Budget Planning Calendar

A budget planning calendar is a schedule of activities that must be completed to create and develop a budget. Budget planning calendars are necessary for the creation of complex budgets used by large organizations. These organizations must usually harvest a great deal of data from several departments, thus requiring a calendar to coordinate when the final numbers from each department are submitted.

Budget planning calendars can cover a period of several months in some cases. They usually include the specific dates when departments must submit their data to the accounting department. These calendars can also take several months to prepare in and of themselves. Budget planning calendars are utilized by private companies as well as universities and local, state and federal governments.

As an example, Blair County officials in Pennsylvania agreed to a budget planning schedule in March that they expect to follow later this year when considering the 2019 budget. In addition, the commissioners planned to have a preliminary operating budget ready for presentation on or before Oct. 15, along with a report on the county’s financial standing and a list of goals for the next year.

Many municipalities, such as the city of Olathe, Kansas, and many universities post budget planning calendars on their websites to notify the public. Olathe has a six-month process from the time the budget planning begins to the final adoption of the city's budget.