND HAVE A CLEAR OWNER.
Phase 1: Business Snapshot
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly revenue | "What is your current or expected monthly revenue?" | No default — must be provided |
| Business type | "What type of business? (service, product, SaaS, consulting)" | Service-based |
| Team size | "How many people? (just you, contractors, employees)" | Solo with contractors |
| Top 3 expense categories | "What are your biggest costs?" | Software, marketing, contractors |
| Budget period | "Monthly or annual budget?" | Monthly |
| Growth goals | "Any planned investments or growth spending?" | None specified |
GATE: Do not proceed without monthly revenue and business type.
Phase 2: Budget Framework
Category Structure
Build the budget using these standard categories, adjusted for business type:
## Budget: [Business Name] — [Month/Year or Annual]
### Revenue
| Source | Budgeted | Notes |
|--------|----------|-------|
| [Primary revenue] | $[X] | |
| [Secondary revenue] | $[X] | |
| **Total Revenue** | **$[X]** | |
### Fixed Costs (Do not change month-to-month)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| Rent/workspace | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Software/subscriptions | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Insurance | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Salaries (if applicable) | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Fixed** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |
### Variable Costs (Scale with revenue)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| Marketing/advertising | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Contractors/freelancers | $[X] | [X]% | |
| COGS/fulfillment | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Transaction fees | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Variable** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |
### Growth Investments (Discretionary)
| Category | Budgeted | % of Revenue | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------------|-------|
| New tools/equipment | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Education/training | $[X] | [X]% | |
| Hiring | $[X] | [X]% | |
| **Total Growth** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** | |
### Summary
| | Amount | % of Revenue |
|--|--------|-------------|
| Total Revenue | $[X] | 100% |
| Total Expenses | $[X] | [X]% |
| **Net Profit** | **$[X]** | **[X]%** |
Benchmark Allocations (Solopreneur/Small Business)
| Category | Healthy Range |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs | 15-30% of revenue |
| Marketing | 5-15% of revenue |
| Contractors | 10-25% of revenue |
| Owner's pay | 30-50% of revenue |
| Profit reserve | 10-20% of revenue |
| Tax reserve | 25-30% of profit |
Phase 3: Variance Tracking
Monthly Tracking Template
## Variance Report: [Month]
| Category | Budgeted | Actual | Variance | % Variance |
|----------|----------|--------|----------|------------|
| [Category] | $[X] | $[X] | +/-$[X] | +/-[X]% |
### Variance Flags
🔴 Over budget by >15%: [List categories]
🟡 Over budget by 5-15%: [List categories]
🟢 On or under budget: [List categories]
Adjustment Triggers
Define when to take action:
## Adjustment Triggers
| Trigger | Action |
|---------|--------|
| Revenue drops >10% from plan | Cut discretionary spending, pause growth investments |
| Any category exceeds budget by >20% | Review and reallocate or cut before next month |
| Revenue exceeds plan by >15% | Allocate surplus: 50% profit reserve, 30% growth, 20% owner bonus |
| Cash reserve drops below 2 months expenses | Freeze all non-essential spending |
| Marketing spend exceeds 15% without corresponding revenue increase | Audit campaign ROI, pause underperformers |
Phase 4: Deliverable
Present the complete budget document and provide quarterly review reminders.
budget/
└── budget-[YYYY].md (or budget-[YYYY-MM].md for monthly)
Include: Revenue targets, categorized expenses, percentage benchmarks, variance tracking template, and adjustment triggers.
Example: Solopreneur Consultant ($12K/month Revenue)
| Category | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $12,000 | 100% |
| Software/tools | $400 | 3% |
| Marketing | $1,200 | 10% |
| Contractors | $1,800 | 15% |
| Transaction fees | $360 | 3% |
| Education | $200 | 2% |
| Tax reserve | $2,400 | 20% |
| Owner's pay | $4,500 | 38% |
| Profit reserve | $1,140 | 10% |
Anti-Patterns
- Budgeting based on hopes instead of data — use actual revenue from the past 3-6 months, not best-case projections
- No tax reserve — solopreneurs who do not set aside 25-30% for taxes get blindsided at tax time
- Zero buffer — always budget 5-10% for unexpected expenses
- Set and forget — a budget reviewed quarterly is a suggestion. Review monthly, adjust as needed.
- Cutting marketing first — marketing drives revenue. Cut low-ROI marketing, not all marketing.
Recovery
- Irregular income: Budget based on the average of the last 6 months. Create a "minimum viable budget" for low months and a "growth budget" for high months.
- No historical data (new business): Build a conservative budget based on expected revenue, then update monthly with real data for the first 6 months.
- Expenses exceed revenue: Flag immediately. Identify which costs can be cut or deferred, and what revenue increase is needed to break even.
- Multiple revenue streams: Break revenue into separate lines but keep expenses consolidated unless they directly tie to one stream.