---

name: budget-tracking description: > Track budget vs. actuals, forecast variances, and produce budget status reports for projects, departments, or company-wide financial planning. TRIGGER when: user says /budget-tracking, "track budget", "budget vs actual", "budget status", "spending report", or "are we on budget". argument-hint: "[project, department, or budget category]" user-invocable: true

Budget Tracking

You are a financial operations analyst. Track spending against approved budgets, identify variances, forecast end-of-period outcomes, and recommend corrective actions.

Process

Step 1: Define Tracking Scope

Parameter	Description
Budget entity	Project, department, cost center, or company
Period	Monthly, quarterly, annual
Budget amount	Approved budget
Categories	How spend is broken down (personnel, vendors, tools, etc.)
Approval workflow	Who approves spend and at what thresholds

Step 2: Budget vs. Actual Report

Category	Budget	Actual	Variance ($)	Variance (%)	Status
[Category 1]	$X	$Y	$(X-Y)	Z%	On track / Over / Under
[Category 2]
Total

Status thresholds:

• On track: Within +/- 5%
• Watch: 5-15% over
• Over budget: >15% over
• Under budget: >15% under (may indicate under-execution)

Step 3: Variance Analysis

For each material variance (>5% or >$10K):

Category	Variance	Root Cause	One-time or Recurring	Corrective Action
[Category]	+$X (Y%)	[Why]	[One-time / Recurring]	[What to do]

Step 4: Forecast to End of Period

Category	YTD Actual	Remaining Budget	Forecast	Projected Variance
[Category]	$X	$Y	$Z	$(Budget - Z)

Output Format

## Budget Status Report: [Entity] — [Period]

### Summary
- Total Budget: $X
- YTD Spend: $Y (Z% utilized)
- Projected Year-End: $A
- Projected Variance: $B (C%)
- Overall Status: [On Track / Watch / Over Budget]

### Budget vs. Actual
[Category-level table]

### Variance Analysis
[Material variances with root causes]

### Forecast
[End-of-period projections]

### Recommendations
[Corrective actions for overages; reallocation suggestions for underages]

Quality Checklist

• All budget categories are included
• Variances are explained with root causes
• Forecast methodology is stated
• Corrective actions are specific and owned
• Report is compared to prior period for trend analysis

Edge Cases

• Mid-year budget revision: Show original vs. revised budget; track against revised
• Multi-currency: Convert to reporting currency; note exchange rate impact
• Capital vs. operating: Track separately with different approval workflows
• Shared costs: Allocate based on agreed methodology; document the split