Budgeting software for medical practices with a budget drafted from your books
Budgeting software for medical practices turns last year's books into next year's practice 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 payer payment lags, so owners know what the practice can afford before they add a provider, open a location or buy equipment.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show budget, then actual. Example figures for a fictional practice.
Why a practice budget breaks in a spreadsheet
Most independent and group practices with 5 to 60 staff know their patient volume and have no clear view of where the business itself is headed. The budget is built in January, and by spring the real numbers have drifted. A provider went part time, a payer cut a rate, supply prices rose, and the new hire is still ramping up.
Medical cash does not follow the visit calendar. Payroll goes out every two weeks while insurers pay weeks after the claim, patient balances trickle in, and January starts with deductibles reset. Equipment loans and lease payments stay fixed either way. A busy 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 practice systems and what Budgeter adds
Budgeter plans the practice as a business. Your clinical and billing systems keep running care and claims.
Stays in your practice systems
- Scheduling, charts and patient communication
- Coding, claims submission and denial follow-up
- Patient statements and payment plans
- Credentialing and provider productivity reports
Runs in Budgeter
- The annual practice 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
- Provider hire, new location and equipment scenarios answered from the practice's own numbers
Deposits and revenue from your billing system already land in QuickBooks Online or Xero, so the books carry the figures Budgeter plans from. Budgeter does not read patient records or claims, and nothing is written back to either system.
What a medical practice gets from Budgeter
Each feature works on the practice's real books. There is no import file to maintain.
A budget built from last year
Patient and payer revenue, payroll, supplies, lab fees, malpractice insurance and rent are proposed by month from your actuals, seasonality included. You change what you know better.
Cash forecast on payment lags
See the cash balance week by week for 13 weeks and month by month for a year, with planned payroll, loan payments and owner distributions, so hires and purchases follow the cash.
Budget vs actual every month
After close, every line shows budget, actual and the difference. A jump in supply cost or a revenue dip after a payer change gets a written note instead of a surprise at quarter end.
Locations as departments
Group accounts into locations or service lines, and give each office manager a read-only view of their own lines.
Provider and equipment questions
Ask what a nurse practitioner at $125K does to cash and margin, or whether the practice can finance an ultrasound this year. The AI CFO answers from the practice's numbers and shows its assumptions.
A pack for the owners
Export the monthly pack as PDF on Growth and up, or the model as XLSX or CSV for the practice's CPA. Partners can log in as viewers at no extra cost.
How to set up medical practice budgeting in four steps
Most practices review the first drafted budget the same day the books are connected.
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01
Connect the practice books
Sign in to the practice'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 practice budget
Next year is drafted by account and month from 12 to 24 months of actuals, so the January deductible reset, the summer slowdown and the flu season are already in it. Group accounts by location or provider group 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 buy
Ask what a new provider, a second location or a new imaging machine does to cash, and export the pack for the partner or owner 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 12-provider group practice
Take a hypothetical primary care group with two locations, eight physicians and nurse practitioners and about 30 staff, on QuickBooks Online. Revenue last year was about $3.7 million, mostly commercial and Medicare payers with a smaller self-pay share, and a slow summer.
Budgeter drafts next year from those actuals: payroll with the January raises, supplies growing with visit volume, a lease step-up in the spring. The owners approve it in one meeting and set distributions at a level the forecast shows the practice can cover even if a large payer pays 30 days late.
In September, revenue lands $12K under budget because a provider was out for two weeks, and supplies and lab cost is $8K over after a flu-shot push. Both are flagged with notes the week the books close. The managing partner asks whether the group can add a nurse practitioner in November. The answer shows the loaded monthly cost, a three-month ramp and that cash stays above two months of expenses, so the offer goes out. A second scenario tests a payer rate cut of 5 percent.
The hiring side is covered in more detail on the headcount planning page, and the monthly review on budget vs actual.
Medical practice budgeting options compared
Each option suits a different job. Practice management systems run care and claims, not the practice budget.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | Plans from | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel practice budget template | Your time | Whatever you type in | Rebuilt by hand each month | Solo practices with very simple books |
| Practice management and billing systems | Per provider, see each vendor | Scheduling, claims and patient data | Implementation and training | Scheduling, charting and claims |
| Enterprise planning suites | Quoted after a demo | ERP and data warehouse feeds | Implementation project | Hospital groups with a finance team |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | QuickBooks Online or Xero, read-only | Same day, no consultant | Practices of 5 to 100 staff that want a practice budget and cash forecast |
If you need scheduling, charting and claims, buy a practice management system and keep it. Budgeter sits next to it and answers a different question: can the practice afford the next provider or machine, and when does cash get tight. The small business budgeting software page covers the simpler setup for a solo practice.
Who uses Budgeter as medical practice budgeting software
The common thread is a practice big enough that hiring and equipment decisions carry real risk, and small enough that nobody's job title is CFO.
Outside accountants who run the numbers for several practices will find the multi-client setup on the fractional CFO software page.
- Physician owners and managing partners Set hiring, distributions and equipment purchases against a budget everyone can see, instead of a spreadsheet one person maintains.
- Practice administrators and office managers Track overhead lines monthly and explain variances before the owners ask.
- Dental, vision, therapy and specialty groups Any practice on QuickBooks Online or Xero that plans payroll, supplies and rent by month.
- Urgent care and multi-location groups Budget each location as its own department and see when a new site starts to carry itself.
- Practices preparing to buy in a partner or sell Show a clean budget, history and runway when a lender, buyer or new partner asks.
Questions medical practices ask about budgeting software
Connections are read-only and encrypted, and practice data is never used to train public models. Full plan limits are on the pricing page.
What is the best budgeting software for a medical practice?
It depends on the job. Practice management and billing systems handle scheduling, claims and patient accounts. For the practice'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 medical practice?
Start from last year's profit and loss. Split revenue by payer type or service line, add payroll by role with planned provider hires, then supplies, lab fees, malpractice insurance, billing service, rent and equipment payments. Compare the budget with actuals after each close, and forecast cash by week because payer payment lags drive the tight months.
Does Budgeter connect to my practice management system?
No. Budgeter reads the accounting books in QuickBooks Online or Xero, not patient or claims data. Whatever your billing system posts to the books, such as deposits and revenue by month, is what Budgeter plans from, and no patient information is needed or stored.
Can it model adding a provider or a second location?
Yes. Save a scenario with a new physician or nurse practitioner at a chosen salary and start date, a ramp-up period for their schedule, and the added rent and supplies. You see monthly cash and runway side by side with the base plan.
Does it handle insurance reimbursement delays?
The cash forecast uses your own collection pattern from past deposits, so a practice that is paid about 30 to 45 days after the visit sees cash arrive that way. You can lengthen the lag in a scenario to test a slow payer or a billing transition.
How much does medical practice 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. Practice management suites are usually priced per provider and cover scheduling and billing rather than the practice budget.
Related planning modules
- QuickBooks budgeting software How the budget is drafted from a QuickBooks Online file.
- Budgeting software for consulting firms Firm budgets and cash around slow client payments.
- Headcount planning Test the next hire against cash.
- Budget vs actual The monthly review with notes on the large variances.
See how long your practice'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 practice budget and a monthly review.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.