Smartsheet Business Budget Management Software

Take Control with Business Budget Management Software

Managing budgets across departments, projects, and teams is complex. Smartsheet provides a centralized platform to plan, track, and control budgets in real time, so finance leaders and business teams can improve visibility, reduce risk, and make confident spending decisions.

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Why use Smartsheet to manage business budgets?

Smartsheet is business budget management software that helps teams plan budgets, track expenses, and monitor financial performance in real time. By centralizing budget data, automating updates, and providing visual dashboards, Smartsheet makes it easier to stay on budget and make data-driven decisions.

Get a clear view of spending in Smartsheet

Stay on top of spending with real-time budget visibility

Get a single, shared view of spending across departments, projects, and teams.

Track actuals vs. forecasts in real time to prevent overspend.
Automate alerts and notifications when expenses approach budget limits.
Connect data across systems and teams to eliminate manual consolidation.

Improve forecasting accuracy in Smartsheet

Improve forecasting accuracy with live financial data

Make informed financial decisions faster with up-to-date numbers.

Build rolling forecasts that adjust automatically as work changes.
Model scenarios and what-if outcomes to plan for multiple possibilities.
Spot trends and variances early using built-in reporting and dashboards.

Increase accountability with shared budget visibility

Give teams, stakeholders, and leaders access to the same financial data.

Create dashboards that highlight the metrics each audience needs to see.
Share or export reports for leadership updates or board meetings in minutes.
Eliminate version control issues by managing budgets in one centralized platform.

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Smartsheet is recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Collaborative Work Management – for the third year in a row.

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Key features for managing business budgets in Smartsheet

Budget tracking

Monitor actuals versus forecasts in real time with budget tracking in Smartsheet. Consolidate spending across departments, eliminate manual updates, and gain instant visibility into where your money is going.

Visualize budget performance in Smartsheet

Dashboards and reporting

Keep stakeholders aligned with customizable dashboards and financial reports. Visualize budget performance, spending trends, and forecast accuracy with real-time data that’s easy to share and present.

Automated alerts

Use workflow automation to set up automated alerts to notify teams when budgets approach thresholds or when approvals are needed. Stay proactive, prevent overspending, and ensure timely action on critical financial updates.

Document sharing

Centralize budget-related files like invoices, receipts, and approvals in one secure place. Share documents instantly with the right stakeholders to streamline collaboration and maintain an accurate financial record.

Integrations

Smartsheet connects with the financial and budgeting tools and systems you already use.

Sync data with platforms like QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Workday. Streamline approvals with DocuSign, centralize file storage with Box or OneDrive, and keep teams aligned with Microsoft Teams and Slack integrations. Smartsheet bridges finance, operations, and leadership teams so budgets stay visible, accurate, and actionable.

A platform built for smarter budget management

Discover how Smartsheet helps teams plan, track, and manage budgets with greater accuracy, visibility, and control.

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Aruba uses Smartsheet to manage global budgets with precision and transparency

+/-1% Variance maintained across multiple budgets

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, uses Smartsheet to manage complex global marketing budgets with precision and transparency. By centralizing budget data across 12 regional teams, Aruba gains real-time visibility into spend, strengthens collaboration, and confidently stays within a +/-1% variance goal. Smartsheet empowers Aruba to make data-driven decisions, improve forecasting accuracy, and maintain control over financial performance at scale.

“With Smartsheet, we can see the real-time status of our budgets, which means we can track closer to our +/-1% variance goal and avoid over-/under-spend. We’re landing much closer to our budget target than we could before using Smartsheet.”

Jody Robertson

Global Marketing Operations Manager, Aruba

Read the customer story

Management for all types of business budgets

Smartsheet is business budget management software that helps teams plan, track, and report on budgets in one centralized workspace. Whether you manage operating costs, project budgets, or staffing plans, Smartsheet provides real-time visibility to support better forecasting and decision-making.

Operating budgets

Keep day-to-day business expenses under control by tracking revenue, costs, and cash flow in one shared workspace. Identify spending patterns, monitor variances, and adjust allocations quickly as priorities change.

Marketing budgets

Manage campaign spend, advertising costs, and ROI tracking in a centralized view. Marketing teams can allocate funds, automate approvals, and share real-time performance reports to ensure budget efficiency and visibility.

Project budgets

Plan and monitor project costs alongside timelines, tasks, and deliverables. Smartsheet links budget data directly to project milestones, helping teams prevent overruns, forecast accurately, and stay within scope.

Departmental budgets

Give every department clear visibility into its allocations and spending. Leaders can update forecasts, approve expenses, and share reports instantly, improving accountability and financial planning across the organization.

Event budgets

Plan and track costs for conferences, fundraisers, and company events in one place. Use Smartsheet manage vendors, invoices, logistics, and approvals while staying within budget from kickoff to closeout.

Staffing budgets

Align workforce planning with financial goals. Track salaries, benefits, and headcount changes to forecast labor costs accurately and ensure staffing levels match organization growth and resource needs.

Pre-built template solutions

These multi-asset templates are designed to provide a complete workflow solution for managing tasks out of the box.

Business Budget Management

The Business Budget Management template set helps you track monthly actuals against budget goals so you can tightly manage your financial performance and ensure your business stay on track.

Smartsheet template gallery annual budget management

Annual Business Budget

The Annual Business Budget template helps you allocate monthly budgets, track fixed and variable expenses across multiple categories, and visualize burn rate, trends, and variances in real time.

Project Budget

The Project Budget template is a simple, best practice approach for managing the work, budget, and timeline required to initiate, plan, and launch projects. Share with your team to optimize efficiency.

Marketing Budget Management

The Marketing Budget Management template set is an easy to use, intuitive process that provides visibility to key budget metrics and management of the change process throughout the year.

Smartsheet vs. spreadsheets for budget management

Spreadsheets are useful for simple budget lists and one-time calculations. But as budgets grow more complex and involve multiple teams, spreadsheets make it difficult to maintain accuracy, visibility, and control. Smartsheet is designed to centralize data, automate updates, and provide real-time insights so teams can confidently manage spending at scale.

Features	Smartsheet	Spreadsheets
Budget visibility	Real-time updates shared across teams	Static data that must be updated manually
Collaboration	Centralized workspace with role-based access	Risk of conflicting edits and versioning issues
Data consolidation	Connects data across departments & systems	Requires manual merging of files
Change alerts	Automated alerts when spend approaches thresholds	Must be checked and updated manually
Forecasting	Rolling forecasts that update dynamically	Hard to maintain rolling or scenario forecasts
Reporting	Dashboards and reports shared instantly	Requires manual formatting and distribution

If you’re managing budgets across multiple teams, projects, or departments, Smartsheet provides the flexibility and control you need. Move beyond static spreadsheets and keep everyone aligned with a dynamic, collaborative intelligent work management platform.

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Budget management software FAQs

Business budgeting is important because it helps organizations control spending, allocate resources effectively, and plan for future growth. A clear budget provides visibility into cash flow and presents overspending. Without structured budgeting, companies risk financial inefficiency and missed opportunities.

Budget management in business is the process of planning, tracking, and controlling financial resources. It involves monitoring actual expenses against forecasts, adjusting allocations as needed, and ensuring accountability at every level. Modern business budget management software uses real-time data and automated reporting to streamline this process.

The best budgeting software depends on your organization’s size and needs. Tools like Smartsheet provide flexible, collaborative budgeting solutions that scale from small businesses to enterprises. Other options like QuickBooks Online may focus more narrowly on accounting. Look for software that offers real-time visibility, forecasting tools, and integrations with your existing systems.

The most effective budgeting method depends on your organization’s goals, cost structure, and operating model. Common approaches include zero-based budgeting, where every expense is justified from scratch each cycle; incremental budgeting, where budgets build on the previous period with adjustments; and rolling forecasts, where budgets are updated continuously to reflect real-time changes. Many companies gain both accountability and agility by combining zero-based budgeting for cost discipline with rolling forecasts for ongoing visibility and adjustment.

To create a budget spreadsheet, list income sources and expenses by category. Then track actuals against your planned budget. Excel or Google Sheets can work for basic budgeting, but they require manual updates and complex formulas. Budgeting software like Smartsheet automates this process, reducing errors and saving time.

Companies often use a mix of tools for budgeting, from spreadsheets to specialized platforms. Popular choices include Smartsheet, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Anaplan, and Workday. Collaborative platforms like Smartsheet are particularly effective because they combine familiar spreadsheet-style functionality with automation, dashboards, and real-time reporting.

Excel can be used for budgeting, but it is not purpose-built budgeting software. Excel works well for static spreadsheets and simple calculations, but it lacks automation, real-time collaboration, and integrations with financial systems. Smartsheet offers a similar, familiar spreadsheet-like interface, but adds real-time updates, automated alerts, shared dashboards, and connected data.

Manage budgets, track spending, and forecast with confidence in Smartsheet.