You can create a business budget in a few different ways. Going with a free business budget template can make things easier. Simply download it and fill in the blanks. If you want to create your own using a spreadsheet, make sure to include revenue, fixed expenses and variable expenses.

After making a business budget, you’ll need to follow it. The first few months of using your small business budget template should reveal if it’s missing any vital information. For example, if you’re continually running a deficit, is there a recurring expense that you neglected to include in your budget? Is overspending the culprit, or perhaps lower revenue than expected? It’s important to regularly check with your budget to make sure it reflects your business’s reality and priorities.

A business budget should include your revenue, income, expenses and business goals. Overlooking these details will likely lead to an incomplete financial picture for your business — the clearer you get here, the stronger your budget will be.