Free labour budget worksheet
Start from what you expect to sell each day and the share of sales you aim to spend on wages. The sheet works out each day’s wage budget, the cost of the hours you have rostered, and how far over or under the budget each day is.
| Day | Forecast sales | Wage target % | Wage budget | Rostered hours | Average hourly cost | Rostered cost | Over or under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 2400 | 30 | 720.00 | 24 | 32.50 | 780.00 | 60.00 |
| Tue | 2600 | 30 | 780.00 | 23 | 32.50 | 747.50 | -32.50 |
| Wed | 2800 | 30 | 840.00 | 26 | 32.50 | 845.00 | 5.00 |
| Thu | 3200 | 30 | 960.00 | 29 | 32.50 | 942.50 | -17.50 |
| Fri | 4600 | 28 | 1288.00 | 38 | 33.00 | 1254.00 | -34.00 |
| Sat | 6200 | 28 | 1736.00 | 50 | 36.00 | 1800.00 | 64.00 |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with 7 rows under day, forecast sales, wage target % and the rest.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Kingfisher Bakery.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Enter each day’s forecast sales, from the same day in recent weeks and the bookings you already have.
- Set the wage target as a percentage of sales. It is your own figure, from your own past weeks, not a benchmark.
- Enter the hours rostered and the average hourly cost of the people on, including penalties, loadings and on-costs, from your own payroll.
- Look at the last column before you publish: a day well over budget is a day to reshape.
Common mistakes
- Using the base hourly rate for a Saturday or Sunday, which leaves out penalty rates
- Setting the target from a figure read somewhere instead of your own sales and wages
- Budgeting the week in total and missing the one day that is well over
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Roster Flow shows the estimated cost as you build the roster, publishes it to everybody at once, and collects the hours actually worked.
Questions
What is on the labour budget worksheet?
8 columns: day, forecast sales, wage target %, wage budget, and 4 more. The blank sheet gives you 7 rows, and the example is the same grid filled in for Kingfisher Bakery: each day’s wage budget from forecast sales, against the rostered cost.
Does the labour budget worksheet add anything up for you?
Yes: 3 columns worked out from the others in the same row, and a total under forecast sales and wage budget and rostered hours and rostered cost and over or under. They are live formulas in the Excel file, so they follow whatever you type into the 8 columns.
Can I use the labour budget worksheet in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open labour-budget-worksheet.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with labour-budget-worksheet.csv. The grid and its example come across either way.
Do I need an account to download the labour budget worksheet?
No. labour-budget-worksheet.xlsx, labour-budget-worksheet.csv and labour-budget-worksheet.pdf are plain links. There is no sign up, no email address asked for, and nothing to install.