Write the annual business plan and budget

When to use

Once a year, before the new year starts — or when the owner decides to reset direction mid-year. Not for the quarterly breakdown of an already-approved plan — use growth.quarterly-okrs. Not for the 13-week cash view that keeps the company solvent week to week — use money.cash-forecast-13w; the annual budget sets the year, the forecast keeps it alive.

Before you start

• Last year's month-close is done, or the latest 12 months of actuals are exported from the money module.
• The owner has answered three questions in writing: grow what, stop what, keep flat what.
• Known fixed commitments for next year are listed (payroll, rent, loans, ops.contract-renewal-watch items,

What a run requires2

The trail8 steps

1. S1

   Pull last year's actualsagent

   Export revenue, gross margin, cost categories and month-end cash for the last 12 months; note the three biggest cost movements.

   Done when a one-table summary of the year exists and the numbers match the month-close records.

   ⛔ Actuals from memory or from the bank feed alone will disagree with the books — always reconcile to month-close.

2. S2

   Collect the owner's directionagent

   Ask the three questions, write the answers back in one paragraph, and list what the company will explicitly not do next year.

   Done when the owner has confirmed the paragraph is correct.

3. S3

   Choose the goalsownerneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S3 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Present three to five candidate goals, each with the number it moves and the rough cost to pursue it.

   Done when the owner has named the goals for the year and dropped the rest.

4. S4

   Draft the budgetagent

   Build the 12-month budget: revenue by stream (from pipeline and churn, not hope), fixed costs from the commitments list, variable costs proportional to the plan, one-off items with their month. List every assumption in one block under the budget.

   Done when each line has a number and each number has an assumption or a source.

5. S5

   Approve plan and budgetownerneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S5 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Present the one-page plan: goals, target numbers, budget summary, the not-do list, and the two biggest assumptions that would break it.

   Done when the owner has approved, with the date recorded.

   ⛔ An approved plan with no recorded approval date cannot be compared against next year's review — record who approved and when.

6. S6

   Record the goalsagent

   Create each goal in Brain Club (bc goals add), attach the target number and the owner of each goal, and create the first quarter's tasks (bc tasks add) so work starts in January, not "soon".

   Done when every goal exists in the module with an owner and a first-quarter task.

7. S7

   Book the review cadenceagent

   Schedule the monthly review (feeds growth.monthly-growth-review) and the four quarterly checkpoints (feeds growth.quarterly-okrs).

   Done when twelve monthly slots and four quarterly slots exist on the calendar with the plan attached.

8. S8

   Hand backagent

   Send the owner a three-line summary: the goals, the year's revenue target and the month with the tightest cash.

   Done when the owner confirms receipt and the plan file is linked from the company's records.

Checks — how we know it worked

• The budget's 12 monthly cash lows stay above the minimum cash the owner has named (read the month with
• Every goal has an owner, a number and a first-quarter task — a goal without all three is a wish.
• The salary and social-cost lines match current rates; if rates change on 1 January, the note says which
• The one-page plan fits on one page and names what the company will not do.

If it goes wrong

What each step leaves behind

1. S1a one-table summary of the year exists and the numbers match the month-close records.
2. S2the owner has confirmed the paragraph is correct.
3. S3the owner has named the goals for the year and dropped the rest.
4. S4each line has a number and each number has an assumption or a source.
5. S5the owner has approved, with the date recorded.
6. S6every goal exists in the module with an owner and a first-quarter task.
7. S7twelve monthly slots and four quarterly slots exist on the calendar with the plan attached.
8. S8the owner confirms receipt and the plan file is linked from the company's records.

Evidence to keep

The actuals export with its date · the owner's written direction from S2 · the approved plan file with the approval date and name · the budget with its assumptions block · the goal ids in Brain Club · the booked review slots.

How this playbook improves

After every run (once a year, so after every run) ask: how many days from start to approval, and which step waited — usually S2 or S5? At mid-year, how many goals are still tracked, and did any fail because S6 left no first-quarter tasks? Which budget line deviated most by Q2, and did its assumption say why? A new version changes the step that caused the wait or the miss, and says so in its change note.