When to Start Planning a Budget

Budget planning begins in the Project Initiation phase. Whether a project is internal or external, budget planning should start as soon as possible.

*Note: to understand OpenUp's definition of an external project vs. an internal project, click here.

External projects

• begin planning for the budget during the project initiation phase.

• budget plans are a standard component of the project proposal process presented to a client.

• • To learn more about the components of a project proposal, click here.

Internal projects either align to project-specific grants, or core grants

• project-specific grants are intended for project-specific ideas.

• core grants are guided by a “vision for the organization”

• • aligned to the KPIs and measurables against what needs to be reported.

  • followed by an estimation of costs; namely the operational cost, and the cost of implementing that vision among the other internal projects.