“We'll hit our Q3 budget — the current trajectory shows $2M.”
Usage Entry 1157 / 1350 60-second read
Budget vs. Forecast
The plan for the year versus the updated expectation.
The comparisoni
“We'll hit our Q3 forecast — $2M is the updated expectation. The budget was set in December.”
The ruleii
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BUDGET = plan. FORECAST = live estimate.
A BUDGET is agreed up front and rarely changes — it's the commitment. A FORECAST is re-estimated monthly or quarterly based on actuals. Finance teams report variance against both: "budget vs actual" and "forecast vs actual."
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Budgets commit. Forecasts evolve.