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The best annual budget templates live in software, not spreadsheets

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The reign of spreadsheets

We at Questica believe the traditional budget template holds a stranglehold over businesses and non-profits. All across the country, accountants dread the annual budget. They envision long nights, endless revisions, and constant financial fretting. One other thing that everyone agrees is incredibly frustrating (and unnecessary) is the use of a spreadsheet for the annual budget templates. Now, spreadsheets are not bad in and of themselves. For many tasks, they are incredibly helpful. Used correctly, they provide a streamlined and user-friendly experience. Unfortunately, the annual budget is not one of those times. When it comes to financial forecasting, spreadsheets are just not up for the task. For better results, use budgeting software. You’ll spend a little more, but the money is a good investment for the ease of use and streamlined process you’ll gain. Here’s why the best Annual Budget Templates live in software, not in spreadsheets.

 

The problem with spreadsheets

To begin with, the biggest problem with spreadsheets is that they can’t make multiple forecasts or overlay multiple pages. Any changes you make to the annual budget must be made manually. So, either you change around the entire budget or you create a completely different page. Often, the board of directors won’t even want just one forecast — they will want several. What is the best scenario? What is the worst scenario? With a traditional spreadsheet, you’re forced to make entirely new pages for those theoretical outcomes.

 

Additionally, the spreadsheet template for a traditional spreadsheet is simply non-conducive to long-term financial planning. You have to compact all the information to fit on a single page. That compacting, ironically, makes the page far less pleasing to the eye. Actually, that’s putting it a bit nicely. It’s downright hard to read. Hard to read means hard to understand, which means you’re scrambling to explain the budget in a way that gets everyone on the same page. Maybe you’ll even need to make additional spreadsheets breaking down different components of the first spreadsheet into easily digestible bits. Does this sound familiar to you?

 

A new dawn for the annual budget templates

These days, budget template software is a better option for so many reasons. Not the least of which is that this is software which is specifically designed for budgeting. Many employers balk at the price tag attached to it. Why spend money when you can just create a template from a free spreadsheet app already available? The software, however, can do all those things a regular spreadsheet cannot. You can make multiple projections far more easily. You can adjust the values without needing to create an entirely new page each time. The software is formatted to be easy to read, easy to present and easy to understand. These things add up to make a much more pleasant budgeting experience. And we are not the only ones who think so!

 

If you’re looking for the best budgeting and forecasting software on the market, you need to look to Questica. Our software does all of this, and also incorporates cloud technology. So, everyone can contribute to the same budget without you having to track them down! There simply is no comparison.

 

If you are interested in utilizing Questica for your organization, check out our website to request a demo of our software in action. You can also sign up for our monthly webinars for more information. Switch to Questica, because spreadsheets are great, but they’re not meant to do everything.

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