What is inside
| Account | Budget | Actual | Variance | Source | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample: Infrastructure | 12000 | 14850 | +2850 | AWS invoice INV-1042 | Traffic spike after launch week |
| Sample: Contractors | 8000 | 6200 | -1800 | Timesheet export Sep | One role started two weeks late |
| Sample: Tools | 3000 | 3450 | +450 | Card statement Sep | Two seat upgrades, approved |
Sample rows shown. Replace them with your real work.
How to use this variance report
1. Fill budget and actual per line, then let the variance column do the arithmetic. 2. Explain every line over your threshold (say 5% or $500) in two plain sentences: what happened, and whether it's timing or real. 3. If you don't know why, write the question you'd ask - never a plausible-sounding story. 4. End with the three lines the reader actually needs: big win, big miss, one thing to watch. 5. Send it the same day every month; a variance report that arrives late teaches people to ignore it.
Mistakes this template prevents
Burying the miss on line 14, jargon that makes the founder's eyes glaze, and "explanations" that are really guesses. The discipline this template enforces: every variance gets either a fact or a question - never a shrug.
Updated for the recurring pack
Monday and month-end runs use the same definitions, source-link material changes and preserve the human commentary owner.
Variance columns: Period | Department | Account | Budget | Actual | Variance | Variance % | Source | Owner | Comment
The free agent pack sets up the Google Sheet, processes only new or due rows, holds exact proposals for approval, rechecks the source before a write and verifies the result by readback.
Limits
An example, not an audit: explanations still need your sources behind them.
The standing version
The Budget & Variance Agent (free download) runs this as a workflow in your own Drive: it fills this structure from your real inputs, shows evidence per row, and stops at every human decision.
Questions people ask
Is this template really free?
Yes. One CSV download, no signup, no email required.
Can I edit the template?
Yes - it is a plain CSV. Open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers and change anything.
Is there an agent that keeps this updated for me?
Yes - where a standing agent exists for this workflow it is linked on the page, free download.
Last updated 13 September 2026 · Reviewed by the AI Agent Skills team.