Agent skill

Budget Planning

by seb1n in seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation.

MITAuto-check passedBusiness, Finance & HR

Install Budget Planning

skills CLI
$ npx skills add seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills --skill budget-planning -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills budget-planning --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/finance-and-accounting/budget-planning .claude/skills/budget-planning && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
budget-planning
GitHub stars
206
Token cost
~2.5k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,090 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
101
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation.

  • Works in 6 steps: Gather Historical Data → Set Budget Targets by Department → Allocate Line Items → …
  • The user requests budget planning
  • SKILL.md covers Workflow, Usage, Examples and Best Practices, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Budget Planning is an agent skill from seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills. Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation. Use when the user requests budget planning or provides relevant inputs for this workflow.

Its SKILL.md is about 2.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Business, Finance & HR, covering Budgeting and forecasting. The repository describes itself as: 103 ready-to-use AI agent skills for Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, and other Agent Skills-compatible tools. Complete SKILL.md… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • The user requests budget planning
  • Provides relevant inputs for this workflow

Example prompts

  • “/budget-planning”

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Gather Historical Data
  2. Set Budget Targets by Department
  3. Allocate Line Items
  4. Track Actuals vs. Budget
  5. Generate Variance Reports
  6. Recommend Adjustments

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 75865a5. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Budget Planning loads about 2.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 46 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,090 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~46
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills at commit 75865a5, republished under its MIT licence (© seb1n). 1,090 words, ~2,463 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/budget-planning/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
budget-planning
description
Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation. Use when the user requests budget planning or provides relevant inputs for this workflow.
license
MIT
metadata.author
community
metadata.version
1.0

Budget Planning

Create structured budgets by department, track actual spending against targets, and produce variance analyses that explain deviations. This skill supports top-down and bottom-up budgeting approaches, handles multi-department allocation, and generates actionable reports that highlight where spending is on track and where corrective action is needed.

Workflow

  1. Gather Historical Data Collect 6-12 months of actual spending data broken down by department and cost category. Identify trends, seasonal patterns, and one-time expenses that should be excluded from baseline calculations. Compute trailing averages and growth rates for each line item to establish a data-driven starting point.

  2. Set Budget Targets by Department Define top-level budget envelopes for each department based on company revenue targets, strategic priorities, and historical run rates. Apply growth adjustments — departments investing in new initiatives may get 15-25% increases while mature cost centers target flat or declining budgets. Ensure the sum of department budgets aligns with the company-wide operating expense target.

  3. Allocate Line Items Break each department budget into specific line items: personnel (salaries, benefits, contractors), software and tools, travel, marketing spend, office and facilities, professional services, and discretionary. Assign monthly phasing — some costs are evenly distributed while others are front-loaded (annual software renewals) or seasonal (Q4 marketing pushes).

  4. Track Actuals vs. Budget As actual spending data comes in, map each transaction to the corresponding budget line item and period. Calculate period-to-date (MTD, QTD, YTD) actuals and compare against the phased budget. Compute both absolute dollar variance and percentage variance for each line item.

  5. Generate Variance Reports Produce variance analysis showing over- and under-budget categories with explanations. Classify variances as timing (spending shifted between months but will normalize), volume (more/less activity than planned), rate (unit costs differ from plan), or permanent (structural change requiring budget revision). Project year-end estimates based on current run rates.

  6. Recommend Adjustments Based on variance trends, recommend specific budget reallocations: pull forward unused budget from under-spending departments to cover overages elsewhere, or flag line items where a formal budget revision is warranted. Provide a revised forecast alongside the original budget for comparison.

Usage

Provide historical spending data, department structure, and any top-level targets or constraints. Specify the budget period (monthly, quarterly, annual) and any known upcoming expenses.

Example prompt:

Create a Q1 2025 budget for our Engineering, Marketing, and G&A departments. Engineering had $180K/month average spend last quarter, Marketing $95K, G&A $45K. We're targeting 10% overall expense reduction. Show the budget with monthly phasing and major line items.

Examples

Example 1: Quarterly Department Budget

Input: 3 departments, Q1 2025, 10% reduction target from Q4 2024 baseline of $320K/month.

Output — Q1 2025 Budget:

Line ItemDepartmentJanuaryFebruaryMarchQ1 Total
Salaries & BenefitsEngineering$112,000$112,000$112,000$336,000
ContractorsEngineering$25,000$25,000$20,000$70,000
Cloud InfrastructureEngineering$18,500$19,000$19,500$57,000
Software & ToolsEngineering$8,200$6,200$6,200$20,600
Engineering Subtotal$163,700$162,200$157,700$483,600
Salaries & BenefitsMarketing$42,000$42,000$42,000$126,000
Advertising & Paid MediaMarketing$22,000$25,000$28,000$75,000
Events & SponsorshipsMarketing$5,000$2,000$12,000$19,000
Content & CreativeMarketing$8,000$8,000$8,000$24,000
Marketing Subtotal$77,000$77,000$90,000$244,000
Salaries & BenefitsG&A$22,000$22,000$22,000$66,000
Rent & FacilitiesG&A$12,000$12,000$12,000$36,000
Insurance & LegalG&A$4,500$4,500$4,500$13,500
Office & MiscellaneousG&A$2,500$2,500$2,500$7,500
G&A Subtotal$41,000$41,000$41,000$123,000
Company Total$281,700$280,200$288,700$850,600

vs. Baseline: Q4 2024 run rate was $320K/month ($960K/quarter). Q1 budget of $850.6K represents an 11.4% reduction, exceeding the 10% target by $9.4K.

Show full SKILL.md (518 more words)Show less
Example 2: Variance Analysis Report

Input: February actuals received, compare against Q1 budget from Example 1.

Output — February Variance Report:

Line ItemBudgetActualVariance $Variance %Classification
Engineering — Salaries$112,000$112,000$00.0%On track
Engineering — Contractors$25,000$31,200+$6,200+24.8%Volume
Engineering — Cloud$19,000$22,400+$3,400+17.9%Volume
Engineering — Software$6,200$6,200$00.0%On track
Marketing — Salaries$42,000$42,000$00.0%On track
Marketing — Advertising$25,000$18,500-$6,500-26.0%Timing
Marketing — Events$2,000$0-$2,000-100.0%Timing
Marketing — Content$8,000$9,200+$1,200+15.0%Rate
G&A — All Lines$41,000$40,100-$900-2.2%On track
Total$280,200$281,600+$1,400+0.5%

Analysis:

  • Engineering Contractors (+$6,200): Overage driven by an unplanned security audit requiring two additional contractors. Classified as volume variance. If audit completes in March, Q1 total may still land within 5% of budget.
  • Cloud Infrastructure (+$3,400): Load testing for the v3.0 release drove higher-than-expected compute costs. Expected to normalize in March.
  • Marketing Advertising (-$6,500): Campaign launch delayed to March. This is a timing variance — spending will shift to March, which is already budgeted higher. No action needed.
  • Year-end projection: At current run rate, Q1 will land at $859K vs. $850.6K budget (+1.0%). Within acceptable tolerance.

Best Practices

  • Build budgets with 5-10% contingency reserves at the department level for unplanned but inevitable expenses.
  • Phase budgets monthly rather than dividing annual totals by 12 — real spending is never evenly distributed.
  • Review variances weekly for categories with high volatility (advertising, contractors) and monthly for stable costs (rent, salaries).
  • Distinguish between controllable variances (spending decisions) and uncontrollable ones (vendor price increases, FX changes) in reporting.
  • Lock budget baselines at the start of each period. Track changes through formal revision requests rather than silently editing the original budget.
  • Tie budget targets to measurable outcomes — Marketing's $75K ad budget should be linked to a pipeline generation target, not just a spending ceiling.

Safety Boundaries

  • Treat the output as analytical support, not individualized financial, tax, investment, or accounting advice.
  • Preserve source data and expose assumptions, formulas, units, and reconciliation checks so a reviewer can reproduce the result.
  • Do not initiate payments, transactions, journal entries, filings, or account changes without explicit user authorization.
  • Require a qualified professional to review material decisions, regulated filings, or conclusions based on incomplete data.

Edge Cases

  • Mid-quarter headcount changes: When a new hire starts mid-period, pro-rate their salary and benefits from their start date. Adjust the budget baseline going forward rather than showing a permanent favorable variance for the partial month.
  • One-time large purchases: Capital expenditures (servers, office buildout) should be budgeted as one-time items in specific months, not spread evenly. Flag any unbudgeted purchase over $5K for CFO approval.
  • Departmental chargebacks: Shared services (IT support, facilities) allocated across departments should use a consistent, pre-agreed allocation methodology. Don't change allocation percentages mid-year.
  • Budget for new departments: When a new team spins up mid-year, create a separate budget with a ramp-up curve rather than trying to retrofit into existing department budgets.
  • Zero-based budgeting requests: When management requests zero-based budgeting instead of incremental, start every line item at zero and require justification. This typically takes 3-4x longer but surfaces 10-15% in potential savings.

© seb1n, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in finance-and-accounting/budget-planning of seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 75865a5

Compare with similar skills

Budget Planning next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Budget Planning compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Budget Planning this skillseb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills206—~2.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Longbridge Researchhelsome/folio2713 repos~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Bet SizingJoelLewis/finance_skills206—~2.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Cre Asset Managementahacker-1/cre-agent-skills113—~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Dd LogsDataDog/pup1k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Cash Flow ForecastWellApp-ai/Well345—~567Automated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Longbridge Research

    helsome/folio

    Institution ratings, consensus price targets, EPS/revenue forecasts, finance calendar, shareholder data, fund holders, insider trades (SEC Form 4), short interest, industry rankings, peer group…

    271 GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~2.1k tokens
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed
  • Bet Sizing

    JoelLewis/finance_skills

    Determine how much capital to allocate to individual positions within a portfolio.

    206 GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed
  • Cre Asset Management

    ahacker-1/cre-agent-skills

    CRE Asset Management analysis suite — 9 specialist skills for post-acquisition multifamily operations including annual budgeting, monthly variance analysis, rent collection, renewal decisions…

    113 GitHub stars~1.8k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed
  • Dd Logs

    DataDog/pup

    Official

    Log management - search, pipelines, archives, and cost control.

    1k GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated today
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed
  • Cash Flow Forecast

    WellApp-ai/Well

    Forecast cash flow and runway for a Well workspace from booked invoices and collected bank transactions.

    345 GitHub stars~567 tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed
  • Cash Flow Snapshot

    sandbaseai/sandbase-skills

    Create a 30/60/90-day cash-flow forecast from AR, AP, opening cash, payment timing, and fixed-cost data.

    203 GitHub stars~1.9k tokensUpdated 14 days ago
    Business, Finance & HRAuto-check passed

More from seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

All 101 skills in this repo
  • Agent Red Teaming

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Plan, execute, document, and retest authorized security assessments of AI agents and multi-agent workflows using safe adversarial cases, synthetic identities, canaries, and evidence-based findings.

    206 GitHub stars~2.8k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • Eu AI Act Readiness

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Build a preliminary, evidence-based EU AI Act readiness assessment across AI-system inventory, territorial scope, operator roles, prohibited-practice screening, risk classification, transparency…

    206 GitHub stars~3.3k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • Human In The Loop

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Design and verify auditable human oversight, approval gates, escalation paths, and safe state transitions for AI agent workflows.

    206 GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • MCP Server Building

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Design, implement, harden, and verify Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers with precise tool contracts, least-privilege authorization, safe transports, structured errors, and interoperability tests.

    206 GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • PDF Processing

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Inspect, extract, OCR, create, merge, split, reorder, rotate, annotate, fill, redact, compress, secure, and verify PDF documents while preserving source files and visual fidelity.

    206 GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed
  • Skill Supply Chain Audit

    seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills

    Audit agent skills, plugins, prompts, manifests, scripts, dependencies, and bundled assets for provenance, prompt-injection, permission, execution, exfiltration, persistence, and update risk.

    206 GitHub stars~2.4k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

Questions about Budget Planning

What does Budget Planning do?

Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation. Budget Planning is an agent skill from seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills. Create and manage budgets with variance analysis and departmental allocation.

When should I use Budget Planning?

Budget Planning fits situations like: the user requests budget planning; provides relevant inputs for this workflow.

How do I install Budget Planning in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills --skill budget-planning -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (finance-and-accounting/budget-planning in seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills) into .claude/skills/budget-planning in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Budget Planning in Codex?

Run `npx skills add seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills --skill budget-planning -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (finance-and-accounting/budget-planning in seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills) into .agents/skills/budget-planning in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Budget Planning in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills --skill budget-planning -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/budget-planning, .gemini/skills/budget-planning, .github/skills/budget-planning and .opencode/skills/budget-planning in your project.

What does Budget Planning need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Budget Planning is instructions for the agent only.

Does Budget Planning access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Budget Planning safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Budget Planning use?

Budget Planning is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Budget Planning use?

About 2.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Budget Planning?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Budget Planning: Longbridge Research (helsome/folio, 271 stars), Bet Sizing (JoelLewis/finance_skills, 206 stars), Cre Asset Management (ahacker-1/cre-agent-skills, 113 stars) and Dd Logs (DataDog/pup, 1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Budget Planning?

seb1n (a GitHub user) maintains it in seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills, which has 206 GitHub stars. The repository holds 101 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 9, 2026.

Source: seb1n/awesome-ai-agent-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.