/create-budget

Create budget or forecast with documented assumptions and approval workflow.

Usage

/create-budget [type] [options]

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
type	Yes	Budget type: annual, departmental, project, forecast

Options

Option	Description	Example
--period	Budget period	--period "FY2025"
--methodology	Budgeting methodology	--methodology "zero-based"
--department	Specific department	--department "Engineering"
--template	Use template file	--template docs/budget-template.xlsx
--prior	Prior period reference	--prior docs/budget-2024.xlsx

Examples

# Annual operating budget
/create-budget annual --period FY2025

# Departmental budget
/create-budget departmental --department "Sales" --period FY2025

# Zero-based budget
/create-budget annual --methodology zero-based --period FY2025

# Rolling forecast update
/create-budget forecast --period "Q2-Q4 2025"

# Using prior year reference
/create-budget annual --period FY2025 --prior docs/budget-2024.xlsx

Prerequisites

1. Period specification: Clear budget period
2. Prior period data (recommended): Historical actuals or prior budget
3. Strategic initiatives: Key initiatives to incorporate
4. Constraints: Any budget constraints or targets

Budget Types

Type	Description
annual	Full fiscal year operating budget
departmental	Single department budget
project	Project-specific budget
forecast	Rolling or updated forecast
capital	Capital expenditure budget

Methodologies

Method	Description
incremental	Prior year + adjustments
zero-based	Every item justified from zero
driver-based	Tied to activity drivers
top-down	Allocate from corporate total
bottom-up	Aggregate from detail

Output

The command produces a comprehensive budget including:

• Budget Summary with totals
• Assumptions documented with rationale
• Line Item Detail with owners
• Variance Analysis to prior period/target
• Approval Status tracking
• Version History

Related Commands

Command	Description
/analyze-financials	Financial analysis
/build-model	Build financial model

---

MANDATORY: Load Full Skill

This command MUST load the skill for complete workflow execution.

Use Skill tool: budget-creation

The skill contains the complete 6-phase workflow with:

• Planning requirements
• Assumption development process
• Line item build structure
• Consolidation checks
• Approval workflow
• Documentation standards

Execution Context

Pass the following context to the skill:

Parameter	Value
type	$1 (first argument: annual, departmental, project, forecast)
--period	If provided, budget period
--methodology	If provided, budgeting methodology
--department	If provided, specific department
--template	If provided, template file path
--prior	If provided, prior period reference

Step 1: ASK BUDGET PARAMETERS (MANDATORY)

After loading skill and before building budget, you MUST ask:

AskUserQuestion:
  questions:
    - question: "What is the budget methodology?"
      header: "Methodology"
      options:
        - label: "Incremental"
          description: "Prior year + adjustments"
        - label: "Zero-Based"
          description: "Every item justified from zero"
        - label: "Driver-Based"
          description: "Tied to activity drivers"
        - label: "Top-Down"
          description: "Allocate from corporate total"
        - label: "Bottom-Up"
          description: "Aggregate from detail"
    - question: "What are the key constraints or targets?"
      header: "Constraints"
      freeform: true

Do NOT skip this. Budget type alone does not define methodology.

Quick Reference

See skill budget-creation for full details. Key rules:

• All assumptions documented - With rationale and owner
• All line items have owners - Accountability required
• All approvals documented - Written approval
• Version control maintained - Complete change history
• Variance explained - All material variances