Budget Insights Checklist

Marketing Budget Planning Checklist. Comprehensive checklist for analyzing your marketing budget plan. What data to visualize, and why.

Before you submit your budget for approval, you need to analyze the numbers on your own. Go through the list below, and if you find any concerns, update the budget plan. These are the questions that might arise from your CEO, CFO, CRO or the Finance Team in general.

Copy-paste these charts into the budget pitch deck. Give proactively the answers to your stakeholders, before they will ask about them.

Must-have marketing budget charts

Chart nameWhy it's important
Total Budget vs Conversions YoYBudget growth must correlate with conversion growth to justify increased spending
Total Budget QoQ and H1 vs H2Shows if budget fluctuations align with business seasonality and planned activities
Budget for New vs Existing InitiativesReveals risk level - too many new initiatives may decrease confidence in hitting targets
Total Budget Breakdown by CategoryHighlights growth in key categories. Be ready to defend if headcount (fixed cost) shows highest growth
Total Budget Breakdown by GoalFor fast-growing companies, acquisition should be the dominant spending category
Marketing Budget as % of RevenueShould stay between 5-20% of revenue and decrease in time. If not, justify why your plan isn't scalable