Budgeting software for consulting firms with a firm budget drafted from your books
Budgeting software for consulting firms turns last year's books into next year's firm 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 slow client payments, so partners know what the firm can afford before they hire, distribute or lose an anchor client.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show budget, then actual. Example figures for a fictional firm.
Why a consulting firm budget breaks in a spreadsheet
Most consulting firms of 8 to 80 people know their utilization and have no clear view of where the firm itself is headed. The annual budget is built in January, and by spring the real numbers have drifted. An engagement ended early, a proposal slipped a quarter, two subcontractors became a full-time hire.
Consulting cash is lumpy in a way a monthly budget hides. Payroll goes out twice a month while a large client pays on net-60 or net-90 terms, and expenses are often paid before they are billed back. Partners also draw against uneven collections. A strong 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 professional services software and what Budgeter adds
Budgeter plans the firm. Your project and time tools keep running the work.
Stays in your project and time tools
- Timesheets, billable utilization and rate cards
- Engagement budgets and burn per client
- Resource scheduling and staffing by person
- Proposals, statements of work and invoicing
Runs in Budgeter
- The annual firm 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, partner draw and client-loss scenarios answered from the firm'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 a consulting firm gets from Budgeter
Each feature works on the firm's real books. There is no import file to maintain.
A budget built from last year
Retainers, project fees, payroll, subcontractors, travel 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, rent and partner draws, so hires and distributions follow the cash.
Budget vs actual every month
After close, every line shows budget, actual and the difference. A jump in subcontractor cost or an engagement that slipped gets a written note instead of a surprise at quarter end.
Practice areas as departments
Group accounts into practice areas or offices, and give each practice lead a read-only view of their own lines.
Hiring and client-loss questions
Ask what a senior consultant at $140K does to cash and margin, or what happens if the anchor client ends in March. The AI CFO answers from the firm's numbers and shows its assumptions.
A pack for the partners
Export the monthly pack as PDF on Growth and up, or the model as XLSX or CSV for the firm's CPA. Partners can log in as viewers at no extra cost.
How to set up consulting firm budgeting in four steps
Most firms review the first drafted budget the same day the books are connected.
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01
Connect the firm books
Sign in to the firm'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 firm budget
Next year is drafted by account and month from 12 to 24 months of actuals, so the slow December, the summer lull and the Q1 rush are already in it. Group accounts by practice area or office and approve the version.
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03
Review the month after close
Once the books close, 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 distribute
Ask what a new senior consultant, a lost anchor client or a partner draw does to cash, and export the pack for the partner 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 20-person consulting firm
Take a hypothetical management consulting firm with three partners, 16 consultants and a few regular subcontractors, on QuickBooks Online. Revenue last year was about $3.9 million, roughly 55 percent retainers and advisory fees and the rest fixed-fee projects, with a slow December and a busy first quarter.
Budgeter drafts next year from those actuals: payroll with the January raises, a rent step-up in the spring, travel growing with headcount. The partners approve it in one meeting and set draws at a level the forecast shows the firm can cover even if its two slowest-paying clients run 30 days late.
In September, project fees land $13K under budget because a diagnostic slipped into October, and subcontractor cost is $16K over after a delivery peak. Both are flagged with notes the week the books close. The managing partner asks whether the firm can hire a senior consultant in November. 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 anchor client 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.
Consulting firm budgeting options compared
Each option suits a different job. The professional services tools below budget engagements, not the firm.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | Plans from | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel firm budget template | Your time | Whatever you type in | Rebuilt by hand each month | Solo practices with very simple books |
| Professional services automation tools | Per user, see each vendor | Time, project and billing data | Project setup and training | Engagement budgets, utilization and invoicing |
| Enterprise planning suites | Quoted after a demo | ERP and data warehouse feeds | Implementation project | Large firms with a finance team |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only | Same day, no consultant | Consulting firms of 8 to 100 people that want a firm budget and cash forecast |
If you need timesheets, utilization and resource scheduling, buy a professional services tool and keep it. Budgeter sits next to it and answers a different question: can the firm afford the next hire and a partner draw, and when does cash get tight. The small business budgeting software page covers the simpler setup for a boutique of a few people.
Who uses Budgeter as consulting firm budgeting software
The common thread is a firm big enough that hiring and draw decisions carry real risk, and small enough that nobody's job title is CFO.
Outside accountants who run the numbers for several firms will find the multi-client setup on the fractional CFO software page.
- Managing partners and founders of 8 to 80 person firms Set hiring, bonuses and draws against a budget everyone can see, instead of a spreadsheet one person maintains.
- Firm controllers and operations managers Track overhead lines monthly and explain variances before the partners ask.
- Retainer and advisory practices Model the effect of a paused or lost retainer on payroll and runway.
- Fixed-fee project firms Plan lumpy project revenue by month and the subcontractors it needs.
- Firms opening a second office or practice area Budget the new practice as its own department and watch when it starts to carry itself.
Questions consulting firms ask about budgeting software
Connections are read-only and encrypted, and firm data is never used to train public models. Full plan limits are on the pricing page.
What is the best budgeting software for a consulting firm?
It depends on the job. Professional services tools such as Scoro, Productive or Kantata budget client projects and utilization. For the firm'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 a consulting firm?
Start from last year's profit and loss. Split revenue into retainers, project fees and expenses billed back, add payroll by role with planned hires and bonuses, then subcontractors, software, travel, rent and business development. Compare the budget with actuals after each close, and forecast cash by week because slow-paying clients drive the tight months.
Can Budgeter handle billable utilization?
Budgeter plans the firm from the accounts in your books, so it does not track hours or utilization by person. Keep timesheets and utilization in your time tracking or professional services tool. Budgeter takes the resulting revenue and cost and shows whether the firm can afford the next hire.
Does it replace project budgeting tools?
No. Project budgets, resource scheduling, timesheets and invoicing stay in your professional services software. Budgeter plans the firm as a business: the annual budget, monthly variance review, runway, partner draws and hiring questions, from the same books your bookkeeper closes.
Can I model losing an anchor client?
Yes. Save a scenario that removes a client's fees 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 consulting firms run this for their two largest clients.
How much does consulting firm 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. Professional services suites are priced per user and usually cover project delivery rather than the firm budget.
Related planning modules
See how long your firm'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 firm budget and a monthly review.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.