Zero-Based Budget Builder
Rebuild every expense line from zero, compare to what you spend today, and see where the savings are.
Example scenario—not a forecast or verified benchmark. Enable JavaScript to edit inputs, view charts, save locally and export your analysis.
Example inputs
- Annual revenue
- 5,000,000
- Savings target
- 10
- Expense lines (annual)
- [{"name":"Admin & office salaries","current":420000,"rebuilt":380000,"necessity":"must"},{"name":"Marketing & advertising","current":260000,"rebuilt":230000,"necessity":"growth"},{"name":"Software & subscriptions","current":72000,"rebuilt":41000,"necessity":"nice"},{"name":"Rent & facilities","current":180000,"rebuilt":180000,"necessity":"must"},{"name":"Vehicles & fuel","current":145000,"rebuilt":128000,"necessity":"must"},{"name":"Consultants & outside services","current":95000,"rebuilt":40000,"necessity":"unclear"},{"name":"Travel, meals & events","current":48000,"rebuilt":22000,"necessity":"nice"}]
Example results
Rebuilding from zero cuts the budget by $199K (16.3%), from $1.2M to $1M, beating your 10% target.
- Annual savings
- $199,000
- Savings vs. current budget
- 16.3%
- Gap to savings target
- $0
- Current budget
- $1,220,000
- Zero-based budget
- $1,021,000
- Remaining discretionary spend
- $103,000
- Margin gain (% of revenue)
- 4%
What stands out
Zero-based rebuild saves 16.3% vs. a 10% target
You beat the target by $77K.
Biggest saving: Consultants & outside services ($55K)
58% below current spend; 28% of total savings comes from this one line.
1 line(s) have no clear owner or purpose
Consultants & outside services: $95K of current spend. Unowned spend is where waste usually hides; assign an owner or cut it.
Worth 4% of revenue in margin
$199K of annual savings drops straight to operating profit if the rebuilt budget holds.
Next actions
- Lock the top 3 savings first (Consultants & outside services, Admin & office salaries, Software & subscriptions): $126K combined. Assign an owner and a date to each.
- Redirect part of the savings into the growth lines that have a measurable return.
- Require a one-line justification and owner for every line in next year's budget; review actuals vs. the zero-based budget monthly.
Model assumptions & limitations
- Zero-based amounts are your own estimates of what each line needs to deliver this year's plan.
- Savings are annualized and assume full-year effect; contract terms and notice periods may delay some of them.
- Necessity labels are self-assessed and used only to flag discretionary spend.