05.02 How to Write an Artist Budget

Write a project budget in Excel

1. Create a new Excel workbook and name it “Project Budget.”
2. On the first worksheet, create a table with the following columns:
   • Category: This column will list the major categories of expenses for your project, such as labor, materials, equipment, and travel.
   • Item: This column will list the specific items within each category. For example, under the “Labor” category, you might have items such as “Artist Salary” and “Studio Assistant Salary.”
   • Quantity: This column will list the quantity of each item that you need.
   • Unit Cost: This column will list the cost per unit of each item.
   • Total Cost: This column will calculate the total cost of each item by multiplying the quantity by the unit cost.
3. To calculate the total budget for your project, sum the values in the “Total Cost” column.
4. Add a contingency fund to your budget. A contingency fund is a reserve of money that can be used to cover unexpected costs. A good rule of thumb is to set aside 10-20% of your total budget for contingencies.
5. Format your budget worksheet. Use bolding, italics, and borders to make your budget easy to read and understand. You may also want to add charts or graphs to visualize your data.
6. Save your budget worksheet and share it with your project team or client.

Tips for writing a project budget in Excel:

• Use formulas to calculate the total cost for each item and the total budget for the project. This will make it easier to update your budget as needed.
• Use conditional formatting to highlight important information, such as items that are over budget.
• Create a separate worksheet for each phase of your project. This will help you to track your spending over time.
• Review your budget regularly and make updates as needed.

Once you have created your project budget in Excel, you can use it to track your spending and make sure that you are on track to complete your project on time and within budget.