How to write a budget proposal

To write a budget proposal, detail your objectives, create a summary of costs, and break down the expenses. Here are some details on each of these steps and others you can take to write a budget proposal:

• Detail your objectives

Start your budget proposal with a section dedicated to describing the objectives of your budget proposal. If your budget proposal is for a specific project then you should include an overview of the project's goals, project budget proposals should also include:

• Project plan

• Project timeline

• Workflows

This section helps to give context to your budget proposal, no matter what it is for. If the budget proposal is just a general budget, like one for a company, you still need to give specific objectives so stakeholders can understand the full context of your budget proposal.

• Create a summary of costs

In this next section, you should create a summary of your planned costs and expenses. Depending on what your budget proposal is for, you might want to include line items like:

• Direct costs

• Indirect costs

• Equipment

• Materials

• Labor

• Travel costs

• Advertising costs

• Miscellaneous expenses

This section can vary depending on what your budget proposal is for, and what industry you are operating in. Regardless though, this section should contain a summary of the largest expenses in your budget.

• Break down the expenses

In this section, you can deeper into the information of your costs by breaking down each one into finer detail. This information is very important for any stakeholders, so accuracy and detail are key. Indirect costs and direct costs should contain the following information:

• The type of cost

• Amount planned to be spent or budgeted for

• Hours (if the costs accrue on an hourly basis)

• Cost explanation (specific details of the cost, like the number of team members or materials needed)

• Total cost

Explain each cost in your budget clearly so stakeholders can have a firm idea of their necessity.

• Full summary of costs

In this last section of your budget proposal you should provide a full list of itemized costs. This should contain less information than your breakdown of expenses, but more items than your initial cost summary. Here you can include every cost item for quick viewing. This itemized list is a great way for stakeholders to get the full scope of your budget quickly.

Now it is time to submit your budget proposal for approval from stakeholders. You should include a signature section at the end of the document or packet where stakeholders can sign their names once they have approved it.