# The Types of Budgets Used By OpenUp

## Our Common Budgets

### **1. Core Operating Budget**

* covers a company’s known expenses and predicted future costs for a specific period of time (typically a quarter or a year).
* Historical costs and expenses are used as a basis to project the budget forward. 

Most costs that fall under **core operating overhead** are **fixed**. 

**Variable costs** figures are arrived at by getting the **average of the past six months of expenditure.** 

$$VC=TC(M1)+TC(M2)+TC(M3)+TC(M4)+TC(M5)+TC(M6)/6$$ <br>

* Note: Traditional core operating budgets include **predictions of what a business stands to earn** (revenue, income, profit margins, income after tax. etc.) in a series of worst-to-best case scenarios.&#x20;
* As a non-profit organization, **it’s important to segregate and denote estimated streams of income flow**, from **temporary, transient sources of funding.**

### **2. Revenue Project Budgets**

* apply to any invoiced project.&#x20;
* A template can be viewed [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mnkaWTnviVv-5ZrqplAD2w75Ou3xbOk0MwPb6C3UBFs/edit#gid=0).

As a non-profit organization, it’s important to make the distinction between revenue projects, and non-revenue projects.&#x20;

This budget is split into different costs:

* **STAFF COSTS**.&#x20;
* * **Internal staff**; salaried, OpenUp team members.&#x20;
  * Get costed in at a **fixed internal day rate, per person.**&#x20;
  * * That’s a blanket rate of R4000 (four thousand rand) per day, per person.
* **EXTERNAL RESOURCES**.&#x20;
* * Independent contractors outside of the company who bill for their services.&#x20;
* **HARD COSTS**.&#x20;
* tangible, easily quantifiable assets needed to complete the project.
* Where project managers can budget for what they expect to spend on software, printing, various travel costs, etc.&#x20;

This is for **revenue-generating projects**. The onus is on the project managers to put together the budget.&#x20;

### **3. Overall Budget for Internal Projects**

* Internal projects don’t get invoiced; they get funded.&#x20;
* **Grants** are split among internal projects.&#x20;

What is the difference between an internal project and an external project?  See[ here](/handbook/projects/pre-project/defining-project-parameters-and-limitations.md#internal-vs-external-projects-whats-the-difference).<br>


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