A zero-based budget template is a spreadsheet that builds each budget from nothing, rather than adding a percentage to last year. Every cost line must be justified and approved on its own merits, so spending that no longer earns its place is cut.
It is a workbook for zero-based budgeting, where last year's figure carries no weight. Each budget owner starts at zero and must explain what every activity costs, what it delivers and what happens if it is cut or reduced.
Finance teams run it when costs have crept up, after a merger, or when a business needs to fund new priorities without raising total spend. Many companies apply it to one area at a time, such as marketing or software, because rebuilding everything at once takes weeks.
The same idea works at home: a personal zero-based budget gives every unit of income a job until income minus planned spending equals zero.
The teams or activities that will each build a budget, such as paid search or the support desk.
For each unit, what it does, what it costs at different levels and what it delivers.
A minimum, current and enhanced cost for each package, so cuts can be partial.
Every package placed in priority order across the business.
The total budget available, with packages above the line funded and those below cut.
Ready to use in Excel and Google Sheets. Fill it in, save it, reuse it.
List the activities or teams that will each justify their spend.
Each owner prices the minimum, current and enhanced level of their activity.
Leaders put all packages in one priority order, most essential first.
Add up costs down the ranking and stop at the budget cap.
Compare actual spend monthly, then rebuild again next budget cycle.
The simplest usable version is three columns: cost line, what it delivers, amount requested from zero. Rank the rows and draw a line at your budget total.
The example below is one marketing department at Orbit Analytics, rebuilt from zero. Prior-year spend was 243,000.00 and the zero-based request is 163,000.00. The biggest savings came from paid search and events, both cut back to their minimum level.
| Cost line | Prior year | Level | Requested | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid search | 120,000.00 | Minimum | 80,000.00 | -40,000.00 | 2 |
| Design software | 18,000.00 | Current | 15,000.00 | -3,000.00 | 1 |
| Events | 60,000.00 | Minimum | 20,000.00 | -40,000.00 | 5 |
| Contract writers | 45,000.00 | Current | 36,000.00 | -9,000.00 | 4 |
| Analytics tool (new) | 0.00 | Current | 12,000.00 | 12,000.00 | 3 |
| Total | 243,000.00 | 163,000.00 | -80,000.00 |
Illustrative data; Orbit Analytics is fictional.
Works in Excel and Google Sheets. Headers in row 1, data from row 2, formulas copied down.
| Col | Header | Entry or formula | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Cost line | Text | The activity being funded |
| B | Department | Text | The decision unit it belongs to |
| C | Owner | Text | Who justifies and manages it |
| D | Prior-year spend | Currency | Reference only, not the starting point |
| E | Minimum level | Currency | Least cost to keep the activity running |
| F | Current level | Currency | Cost to deliver today's results |
| G | Enhanced level | Currency | Cost to do more than today |
| H | Level requested | Drop-down: Minimum, Current, Enhanced, Cut | The owner's choice |
| I | Requested amount | =IF(H2='Cut', | Picks the cost for the chosen level |
| J | Change vs prior year | =I2-D2 | Negative means a saving |
| K | Change % | =IF(D2=0, | Format as a percentage |
| L | Priority rank | Number, 1 = most essential | Set in the ranking review |
| M | Approved amount | Currency | Entered after the cut-off decision |
| N | Status | =IF(M2=0, | Outcome for each line |
| Total | Formula |
|---|---|
| Total requested | =SUM(I2:I200) |
| Total saving vs prior year | =SUM(D2:D200)-SUM(I2:I200) |
| Total approved | =SUM(M2:M200) |
Keep each package to one page, so ranking meetings stay focused. The minimum level is the hardest to write and the most useful: it forces the owner to say what truly cannot stop. The example is the paid search line from the budget above.
| Field | What to include | Example: paid search |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | What the activity is for, in one sentence | Generate demo requests from high-intent searches |
| Minimum level | Lowest cost and what it still delivers | 80,000.00: brand and top 20 product terms only |
| Current level | Today's cost and results | 120,000.00: current campaigns, 40 terms |
| Enhanced level | Extra cost and the extra result expected | 150,000.00: adds two new regions |
| Consequence of no funding | What breaks if it is cut entirely | Competitors take branded search traffic |
| Alternatives considered | Other ways to get the same result | More organic content; partner referrals |
| Measure of success | How you will know it worked | Cost per qualified demo request, tracked monthly |
Illustrative figures. Each budget owner writes one package per cost line.
Ranking is where zero-based budgeting earns its keep, because it compares activities across teams on the same scale. Here Orbit's marketing cap is 150,000.00, so the fifth package does not fit. The owner can resubmit events at a lower cost or accept the cut.
| Rank | Package | Cost | Running total | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design software (current) | 15,000.00 | 15,000.00 | Funded |
| 2 | Paid search (minimum) | 80,000.00 | 95,000.00 | Funded |
| 3 | Analytics tool (new) | 12,000.00 | 107,000.00 | Funded |
| 4 | Contract writers (current) | 36,000.00 | 143,000.00 | Funded |
| 5 | Events (minimum) | 20,000.00 | 163,000.00 | Below cut-off |
Illustrative. Budget cap 150,000.00 held in cell G1.
| Item | Formula |
|---|---|
| Running total (cost in C) | =SUM($C$2:C2) |
| Status against the cap in G1 | =IF(D2<=$G$1, |
| Headroom left under the cap | =$G$1-SUMIF(E:E, |
The tracker reads the approved amounts from the budget tab. Enter actuals from your accounting system each month and put the number of months elapsed in cell H1. Review it with each owner monthly, not just at year end.
| Cost line | Approved | Budget to date | Actual to date | Variance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design software | 15,000.00 | 7,500.00 | 7,200.00 | 300.00 | On track |
| Paid search | 80,000.00 | 40,000.00 | 46,500.00 | -6,500.00 | Over |
| Analytics tool | 12,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 0.00 | On track |
| Contract writers | 36,000.00 | 18,000.00 | 14,000.00 | 4,000.00 | On track |
Illustrative, six months into the year.
| Column | Formula |
|---|---|
| Budget to date (approved in B, months in H1) | =B2/12*$H$1 |
| Variance | =C2-D2 |
| Status | =IF(D2>C2, |
| Share of annual budget used | =D2/B2 |
This is the version most people mean when they search for a zero-based budget for a household. Savings and debt repayments count as assigned money, so zero does not mean spending everything. Add a small buffer line for irregular costs.
| Category | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | 1,400.00 | 1,400.00 |
| Groceries | 450.00 | 472.30 |
| Utilities | 180.00 | 171.90 |
| Transport | 160.00 | 148.00 |
| Savings | 800.00 | 800.00 |
| Debt repayment | 400.00 | 400.00 |
| Insurance | 120.00 | 120.00 |
| Personal spending | 300.00 | 286.50 |
| Buffer | 390.00 | 0.00 |
| Total assigned | 4,200.00 | 3,798.70 |
Illustrative month with 4,200.00 take-home income.
| Item | Formula |
|---|---|
| Total assigned (planned in B2:B10) | =SUM(B2:B10) |
| Left to assign (income in E1) | =E1-SUM(B2:B10) |
| Over or under per line | =B2-C2 |
Software lines are the easiest to rebuild from zero. Spendflo's pricing benchmarks show what to pay.
See pricing benchmarksIncremental: last year's actuals. Zero-based: zero for every line.
Incremental: only the increase. Zero-based: the whole amount.
Incremental: days. Zero-based: weeks, so many firms rotate it by department.
Incremental: stable costs. Zero-based: discretionary spend such as marketing, travel and software.
Incremental: waste carried forward. Zero-based: owners gaming the minimum level.
Marketing, travel, software and consultants change most when rebuilt from zero.
The minimum should be the least cost that keeps the activity alive, not a token cut.
Comparing packages side by side stops each team defending its own total.
Licence counts are often well above active users, which makes them easy to cut.
Zero-based numbers drift back up if nobody checks them during the year.
A full zero-based rebuild every year can exhaust owners; rotate areas instead.
If the prior-year column drives the request, it is incremental budgeting in disguise.
Lines locked by contract can only change at renewal, so note the date.
Every unfunded package should state what stops, so leaders cut knowingly.
Pull last year's spend by vendor and activity so nothing is missed, then set the figures aside.
Each owner fills in the minimum, current and enhanced level for every line.
Order all packages, add the running total and draw the line at your cap.
Enter approved amounts and compare actual spend every month.
Orbit Analytics' marketing team spent 243,000.00 last year. Rebuilt from zero, it requests 163,000.00: paid search drops to its 80,000.00 minimum and events to 20,000.00. Against a 150,000.00 cap, the first four packages total 143,000.00 and are funded; events falls below the line. All figures are illustrative.
Every part on this page, in Excel and Google Sheets, with the examples filled in.
Use the personal tab alone: list take-home income, assign every unit to a category, and keep the left-to-assign cell at zero.
Rebuild one high-spend area such as marketing or SaaS budgeting first, using the budget, packages and tracker tabs.
Run all five parts, with one ranking meeting per division and a final cross-company cut-off set by the CFO.
Best for finance teams and larger models.
Best when many owners contribute.
Best for the ranking meeting.
$3.7B in software spend processed through Spendflo, at 30% average savings.
See your savingsA zero-based budget forces every cost to earn its place and shows leaders exactly what each cut would stop. It works best when repeated area by area and checked monthly, so savings do not creep back.
Quick answers to what people ask most about the zero-based budget template.
Start every cost line at zero, price each activity at a minimum, current and enhanced level, then rank them and fund down to your budget cap. Track actual spend monthly. Download the template to get the formulas and ranking tab ready-made.
Yes, you can download a free zero-based budget template in Excel from this page, with a Google Sheets copy. It includes the business budget, decision packages, ranking, a monthly tracker and a personal version.
A marketing team that spent 243,000.00 rebuilds its budget from zero and requests 163,000.00, then funds only the packages that fit under a 150,000.00 cap. The download contains this illustrative example filled in.
A zero-based budget is one built from nothing each period, where every cost must be justified rather than carried over from last year. For households, it means assigning all income until nothing is left unassigned. Download the template for both versions.
Use the download buttons on this page to get the zero based budget template free in Excel or Google Sheets. Every formula shown above is already built into the workbook.
Budgets and business cases
Purchase orders
Contracts
Vendor management
Sourcing and RFx
Procurement
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Purchasing
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Supply chain
Spendflo's pricing benchmarks show a fair price for every software line, and intake and approvals keep new spend justified. Budgets are coming soon.
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