Budgeting software for marketing agencies with an agency budget drafted from your books
Budgeting software for marketing agencies turns last year's books into next year's agency budget and tracks it every month. Budgeter.ai connects read-only to QuickBooks Online or Xero, drafts the budget by account and month, compares it with actuals after each close and forecasts cash around client payment terms, so you know what the agency can afford before you hire or lose a retainer.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show budget, then actual. Example figures for a fictional agency.
Why an agency budget breaks in a spreadsheet
Most agencies of 10 to 80 people know their project margins and have no idea where the company is headed. The annual budget is built in January from a template, and by March the real numbers have drifted. A retainer paused, a project slipped a quarter, two freelancers became a full-time hire.
Agency cash is also lumpy in a way a monthly budget hides. Payroll goes out on the 15th and the 30th, while a client on net-60 terms pays in the third month. Media and production costs are often paid before the client reimburses them. A profitable month on paper can be the tightest month in the bank.
Budgeter keeps the budget connected to the books the bookkeeper already closes, and the cash flow forecast runs week by week on what is actually coming in.
What stays in your agency software and what Budgeter adds
Budgeter plans the agency. Your project tools keep running the work.
Stays in your project and time tools
- Time entries, utilization and project budgets per client
- Resource scheduling and capacity by person
- Estimates, retainer hours and invoicing
- Media buy tracking by campaign
Runs in Budgeter
- The annual agency budget by account and month, drafted from QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Budget vs actual after every close, with notes on the large variances
- A 13-week and 12-month cash forecast and runway
- Hiring plans and client-loss scenarios answered from the agency's own numbers
Invoices and payments from your billing tool already land in QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the books carry the revenue Budgeter plans from. Nothing is written back to either system.
What an agency gets from Budgeter
Each feature works on the agency's real books. There is no import file to maintain.
A budget built from last year
Retainers, project revenue, payroll, freelancers, software and rent are proposed by month from your actuals, seasonality included. You change what you know better.
Cash forecast on payment terms
See the cash balance week by week for 13 weeks and month by month for a year, with planned payroll and rent, so hires and bonuses follow the cash.
Budget vs actual every month
After close, every line shows budget, actual and the difference. A jump in freelancer cost or a project that slipped gets a written note instead of a surprise at quarter end.
Service lines as departments
Group accounts into paid media, creative, web or account management, and give each lead a read-only view of their own lines.
Hiring and client-loss questions
Ask what a senior designer at $95K does to cash and margin, or what happens if the biggest retainer ends in March. The AI CFO answers from the agency's numbers and shows its assumptions.
A pack for leadership
Export the monthly pack as PDF on Growth and up, or the model as XLSX or CSV for the agency's CPA. Partners can log in as viewers at no extra cost.
How to set up agency budgeting in four steps
Most agencies review the first drafted budget the same day the books are connected.
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01
Connect the agency books
Sign in to the agency's QuickBooks Online or Xero with read-only access. Budgeter reads the chart of accounts and the monthly profit and loss. Nothing is written back to the books.
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02
Approve the drafted agency budget
Next year is drafted by account and month from 12 to 24 months of actuals, so the slow summer, the Q4 push and the January dip are already in it. Group accounts by service line, such as paid media, creative and web, and approve the version.
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03
Review the month after close
Once the bookkeeper closes the month, budget vs actual, the 13-week and 12-month cash forecast and runway refresh on their own. Large variances come with a short note naming the accounts behind them.
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04
Decide before you hire or sign
Ask what a senior designer, a new account lead or the loss of your biggest retainer does to cash, and export the pack for the leadership meeting.
The details of each connection are on the QuickBooks budgeting software and Xero budgeting software pages. Both are read-only and encrypted.
A worked year for a 25-person agency
Take a hypothetical digital agency with two founders, 23 staff and a few regular freelancers, on Xero. Revenue last year was about $4.4 million, roughly 70 percent retainers and the rest projects, with a soft August and a busy Q4.
Budgeter drafts next year from those actuals: payroll with the January raises, a rent step-up in spring, software growing with headcount. The founders approve it in one meeting and set bonuses at a level the forecast shows the agency can cover even if its two slowest-paying clients run 30 days late.
In September, project revenue lands $23K under budget because a website build slipped into October, and freelancer cost is $14K over after a campaign peak. Both are flagged with notes the week the books close. The managing director asks whether the agency can hire a senior designer in October. The answer shows the loaded monthly cost and that cash stays above two months of expenses, so the offer goes out. A second scenario removes the largest retainer from March and shows what payroll would need to flex.
The hiring side is covered in more detail on the headcount planning page, and the monthly review on budget vs actual.
Agency budgeting options compared
Each option suits a different job. The agency tools below budget projects, not the company.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | Plans from | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel agency budget template | Your time | Whatever you type in | Rebuilt by hand each month | Small studios with very simple books |
| Agency management and project tools | Per user, see each vendor | Time, project and billing data | Project setup and training | Project budgets, utilization and invoicing |
| Enterprise planning suites | Quoted after a demo | ERP and data warehouse feeds | Implementation project | Large holding groups with a finance team |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only | Same day, no consultant | Agencies of 10 to 100 people that want a company budget and cash forecast |
If you need per-project profitability, timesheets and resource scheduling, buy an agency management tool and keep it. Budgeter sits next to it and answers a different question: can the agency afford the next hire and when does cash get tight. The small business budgeting software page covers the simpler setup for a studio of a few people.
Who uses Budgeter as agency budgeting software
The common thread is an agency big enough that hiring and bonus decisions carry real risk, and small enough that nobody's job title is CFO.
Outside accountants who run the numbers for several agencies will find the multi-client setup on the fractional CFO software page.
- Founders and managing directors of 10 to 80 person agencies Set hiring, bonuses and distributions against a budget everyone can see, instead of a spreadsheet one person maintains.
- Agency controllers and finance managers Track overhead lines monthly and explain variances before the leadership team asks.
- Retainer-heavy agencies Model the effect of a paused or lost retainer on payroll and runway.
- Project and production studios Plan lumpy project revenue by month and the freelancers it needs.
- Agencies opening a second office or service line Budget the new line as its own department and watch when it starts to carry itself.
Questions agencies ask about budgeting software
Connections are read-only and encrypted, and agency data is never used to train public models. Full plan limits are on the pricing page.
What is the best budgeting software for a marketing agency?
It depends on the job. Project and time tools such as Productive or Scoro budget individual client projects. For the agency's own annual budget, budget vs actual and cash forecast, pick a tool that reads QuickBooks Online or Xero, such as Budgeter, so the budget meets the closed books every month.
How do you budget for an advertising agency?
Start from last year's profit and loss. Split revenue into retainers, project work and pass-through media, add payroll by role with the planned hires, then contractors, software, rent and marketing. Review the budget against actuals after every close and forecast cash by week, because client payment terms drive the real tight months.
Can Budgeter handle pass-through media spend?
Budgeter plans from the accounts in your books, so pass-through media sits on its own income and cost lines if your bookkeeper records it that way. Keep gross and net revenue apart, plan margin on the net line, and the cash forecast still shows the working capital that media buys tie up.
Does it replace project profitability tools?
No. Time tracking, project budgets, utilization and invoicing stay in your agency management or project software. Budgeter plans the agency as a business: the annual budget, monthly budget vs actual, runway and hiring questions, all from the same books your bookkeeper closes.
Can I model losing a big client?
Yes. Save a scenario that removes a retainer from a chosen month, keep or cut the payroll that served it, and see the effect on cash and runway side by side with the base plan. Many agencies run this for their two largest clients.
How much does agency budgeting software cost?
Budgeter publishes its prices: Small Business is $149 a month or $74 a month billed yearly, and Growth, which adds headcount planning, spend limits and a board pack, is $599 a month or $299 billed yearly. Agency management suites are priced per user and usually cover project work rather than the company budget.
Related planning modules
See how long your agency's cash lasts before you connect the books
Enter a few numbers to see runway and the month cash gets tight, then connect QuickBooks or Xero to get a drafted agency budget and a monthly review.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.