Figure your potential income, then set expenditure goals for specific business expenses.
Budget expenses are the expenses and amounts you plan to spend in a given period. Most company budgets are set up on an annual basis. Companies set limits on business expenditures so they can increase their profits. You can base your budgetary expenses on averages you spent in the previous year, according to Entrepreneur.com. Cut a particular expense if you spent too much, or increase a particular expense if it will enhance your sales.
Labor
Labor is one expense that needs to be budgeted. For example, the marketing director may have a $200,000 allocation for salaries, bonuses and health insurance within his department. The marketing director may earn $80,000 per year. He may have a marketing manager earning $60,000 per year. The marketing director's and manager's medical benefits may equal $15,000. Therefore, the marketing director could only spend an additional $45,000 hiring another employee, including salary and medical benefits. You will also need to factor employee raises, including your own, when establishing the labor part of your budget.
Supplies and Equipment
Supplies and equipment also need to be included as budget expenses. Business owners or company departments will need supplies such as pens, paper, staplers, hole punchers, manila folders, notepads and paper clips. You will also need computer terminals or laptops for you employees, as well as several computer printers. You will also need fax and copy machines, shredders, telephones and Internet service. Always decide what supplies and equipment you will need for the coming year when developing your budget.
Projects
You will likely have various projects to conduct as a business owner or manager. For example, you may want to conduct several phone surveys during the year to measure product satisfaction among customers. Additionally, you may need to test new products in the market before commencing full distribution for them. Sit down with managers in other departments to determine which projects will affect your budget. For example, a customer service department phone survey would likely fall within the customer service department's budget. However, the marketing department may share some of the survey expense in its own budget. Make sure you account for all project expenses in your budget.
Advertising
Advertising is another type of budget expense. You, as a business owner or advertising manager, will need to include all advertising expenses in your budget. Examples of advertising expenses include direct mail promotions and magazine and newspaper display ads. Additionally, you will need to include all television, radio, Internet and billboard advertising in your budget. You may have to increase your advertising budget in the coming year to incrementally increase sales.
