Building a Forecasting & Budget Model for a Nonprofit Organisation

The Challenge

Following a migration from Reckon to Xero, the organisation was operating without a forward-looking financial framework.

There was no clear ownership of budgeting, and department managers were flying blind:

• No visibility into how their departments were tracking
• No insight into seasonal trends across income and spending
• No tools to support confident financial decision-making
• A general lack of clarity around financial sustainability

Without structure or training, budgeting felt like an isolated finance function — not a tool for planning impact.

What I Did

• Recovered & Rebuilt Financial History
  Validated 12 months of P&L data across Xero and Reckon, resolving discrepancies and surfacing key income and cost drivers.
• Created a Rolling Forecast Model in Excel (VBA)
  Designed a regression-based forecasting tool that projected revenue and expenses by category, updating monthly with actuals.
• Developed Departmental Budget Templates
  Built planning tools aligned with project pipelines and historical trends, allowing each department to set and manage their own budgets.
• Delivered Financial Training Workshops
  Ran tailored sessions to teach managers how to read P&Ls, understand variances, and use forecasts to guide operational planning.

The Result

• 💡 Budgeting became part of the culture, not just a finance task
• 📈 Leadership gained monthly visibility into financial position
• 🔁 Forecast model updates dynamically with live P&L data
• 🎓 Managers now own their budgets and apply insights to daily decisions

Why It Mattered

In community services, clarity over cash flow and sustainability is everything. By rebuilding the financial foundation — from legacy data through to rolling forecasts — and pairing it with practical training, I helped embed budgeting into everyday decision-making.

The organisation now makes more informed choices, aligns resources with impact, and plans for the future with confidence and control.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Forecasting didn't exist post-migration from Reckon to Xero
• Built a regression-based model to forecast trends dynamically
• Department managers trained and empowered to own their budgets
• Leadership now tracks financial health month-by-month
• Budgeting became a strategic, organisation-wide habit