For the most part, this is true. However, when your budget is in the red, the forecast is a little off.
Yep, that’s probably why people use forecast budgets to start a budget review. The more accurate the forecast, the less likely it is your budget will be over budget.
This is true.
There’s nothing like setting a budget that’s so low you can’t afford to make a single phone call. That’s why it’s important to set a forecast that’s realistic but not unrealistic. In the case of the marketing budget, you want to be able to make a call to your client without breaking the bank.
Yep. The more you are able to control the marketing budget, the less likely you are to run into budget difficulties down the road. In the case of the forecast, you are more likely to run into budget problems if you make your forecast too low.
Most forecasts (like the marketing budget) are set on the budget spreadsheet. As a rule of thumb, I suggest that forecasts be set at the high end of budget, because this is where you get most of your “out of control” spending money. Don’t let the budget get so low that your client can’t afford your services.
In the case of the forecast, you should be able to get the forecast spreadsheet to be within your budget without a problem. If you do, then you should be able to set your budget to be within that budget. The other thing that you should be able to do is to reduce the forecast to what you think it should be. If you make your forecast too low, then you might not be able to deliver your services as expected. Of course, that’s pretty much the worst case scenario.
Your client can afford anything. In the case of the forecast, you should be able to get the forecast spreadsheet to be within your budget. If you do, then you should be able to set your budget to be within that budget. The other thing that you should be able to do is to reduce the forecast to what you think it should be. If you make your forecast too low, then you might not be able to deliver your services as expected.
Forecasts are always set on the marketing budget detail spreadsheet. It’s a spreadsheet that tells you how much budget your client has to spend and when they will spend it. So if you work with a client and they say they have a budget of $50,000, you can tell them that you will spend $50,000 when you are ready to spend $50,000.
It’s possible to set your forecasts on a spreadsheet, but even if you do, you still may not know that you have to do that until you actually have to spend the budget. That’s because a spreadsheet tells you an amount and a date, but it doesn’t tell you how much money you have to spend and when you have to spend it.
