Budget Builder

Free · no login

Don't start from a blank spreadsheet

Four questions, and you get a complete starting budget — seeded from how real parent groups actually split their money, not empty boxes. Adjust anything, watch the rules of thumb check themselves, then save it, print the proposal for your member vote, or export a working spreadsheet.

  • ✓ Real numbers out of the box. Seeded from published spending surveys and hundreds of real group budgets — every amount editable.
  • ✓ The rulebook, checked live. Category caps, reserve guidance, the startup fund, the staff-appreciation share — nudges, not homework.
  • ✓ Becomes a spreadsheet when you're ready. Export opens in Google Sheets or Excel as a budget-vs-actual tracker with working formulas.
  • ✓ Saved for your whole board. A private dashboard link for you, a read-only link for everyone else. No accounts.

Start your budget

Rough answers are fine — everything is adjustable on the next screen.

Your carryover from last year. New group? Put 0.

Not sure? Leave it blank — we'll start you from what groups your size typically raise.

No email needed to build — only if you want to save it.

Why this beats the templates

Every template ships empty. This one ships answered.

The split that works

Most healthy budgets land near the same shape — the biggest share on students and programs, appreciation kept in its lane, operating costs honest, and a real reserve. That's your starting point, sized to your school.

The traps, pre-avoided

A pre-approved summer startup line so August isn't unfunded. Fundraiser costs budgeted instead of "surprising" you. Payment fees as a line item. The stuff treasurers learn the hard way, already in the plan.

Board-ready output

A clean proposal for the membership vote, a read-only link for your board, and a spreadsheet export with budget-vs-actual columns and working formulas for the year ahead.

Want the numbers behind the defaults? Read how PTOs actually split their budgets.