9 Best Business Budgeting Software Tools of 2024

Business budgeting software helps you manage, track and forecast budgets to see how your business is performing financially.
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Our pick for simple accounting software
Xero
Our pick for simple accounting software

Xero

Xero

on Xero's website

Business budgeting software helps ensure your business is on track to meet its financial goals. Some business owners use spreadsheets as their main budgeting tool; however, the downsides are manual data entry and the risk of human error. If you prefer a more automated approach to the process, business budgeting software could be a better alternative. The best tools let you create account budgets, run budget variance reports, forecast cash flow and, in some cases, choose between different projection methods or plan for worst-case scenarios.
Conveniently, accounting software typically covers the basics with income and expense tracking, budget creation tools and customizable financial reports. For more detailed insight into strategies for cutting costs and boosting revenue, you may prefer to sync your accounting software with a separate budgeting app.
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Here are our top picks for business budgeting software tools and what makes them stand out.
PlanGuru

In-depth forecasting

PlanGuru
Float

Cash flow management

Float

Best Business Budgeting Software Tools

Product Best for NerdWallet rating Starting at Promotion Learn more
QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

90% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

Xero

Xero

on Xero's secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.

90% off

for 6 months.

on Xero's secure website

Zoho Books

Zoho Books

on Zoho Books' secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

on Zoho Books' secure website

PlanGuru

PlanGuru

In-depth forecasting

$99/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $299.

14-day free trial

Float

Float

Cash flow management

$69/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $119, $249.

14-day free trial

Centage

Centage Planning Maestro®

Financial planning and analysis

N/A

N/A

Futrli

Futrli

Software integrations

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $200, $375, $500.

14-day free trial

LivePlan

LivePlan

Startups

$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40.

N/A

Budgeto

Budgeto

Easy to use business budgeting software

$25/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $35, $40, $45.

14-day free trial

Product Best for NerdWallet rating Starting at Promotion Learn more
QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

90% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

Xero

Xero

on Xero's secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.

90% off

for 6 months.

on Xero's secure website

Zoho Books

Zoho Books

on Zoho Books' secure website

All-in-one budgeting software

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

on Zoho Books' secure website

PlanGuru

PlanGuru

In-depth forecasting

$99/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $299.

14-day free trial

Float

Float

Cash flow management

$69/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $119, $249.

14-day free trial

Centage

Centage Planning Maestro®

Financial planning and analysis

N/A

N/A

Futrli

Futrli

Software integrations

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $200, $375, $500.

14-day free trial

LivePlan

LivePlan

Startups

$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40.

N/A

Budgeto

Budgeto

Easy to use business budgeting software

$25/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $35, $40, $45.

14-day free trial

Best Business Budgeting Software Tools

QuickBooks Online

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

Promotion
90% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

on QuickBooks' website

QuickBooks Online

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

Promotion
90% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

on QuickBooks' website

Our pick for simple accounting software

Xero

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.

Promotion
90% off

for 6 months.

on Xero's website

Our pick for simple accounting software

Xero

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.

Promotion
90% off

for 6 months.

on Xero's website

Zoho Books

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

Promotion
14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

on Zoho Books' website

Zoho Books

Best for All-in-one budgeting software

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

Promotion
14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

on Zoho Books' website

PlanGuru

PlanGuru

Best for In-depth forecasting

Starting at
$99/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $299.

Promotion
14-day free trial

PlanGuru

PlanGuru

Best for In-depth forecasting

Starting at
$99/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $299.

Promotion
14-day free trial

Float

Float

Best for Cash flow management

Starting at
$69/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $119, $249.

Promotion
14-day free trial

Float

Float

Best for Cash flow management

Starting at
$69/per month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $119, $249.

Promotion
14-day free trial

Centage

Centage Planning Maestro®

Best for Financial planning and analysis

Promotion
N/A

Centage Planning Maestro®

Centage

Best for Financial planning and analysis

Promotion
N/A

Futrli

Futrli

Best for Software integrations

Starting at
$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $200, $375, $500.

Promotion
14-day free trial

Futrli

Futrli

Best for Software integrations

Starting at
$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $200, $375, $500.

Promotion
14-day free trial

LivePlan

LivePlan

Best for Startups

Starting at
$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40.

Promotion
N/A

LivePlan

LivePlan

Best for Startups

Starting at
$20/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $40.

Promotion
N/A

Budgeto

Budgeto

Best for Easy to use business budgeting software

Starting at
$25/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $35, $40, $45.

Promotion
14-day free trial

Budgeto

Budgeto

Best for Easy to use business budgeting software

Starting at
$25/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $30, $35, $40, $45.

Promotion
14-day free trial

NerdWallet’s picks for the best business budgeting software

QuickBooks Online

Best for all-in-one budgeting software
Why we like it: QuickBooks Online’s Plus and Advanced plans come with basic tools that’ll familiarize you with the budgeting and forecasting process. To start out, determine whether you want to create a profit and loss budget, to track performance against predictions, or a balance sheet budget, to track your financial position over time. Then choose the fiscal year you want to budget for and whether you want to see results separated by quarter, month or year. QuickBooks Online has a planning tool to help you see how future adjustments will affect your cash flow. The software also enables you to set budget targets by customer, class or location. Read our full QuickBooks Online review.
  • $35 per month for the Simple Start plan.
  • $65 per month for the Essentials plan.
  • $99 per month for the Plus plan.
  • $235 per month for the Advanced plan.
Once you’ve created your budget, the budgets vs. actuals report will compare your actual account balances with projected balances, side by side.
Example of QuickBooks Online accounting software budgets vs. actuals report from January 2023 through March 2023

Xero

Best for all-in-one budgeting software
Why we like it: If you already use Xero for accounting, you’ll be happy to know that simple budgeting features are at the tips of your fingers. Before you can run reports, you need to set up the primary budget for your organization, then you can create separate budgets for each category you’d like to track. Once you’ve set up your budgets, you can run the budget variance report or even add a budget column to a separate report, like your profit and loss statement, to compare numbers. Read our full Xero Accounting review.
  • $20 per month for the Early plan.
  • $47 per month for the Growing plan.
  • $80 per month for the Established plan.
Xero Analytics gives you access to basic, short-term cash flow and future predictions reporting. Note that long-term cash flow predictions (up to 90 days) require a subscription to the highest-tier Established plan.
Example of Xero accounting software's short-term cash flow projection includes a line graph charting cash flow over 30-day period

Zoho Books

Best for all-in-one budgeting software
Why we like it: If you already use Zoho Books for accounting, then you can also put it to use for your business budgeting needs. The software lets you build budgets and view budget variance reports to get a better sense of how your business is performing in relation to the budget you’ve set. Zoho Books also has some helpful automated functions when it comes to budgeting, including the ability to create a budget from your previous years’ actuals and auto-fill data. Keep tabs on your budget with profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow reports. Read our full Zoho Books review.
  • $0 per month for the Free plan.
  • $20 per month for the Standard plan.
  • $50 per month for the Professional plan.
  • $70 per month for the Premium plan.
  • $150 per month for the Elite plan.
  • $275 per month for the Ultimate plan.
When you’re creating a new budget in Zoho Books, you can associate the budget with a particular reporting tag and even factor asset, liability and equity accounts into the budget.
Example of creating a new budget in Zoho Books accounting software shows fields for entering budget name, fiscal year, budget period and income and expense accounts

PlanGuru

Best for in-depth forecasting
Why we like it: PlanGuru offers much more detailed budgeting and forecasting features than typical accounting software does, including more than 20 forecasting methods, and it can predict cash flow and create budget forecasts for up to 10 years. Instead of guessing what an account budget should look like any given month, you can create custom projection formulas based on financial and non-financial drivers. Keep in mind there may be a learning curve for building these formulas and identifying relevant drivers.
  • $99 per month for the single-entity solution.
  • $299 per month for the multidepartment/multilocation solution.
  • $29 per month for each additional user.
PlanGuru’s forecasting tools enable you to look at assumptions and key performance indicators, percentage of other accounts and growth rates.
Example of forecasting within PlanGuru's budgeting software shows the option to select from several projection methods and to choose one of three method options

Float

Best for cash flow management
Why we like it: Float’s functionality doesn’t get quite as granular as PlanGuru’s does, but for business owners who want a more user-friendly experience, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The software has a clean user interface and analyzes historical accounting data to suggest budget values for you if you’re not sure where to start. This is a plus for business owners who need more features than their accounting software offers but are still relatively new to budgeting. Float’s business budgeting software forecasts cash flow for up to three years and automatically syncs with Xero to give you a real-time view of your cash flow and forecasting. The app also helps businesses plan for worst-case scenarios with a dedicated tool that shows how certain events, like losing a valuable client, would affect cash flow.
  • $69 per month for the Essential plan.
  • $119 per month for the Premium plan.
  • $249 per month for the Enterprise plan.
Float uses cash budgets (rather than profit and loss budgets), which are inclusive of taxes and based on dates you pay bills and receive cash. This gives you a more accurate view of your cash flow on any given date.
Example of cash budget view in Float's budgeting software shows starting balance, total cash in and more in rows going down, with columns by month, from August 2021 to June 2022, going across

Centage Planning Maestro

Best for financial planning and analysis
Why we like it: Centage Planning Maestro’s dashboard visualizes top-line data for a number of criteria, along with yearly financial comparisons and monthly trends. The amount of information can be overwhelming at first, but business owners who take a more in-depth approach to financial planning and analysis will appreciate it.  Advanced financial planning and analysis (FP&A) tools can accommodate medium-size businesses with dedicated finance teams, too.
Quote-based.
In addition to your typical revenue and expense planning, Centage lets you import data from your HR software to set budgets for each employee. This is especially helpful if you run a larger small business with a considerable workforce.
Example of personnel budget sheet in Centage Planning Maestro's budgeting software

Futrli

Best for software integrations
Why we like it: Futrli, which was acquired by Sage in 2022, makes business budgeting software designed for forecasting and predictions. It integrates directly with top accounting software solutions, specifically Sage, QuickBooks Online and Xero. Futrli offers more than 60 reporting and dashboard templates and robust budget variance tools. It also gives you a three-year forecasting view that updates daily. The least-expensive plan, Single, is designed for small businesses and sole proprietors.
  • $35 per month for the Single plan.
  • $200 per month for the Starter plan.
  • $375 per month for the Professional plan.
  • $500 per month for the Practice plan.
Futrli’s predictions tool comes with a useful color-coding feature to indicate the software’s confidence in the predictions it’s making, based on the current data flow.
Example of the predictions tool in Futrli's budgeting software shows green and yellow color coding of predicted sales figures

LivePlan

Best for startups
Why we like it: At its core, LivePlan is software designed to guide you through the business planning and startup process. It takes the guesswork out of drafting a complete business plan, creating a business pitch deck and refining your business strategy. Most notably, though, LivePlan helps you build and check your business financials — answer some straightforward questions and prompts, and the software will construct a visualized forecast. LivePlan integrates with QuickBooks and Xero, so it can keep up with your business budgeting needs as they evolve. To get access to LivePlan’s ongoing budgeting tools, including analytics dashboards and accounting integrations, you’ll need the Premium plan.
  • $20 per month for the Standard plan.
  • $40 per month for the Premium plan.
Once you’ve completed the forecasting step in LivePlan, you can use the software’s benchmarking tool to check your forecast in comparison with other similar businesses.
Example of the industry benchmarking tool in LivePlan's budgeting software shows profit and cash forecasts for a demo sporting goods business compared with the industry benchmark

Budgeto

Best for easy to use business budgeting software
Why we like it: Budgeto’s business budgeting software stands out for its simple interface and intuitive user experience. Before you begin using the software, you’re prompted to enter some basic information about your business, including the country in which it’s based and the currency in which it operates. This ensures the financial budgets, forecasting and reports conform to the specific needs of your business. Budgeto also makes it easy to share your budgets with your business collaborators and import your accounting data from QuickBooks Online or Xero (provided you choose the respective upgrade option).
  • $25 per month for the Basic plan.
  • $5 per month, in addition to the Basic plan, for each of the following options: collaborate with unlimited users and create an unlimited number of budgeting scenarios.
  • $10 per month, in addition to the Basic plan, to import accounting data from Quickbooks Online or Xero.
  • $45 per month is the total price of a Budgeto subscription including the basic plan and all optional add-ons.
From the software’s clean financial dashboard, you can easily navigate to tabs related to your assets, employees, expenses, reports and more, as well as quickly access Budgeto’s library of articles and videos to help you learn the software and troubleshoot challenges.
Example of the dashboard view in Budgeto's business budgeting software shows a left rail with tabs for sales, expenses, employees and more; a right rail with a help menu; and cash and revenue forecast charts in the center

What is business budgeting software? 

Business budgeting software helps you manage, track and forecast business budgets to see how your company is performing financially. It should have strong reporting capabilities that allow you to generate and manage financial statements, like cash flow reports and profit and loss statements, and compare actual income and expenses against projected figures. 
While some accounting software products have budgeting tools, there are distinct solutions that dig a little deeper if you want to predict how a particular business decision could affect your cash flow. Before you dive into your options, consider how pricing, user experience, accounting tools and more will play into your decision-making process.
Last updated on June 4, 2024