Budgeting software for ecommerce businesses with a budget drafted from your books
Budgeting software for ecommerce businesses turns last year's books into next year's budget and tracks it every month. Budgeter.ai connects read-only to QuickBooks Online or Xero, drafts the budget by account and month, compares ad spend, fees and cost of goods with actuals after each close and forecasts cash through the holiday peak, so owners know what the store can afford before they place a big order or raise the ad budget.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show budget, then actual. Example figures for a fictional store.
Why a store budget breaks in a spreadsheet
Most online brands doing $1 to $30 million a year know their conversion rate and return on ad spend, and have no clear view of the company's own margin by month. The budget is built in January, and by the third quarter the real numbers have drifted. Ad costs rose, a supplier raised prices, returns ran high, and the spreadsheet still shows the old plan.
Ecommerce cash does not follow the sales calendar. Inventory is paid for months before it sells, ad spend goes out the same week it is placed, and the peak quarter can be the tightest in the bank because the stock for it is already bought. A strong month on paper can still leave the account short.
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 store systems and what Budgeter adds
Budgeter plans the company as a business. Your storefront and inventory tools keep running orders and stock.
Stays in your store systems
- Orders, returns and customer service
- Stock counts, reorder points and demand by SKU
- Ad platform bidding and campaign reports
- Sales tax filing and channel feeds
Runs in Budgeter
- The annual company 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
- Ad budget, hiring and purchase order scenarios answered from the company's own numbers
Payouts, fees and cost of goods from your sales channels already land in QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the books carry the figures Budgeter plans from. Budgeter does not read orders or stock levels, and nothing is written back to the books.
What an ecommerce business gets from Budgeter
Each feature works on the company's real books. There is no import file to maintain.
A budget built from last year
Net sales, cost of goods, advertising, shipping, fees, software and payroll are proposed by month from your actuals, seasonality included. You change what you know better.
Cash forecast through the peak
See the cash balance week by week for 13 weeks and month by month for a year, with planned payroll, loan payments and owner draws, so stock orders and ad budgets follow the cash.
Budget vs actual every month
After close, every line shows budget, actual and the difference. A jump in ad spend or shipping cost gets a written note instead of a surprise at quarter end.
Brands and channels as departments
Group accounts by brand, channel or warehouse, and give a marketing lead a read-only view of their own lines.
Spend and order questions
Ask what $40K more ad spend in November does to cash, or whether the company can fund a larger purchase order in August. The AI CFO answers from the company's numbers and shows its assumptions.
A pack for owners and lenders
Export the monthly pack as PDF on Growth and up, or the model as XLSX or CSV for the company's CPA. Partners and advisors can log in as viewers at no extra cost.
How to set up ecommerce budgeting in four steps
Most stores review the first drafted budget the same day the books are connected.
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01
Connect the store books
Sign in to the company'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 budget
Next year is drafted by account and month from 12 to 24 months of actuals, so the November and December peak, the January return wave and the summer dip are already in it. Adjust ad spend, cost of goods and payroll and approve the version.
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03
Review the month after close
Once the books close, budget vs actual and the 13-week and 12-month cash forecast refresh on their own. Ad spend, shipping and payment fee lines that run over plan come with a short note naming the accounts behind them.
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04
Decide before you buy stock or spend
Ask what a larger holiday ad budget, a new hire or a bigger purchase order does to cash and runway, and export the pack for the owners, a lender or an investor.
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 $9 million online brand
Take a hypothetical home goods brand selling through its own site and one marketplace, with 14 employees, on QuickBooks Online. Revenue last year was about $9 million, with 38 percent of it in the last quarter, and gross margin near 46 percent.
Budgeter drafts next year from those actuals: cost of goods as a share of sales, advertising stepping up from September, payroll with the January raises and a seasonal warehouse hire. The owners approve it in one meeting and set the August purchase order at a size the forecast shows they can pay even if the holiday sales start two weeks late.
In October, sales land $19K over budget, but advertising is $14K over and cost of goods is $11K over, so the month earns less than planned. Both lines are flagged with notes the week the books close. The founder asks whether to add $40K of ad spend for the last two weeks of November. The answer shows the extra cost, the sales needed to break even on it and that cash stays above two months of expenses, so the spend goes ahead. A second scenario tests a return rate two points higher.
The hiring side is covered in more detail on the headcount planning page, and the monthly review on budget vs actual.
Ecommerce budgeting options compared
Each option suits a different job. Inventory and storefront tools run orders and stock, not the company budget.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | Plans from | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel store budget template | Your time | Whatever you type in | Rebuilt by hand each month | New stores with very simple books |
| Inventory and order management tools | Per plan, see each vendor | Orders, stock and SKUs | Channel connections and training | Stock levels, reorders and fulfillment |
| Enterprise planning suites | Quoted after a demo | ERP and data warehouse feeds | Implementation project | Retailers with a finance team |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only | Same day, no consultant | Online brands of 3 to 100 staff that want a company budget and cash forecast |
If you need stock counts and demand by SKU, buy an inventory tool and keep it. Budgeter sits next to it and answers a different question: can the company afford the next order or ad push, and when does cash get tight. The small business budgeting software page covers the simpler setup for a new store.
Who uses Budgeter as ecommerce budgeting software
The common thread is a store big enough that ad and inventory decisions carry real risk, and small enough that nobody's job title is CFO.
Outside accountants who run the numbers for several online brands will find the multi-client setup on the fractional CFO software page.
- Founders and owners of direct to consumer brands Set ad budgets, hiring and stock orders against a budget everyone can see, instead of a spreadsheet one person maintains.
- Operations and finance managers Track the cost lines monthly and explain variances before the owners ask.
- Amazon, Shopify and marketplace sellers Any seller on QuickBooks Online or Xero that plans cost of goods, fees, ads and payroll by month.
- Brands with several storefronts or warehouses Budget each brand or location as its own department and see which one carries the margin.
- Brands preparing to raise, borrow or sell Show a clean budget, history and runway when a lender, investor or buyer asks.
Questions ecommerce owners ask about budgeting software
Connections are read-only and encrypted, and company data is never used to train public models. Full plan limits are on the pricing page.
What is the best budgeting software for an ecommerce business?
It depends on the job. Storefront and inventory tools run orders and stock counts. For the company's annual budget, budget vs actual and cash forecast, pick a tool that reads QuickBooks Online or Xero, such as Budgeter, so the plan meets the closed books every month and covers ad spend, fees and payroll in one view.
How do you budget for an ecommerce business?
Start from last year's profit and loss. Plan revenue by month with the seasonal peak, then cost of goods as a share of revenue, shipping, payment fees, marketplace fees, ad spend, software and payroll. Compare the budget with actuals after every close, and forecast cash by week because purchase orders go out long before the sales arrive.
Does Budgeter connect to Shopify, Amazon or my inventory system?
No. Budgeter reads the accounting books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, not orders, SKUs or stock levels. Whatever your sales channels post to the books, such as payouts, fees and cost of goods, is what Budgeter plans from. It does not replace inventory planning or a demand forecast by product.
Can it model a bigger holiday ad budget or a large inventory order?
Yes. Save a scenario with higher ad spend in September to November, a revenue lift you expect, and a purchase order paid in August. You see monthly cash and runway side by side with the base plan, including the month cash is lowest before the sales come in.
Does it handle payout delays and seasonal cash swings?
The cash forecast uses your own deposit pattern from past months, so a store paid every few days by its processor or every two weeks by a marketplace sees cash arrive that way. You can shift the timing or the revenue curve in a scenario to test a slow season.
How much does ecommerce 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. Inventory and planning suites for retail are usually quoted per company and priced by order volume.
Related planning modules
See how long your store'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 budget and a monthly review.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.