# Write budget instructions and a planning calendar for department heads

A clear budget kickoff memo with templates, assumptions, deadlines, and rules so submissions come back usable.

- Topic: Email & Workplace Communication
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Finance, Write, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/write-budget-instructions-and-a-planning-calendar-for-department-heads

## Prompt

```text
Write the budget kickoff instructions I send to department heads.

**Budget year and type:** [e.g. "FY2027 annual operating plan"]
**Top-down targets or guardrails:** [e.g. "opex flat to last year", "revenue growth 15%", "no net new headcount without business case"]
**Central assumptions finance will set:** [salary increases, payroll loading, FX rates, inflation, allocations]
**What each department must submit:** [headcount plan, non-payroll spend, capex, initiatives]
**Template and system:** [WHERE they enter numbers]
**Key dates:** [kickoff, first submission, review meetings, final approval]
**Pain points from last year:** [e.g. late submissions, padded budgets, missing rationale]

Write:
1. A kickoff memo (under 400 words): why it matters, the targets, what is expected, and the deadline in bold.
2. A planning calendar table: Date | Milestone | Owner | Output.
3. Submission rules: what counts as a new initiative, how to justify increases, how to treat one-offs, rounding, and what finance will reject.
4. An FAQ with the 8 questions department heads usually ask.
5. A short reminder email for one week before the first deadline.

Tone: clear and helpful, not bureaucratic. Do not invent targets or dates; use [ADD] placeholders where I have not specified them.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "FY2027 annual operating plan"
- headcount plan, non-payroll spend, capex, initiatives
- WHERE they enter numbers
- kickoff, first submission, review meetings, final approval
- e.g. late submissions, padded budgets, missing rationale
- ADD

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