What is a Master Budget in Accounting?

A master budget combines several smaller budgets into a single larger budget to better understand your company’s financial situation.

A master budget combines a financial and operating budget. It is usually generated for the coming year, but it can also help create a strategic plan for your company.

Managing various budgets is a time-consuming task that is best accomplished with the assistance of a reputable accounting software program that can help you keep track of your expenses and revenues.

This is not a task that should be handed to your accounting or bookkeeping clerk; rather, administration and owners should be involved.

What is a Master Budget? (Definition)

The master budget is a document that covers all aspects of financial planning. Within the financial and operating budgets, it generally includes all of the smaller budgets.

The operating budget depicts the firm’s revenue-generating activities, as well as its expenses. As a result, you’ll have a planned financial statement.

The cash inflows and outflows and other aspects of the company’s financial status are shown in the financial budget.

The cash budget controls cash inflows and outflows. In conclusion, the budgeted balance sheet is the final outcome of the financial budget.

Financial budgeting is used by businesses to simplify planning and management inside their organizations so that they can better manage their finances and prepare for future product expansion.

What Is Included in a Master Budget?

These are the most commonly utilized elements in a company’s master budget. Some businesses may not use one or more of the budgets, but the vast majority do. Service businesses, for example, rarely employ production budgets.

Timeline for Production

The production timetable is the second budgeting schedule. The company must determine how many sales it intends to make in the coming year.

The company must then plan how many sales in units it will need to achieve the sales budget and end-of-year inventory requirements. Most businesses have an ending inventory that they must meet every month or quarter to avoid stock out.

Budget for Sales

The sales budget, which is based on the sales projection, is the first schedule to construct. The sales budget is not always the same as the sales estimate; instead, it is altered based on managerial judgment and other information.

Budget for Direct Materials, Labour, and Overhead

There is also a direct labor budget, which predicts how many hours and how many people a business needs; an administrative budget, which covers both fixed and variable costs; and a direct materials purchasing budget, which relates to the firm’s raw materials utilized in its production process.

Budget for Administration

Non-manufacturing expenditures like shipping and supplies are covered by the administrative and selling expense budget.

Finished Goods Inventory and Cost of Goods Sold Budget

It is essential to fulfilling the cost of goods sold and balance sheet budgets by calculating the closing completed products inventory budget.

Cash Flow Budget

The cash budget lists cash outflows and inflows, expected borrowing, and scheduled investments on a monthly basis. The cash budget ignores any item that isn’t paid in cash, such as depreciation.

Capital Investments

The capital expenditures budget includes budgeted figures for the company’s substantial, expensive fixed assets.

Balance Sheet with a Budget

The planned balance sheet shows the concluding balances of the asset, liability, and equity accounts if budgeting plans are followed during the budgeting period.

Master Budget Example

Many lower-level budgets use certain formats to arrive at specific outcomes, such as the completely absorbed cost of completed goods inventories or the number of units to be manufactured.

The master budget, on the other hand, looks very much like a standard set of financial statements.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or International Financial Reporting Standards will dictate the income statement and balance sheet format.

The cash budget is the most significant distinction, as it does not usually show in the standard format of the statement of cash flows.

Instead, it is used to specify precise cash inflows and outflows generated by the rest of the budget model.

Making a Master Budget: Best Practices

Budgeting is a process of discovery. New budgeters often feel overwhelmed by the process, but familiarising yourself with the components of budgeting, as well as the following advice, can assist.

Begin with Sales

All of your other budgets will be affected by your sales budget.

When making a sales budget, consider how much you anticipate to sell, how many goods you’ll need to buy or manufacture to sell that amount, and how much money you’ll spend on materials to make the items you’ll sell.

Enlist the Help of Others

If you’re a one- or two-person operation, you’ll probably be doing most of the prep work yourself. However, if you have sales or production managers, make sure to include them in the budgeting process.

Maintain a Conservative Mindset

When creating a budget, always be conservative. It’s nice to be upbeat about your company, but an overly optimistic budget isn’t good for anyone.

Be Prepared for Inaccuracies

In an ideal environment, your actual totals would match your budgeted figures perfectly. They do it occasionally, but the majority of the time, they don’t.

Final Words

A master budget isn’t required for every business. Taking the effort to establish a master budget may be a good idea if you make products and need to manage multiple sectors.

Keep in mind that creating a master budget isn’t only the responsibility of your accountant; it’s a collaborative effort between owners and management to create a document that can act as a financial roadmap for the future year.