Every year, a team’s coach, captain, or treasurer is responsible for proposing a budget for the upcoming season. A standard budget consists of an approximate estimation and comparison of the team’s proposed expenses and its income for the following year. This guide will walk you through the basic steps of creating a team budget.
Expenses
The first step of creating a budget is estimating the team’s expenses for the upcoming year. If you have access to the budget from the previous year, you will have a great place to start because you can evaluate how much your team spent and use it as the basis for the upcoming season.
You can create your proposal in any word document, but a spreadsheet may be easier to maintain. Create or open a spreadsheet and enter every expense description and cost. When you are done entering in every projected expense, simply total it up at the end to determine next year’s projections.
The chart shown below shows a simplified version of an expense projection:
| Expenses | ||
| Description | Costs | Total |
| Coaches’ salaries | 2 coaches X $3,000 per coach | $6,000 |
| Travel | Gas:(345 miles traveled/17 miles per gallon) X ($4 per gallon) | $83 |
| Hotels:(16 players/4 players per room) X $100 per room per night X 2 nights | $800 | |
| Equipment | 2 boxes of balls X $20 per box | $40 |
| Referees | (2 referees per game X $75 per referee per game) X 5 games | $750 |
| Apparel | 16 uniforms X $100 per uniform | $1,600 |
| Misc. | Banquet, trophies, extra balls, field lining, etc. | $500 |
| Total Expenses | $9,773 |
Make sure to always overestimate your projections. It is better to have more money at the end of the season than less, so always plan to spend more than you think.
Income
Your income should cover all expenses. There are two types of income you can calculate: Hard and soft. Hard income is money you know you are going to have at the onset of the season from team dues, school funding, or other guaranteed sources.
Soft income is money that you might receive. This can include money from fundraising, donations, tournament winnings, etc.
You should rely more heavily on hard income than soft because your soft income is not tangible — it’s simply a projection of possibilities.
The chart shown below is an example of how to calculate your team’s projected income.
| Description | Income | Total | |
| Hard Income | Team Dues | 16 players X $300 per player | $4,800 |
| School Funding | $7,000 | $7,000 | |
| Total Hard Income: | $11,800 | ||
| Soft Income | Fundraising | $500 | $500 |
| Donations | $200 | $200 | |
| Total Soft Income: | $700 | ||
| Total Income (Hard + Soft) | $12,500 | ||
| Income – Expenses | $2,727 |
Submit Your Proposal
Keeping a balanced budget is important for a team’s success. The main thing you want to focus on is the final amount determined by the difference between the team’s income and its expenses. If the difference is positive, it’s a good sign. If the difference is negative, the budget may need to be re-worked. Also, remember that the team’s soft income should be considered more so as a buffer (extra money) than the main source of income. You only want to spend what you know you have.
Balancing the budget is easy if it is kept up to date. That way, you won’t have any unexpected charges come the end of the season!
