Driver-based budgets
Volume, price, headcount and cost drivers by entity and department, so every line can be explained.
Platform / Budgeting
AIchieve for Budgeting
Annual budget · Targets · Approvals
A budget built bottom-up, agreed top-down
Budget owners submit against drivers they understand, finance sets the targets, and both live on one model. Every version is kept, every change is logged, and the gap to target is a number rather than a debate.
Starts from your current forecast and the budget template you already use.
← Back to BoardsBoards/Budget FY2027
Budget FY2027
Dashboards + AI Overview
Scenario: Budget FY2027Entity: AllVersion: v4Currency: GBPOwner: All+
vs £2.82M target
£2.76M
Revenue budget FY2027
Bottom-up vs target
−£60K
Gap to close
▲ 0.5 pts on FY26
38.9%
Gross margin budget
3 still to submit
9 of 12
Budget owners in
Budget by Entity
£K · top-down target against bottom-up submissions · seeded from the FY26 forecast · £60K gap
| Entity | Target | Bottom-up | Gap | Margin | vs FY26 | Submitted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Ltd | 1,300 | 1,290 | −10 | 41.5% | +0.3 | 4 of 4 | Approved |
| KSA LLC | 1,050 | 1,010 | −40 | 37.4% | +0.5 | 2 of 4 | In review |
| Benelux BV | 480 | 470 | −10 | 32.0% | +2.6 | 2 of 3 | Submitted |
| Ireland Ltd | 150 | 150 | 0 | 39.2% | +0.2 | 1 of 1 | Approved |
| Intercompany eliminations | −160 | −160 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| Group | 2,820 | 2,760 | −60 | 38.9% | +0.5 | 9 of 12 |
AI Overview
PlannerBottom-up is £60K short of the board target, and £40K of it is KSA. Bringing the second KSA account executive forward a quarter closes most of the gap.
Send remindersModel the gap
- Submissions consolidated across 4 entities
- Drivers carried from the FY26 forecast
- 3 owners still to submit
What is included
Everything budget season needs, on one model
From the first target to the approved plan of record, without a single workbook emailed round.
Top-down and bottom-up
Board targets and owner submissions on the same model, with the gap shown as it closes.
Seeded from the forecast
Next year starts from this year's forecast and your assumptions, not from a blank template.
Submissions by owner
Each owner works in their own part of the budget, with progress tracked by entity and department.
Versions and approvals
Every version kept and comparable, with approval routes and a log of who changed what.
Three statement budget
Revenue and cost budgets flow into a budgeted P&L, balance sheet and cash flow.
See it in AIchieve
From target to approved budget
Drivers
Budget on drivers your owners understand
Each entity and department budgets with the drivers that move its numbers, such as volume, price, headcount and cost per head. The budget recalculates as owners change them, and anything outside its usual range is flagged for review.
- Seeded from the current year forecast
- Drivers editable by each owner
- Unusual growth flagged against trend
← Back to BoardsBoards/Revenue Drivers
Revenue Drivers · FY2027
Dashboards + AI Overview
Scenario: Budget FY2027Entity: AllVersion: v4Driver: Volume × price+
FY26 forecast
£2.51M
Starting point
Per entity
2
Drivers: volume and price
▲ 10.0%
£2.76M
Revenue budget FY2027
Above trend
+17.2%
KSA growth
Revenue Budget by Driver
£K · seeded from the FY26 forecast · owners change drivers, the budget recalculates · KSA above its three year trend
| Entity | FY26 forecast | Volume | Price | FY27 £K | Growth | Owner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Ltd | 1,204 | +5.0% | +2.0% | 1,290 | +7.1% | UK MD | Approved |
| KSA LLC | 862 | +13.0% | +3.7% | 1,010 | +17.2% | KSA GM | In review |
| Benelux BV | 430 | +6.0% | +3.0% | 470 | +9.3% | Benelux MD | Submitted |
| Ireland Ltd | 142 | +3.0% | +2.5% | 150 | +5.6% | Ireland GM | Approved |
| Eliminations | −128 | −160 | FP&A | ||||
| Group | 2,510 | 2,760 | +10.0% |
AI Overview
ModelerBudget seeded from the FY26 forecast and your driver assumptions. KSA growth of 17.2% sits above its three year trend of 11%, so it is flagged for review.
Review KSAOpen drivers
- Seeded from the FY26 forecast
- Drivers editable by entity owners
- KSA above trend
Versions and approval
Every version kept, every change explained
From the first top-down target to the board submission, each version is saved with its owner and its changes. Compare any two side by side and send the approved one straight to the board pack.
- Versions compared side by side
- Changes logged by owner
- Approved budget becomes the plan of record
← Back to BoardsBoards/Budget Versions
Budget Versions & Approval
Dashboards + AI Overview
Scenario: Budget FY2027Entity: AllVersions: 4Stage: Board+
Board submission
v4
Current version
vs top-down target
−£60K
Revenue gap
▲ 0.7 pts on FY26
19.1%
EBITDA margin budget
Every change logged
23
Changes since v1
Version History
£K · FY2027 · every version kept and comparable · changes logged by owner
| Version | Owner | Revenue £K | Gross margin | EBITDA margin | Changes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1 Top-down target | CFO | 2,820 | 39.0% | 20.0% | — | Reference |
| v2 Bottom-up, first pass | Owners | 2,690 | 38.2% | 16.8% | 12 | Superseded |
| v3 After challenge sessions | FP&A | 2,740 | 38.7% | 18.4% | 8 | Superseded |
| v4 Board submission | CFO | 2,760 | 38.9% | 19.1% | 3 | To approve |
| v4 vs target | −60 | −0.1 | −0.9 | 23 |
AI Overview
Analystv4 is £60K below the top-down target but 0.7 pts ahead of FY26 on EBITDA margin. The gap sits in KSA volume, which carries a lower margin than the group.
Send to board packCompare v3 and v4
- Every version kept and comparable
- Changes logged by owner
- Ready for board approval
Agents
Three agents working through budget season
They build the model, challenge the submissions and close the gap, so finance spends budget season on judgement rather than consolidation.
Modeler
Builds the budget model
Modeler · 06:00
Budget FY2027 seeded from the FY26 forecast across 4 entities and 12 owners. Two cost centres need mapping.
- Rebuilds your template. Your budget workbook becomes a live model with its logic kept.
- Seeds next year. Starts from the forecast and your growth assumptions.
- Keeps structure in step. New entities, departments or accounts added without a rebuild.
Analyst
Challenges the submissions
Analyst · 06:04
KSA growth of 17.2% is above its three year trend of 11%. Headcount in the KSA submission only supports 13%.
- Spots outliers. Growth or cost lines outside their usual range.
- Explains the gap. Shows where bottom-up falls short of target.
- Checks consistency. Headcount, revenue and cost assumptions that do not agree.
Planner
Closes the gap
Planner · 06:10
Bringing the second KSA account executive forward a quarter closes £34K of the £60K gap and keeps EBITDA margin at 19.1%.
- Proposes options. Ways to close the gap to target, with their trade-offs.
- Shows the full effect. P&L, balance sheet and cash for each option.
- Prepares the board version. The agreed version, ready for approval.
One connected cycle
Part of one finance cycle, on one model
Every capability works on the same model and the same live data, so the budget, forecast, close and board pack never need reconciling with each other.
Questions
What finance teams ask about budgeting
Anything not covered here, we would rather answer on your own numbers.
Ready when you are
Bring last year's budget and this year's forecast.
Your own template and your own numbers. See next year's budget seeded, the gap to target and the versions your owners are working on, before budget season gets busy.
✓ Your budget structure, kept
✓ Your data, not a sample dataset
✓ Owners see only their own part