Future profits are a result of the decisions you make today. The tool used in this decision process is a business budget. Based on your business’ proposed growth curve, your profit plan strategy can be expressed in terms of this budget. Keep in mind, a budget is simply a restatement of your operating plan showing the financial impact of the managerial decisions you make. Here are some different types of budgets you may not be familiar with.

If long-term planning is generally strategic, setting goals for sales growth and profitability over a minimum of three to five years, then budgeting can also be defined as short-term planning.

Businesses often use special types of budgets to assess specific areas of operation. A cash flow budget, for instance, projects your business's cash inflows and outflows over a certain period of time. Its main use is to predict your business's ability to take in more cash than it pays out.