Irregular Income Budget Planner, Variable Paycheck Spreadsheet with Savings Buffer for Freelancers

Irregular Income Budget Planner: a monthly budget for money that does not arrive on the same day or in the same amount every month.

Freelance, gig, commission or seasonal income makes a normal budget hard. This spreadsheet lets you set a baseline income you aim for, keep a savings buffer for lean months, put a share of every payment aside, and compare your plan with what you actually spent.

What you get
- 1 workbook (.xlsx), 7 tabs: Instructions, Settings, Plan, Income, Expenses, Monthly, Dashboard
- Settings: baseline monthly income, set-aside % (your own assumption), buffer target in months, starting buffer, 12 editable budget categories (fixed or flexible)
- Plan: planned spending per category for each month
- Income: log every payment (400 rows). Expenses: log every spending (1,000 rows) with a category list
- Monthly: income, income minus baseline, set-aside, income after set-aside, planned vs actual spending, buffer at start and end of month, months of cover, buffer target, set-aside balance
- Dashboard: last month and year to date, lean months counted, lowest and highest month, plan vs actual per category (Over plan / On plan), chart of income, baseline and spending
- Example data included (made up), delete it before real use
- 1-page Quick Start PDF (English)

How it works
Set-aside = your percentage x income received. Buffer at month end = buffer at start + income after set-aside - actual spending. A lean month is a month with income below your baseline. Months after the last month with data stay blank, so you can fill the year as you go.

Please note
- Not modelled in v1: taxes and VAT of any kind (set-aside is only your own percentage), debts with interest, multiple currencies, bank import, joint budgets, income forecasts.
- Built for Excel (.xlsx). Works in Excel and Google Sheets. No macros.
- Planning aid only. This is not financial, tax, accounting or legal advice. Check your figures and your local rules.
- Microsoft Excel is a trademark of its owner. Size Run Studio is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
- Digital download. Nothing is shipped. No refunds on digital files, but message the shop on Etsy if something does not work and we will help.
- Licence: for your own use. Do not resell, share or redistribute the files.