A budget is a plan; a variance report is the conversation with reality. Sales 8% under plan, rent on target, marketing 40% over, salaries 5% over because of the bonus month — laid out line by line, variances tell you where the year is slipping and whether it is a price problem, a volume problem or a spending problem. This calculator compares budgeted and actual figures for revenue and each expense head, shows the variance in rupees and percent, flags favourable and unfavourable lines, and computes the net effect on profit — for a month, a quarter or the year to date.
How variances are read
| Line | Favourable when | Unfavourable when |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Actual > Budget | Actual < Budget |
| Expenses | Actual < Budget | Actual > Budget |
| Profit | Actual > Budget | Actual < Budget |
Variance % = (Actual − Budget) ÷ Budget × 100. Sales budgeted ₹10 lakh, actual ₹9.2 lakh → −₹80,000, −8%, unfavourable. Marketing budgeted ₹50,000, actual ₹70,000 → +₹20,000, +40%, unfavourable. The calculator colours each line and totals the profit effect so a favourable expense variance that came from cutting marketing is seen next to the sales shortfall it may have caused.
How to use the calculator
- Enter budget and actual for revenue, then for each expense head — COGS, rent, salaries, marketing, utilities, logistics, fees, other.
- Read the variance per line in ₹ and %, marked favourable or unfavourable.
- See the budgeted profit, actual profit and total variance.
- Add a year-to-date column to separate a one-month blip from a trend.
- Export CSV and paste into your monthly review; repeat monthly and compare variances over time.
Digging into a variance
- Revenue: split into price and volume effects — (actual price − budget price) × actual units, and (actual units − budget units) × budget price. A 8% shortfall might be flat units and a 8% discount habit; the discount calculator helps size it.
- COGS: rate variance (paid more per unit) vs usage variance (used more units — wastage, returns). The gross margin calculator tracks the ratio.
- Salaries: headcount vs rate vs overtime; a bonus month is timing, not overspend. The team payroll calculator gives the monthly figure.
- Marketing: overspend is fine if ROAS and CAC held; otherwise it is the first cut.
- Timing variances (an annual insurance premium paid in one month) wash out over the year — flag them rather than reacting.
Building a budget worth comparing against
- Start from last year's actuals and the revenue growth rate, then adjust for known changes: rent escalation, the EPF ceiling rise, GST slab moves, a new hire.
- Budget by month, not by dividing the year by 12; festive months carry different sales and stock.
- Include statutory dates — GST, TDS, advance tax, bonus — so cash timing matches; the GST filing calendar and advance tax calculator supply them.
- Check your forecasts afterwards with the forecast accuracy tool; budgets improve when forecast error is measured.
For the statutory cost lines that changed this year — the EPF ceiling, GST slabs, TDS thresholds — see EPF wage ceiling is now ₹25,000 and TDS rates and thresholds for FY 2026-27 before you build next year's budget.
Related tools
- Forecast accuracy — how good the budget's revenue line was.
- Revenue growth rate — the trend behind the plan.
- Net profit margin — the profit line the variance rolls into.
- Employee cost calculator — budget salaries at loaded cost.
- Percentage calculator — quick variance math.