One of the AGM agenda points involves presenting the annual budget for the next financial year and securing its approval from the General Body. Below are some insights worth considering. It is assumed that AGM is scheduled in September 2025.
Start by getting the approved copy of the annual budget for FY 2024-25. Then prepare an Excel sheet with these columns:
- Expense Head
- Column A: FY 2024–25 Budget
- Column B: FY 2024–25 Actual
- Column C: FY 2025–26 Budget
- Column D: Comments
You will get FY 2024–25 Actual data from Income & Expenditure Sheet.
Guidelines for entering data in Column ‘C’
- The budget is first prepared by the Managing Committee and then presented at the AGM. Committee members should be given the opportunity to express their opinions during internal discussions. After it’s shared with the General Body, all members of the committee are expected to stand by it at the AGM.
- The budget sets the spending cap for the Managing Committee. Add a contingency buffer to each expense head to help the committee manage unforeseen costs efficiently.
- Prepare distinct budgets for operational expenses (routine) and capital expenses (one-time). The following steps apply to operational expenditure. For capital items like buying a laptop for the society, collect vendor quotations and record the quoted price in Column ‘C’.
- When Column ‘A’ and ‘B’ values are nearly the same, increase Column ‘C’ by 10% over Column ‘B’ to factor in inflation. Avoid relying solely on government inflation data, as actual market inflation tends to differ. For monthly payments like sweeper wages or security agency fees, apply the full 10% increase.
- If Column ‘B’ is either higher or lower than Column ‘A’, discuss the discrepancy with the Secretary and Treasurer.
- If it’s a one-time variation, ignore it and add 10% to Column ‘A’ for Column ‘C’.
- If it’s a recurring expense, add 10% to Column ‘B’ and use that value in Column ‘C’.
- The General Body may propose changes to specific budget entries during the AGM. Please avoid disputing their input. If needed, ask the Chairman to conduct a vote on the concerned line items.
The following is an example of the annual budget for a 15-member society for FY 2025–26.
| Sr. | Expense Head | FY 2024-25 budget ₹ | FY 2024-25 Actual ₹ | FY 2025-26 budget ₹ | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Security | 4,00,000 | 4,00,000 | 4,40,000 | |
| 2 | Sweeper's Salary | 60,000 | 60,000 | 66,000 | |
| 3 | Power Cleaning | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | |
| 4 | Society Manager and Accountant | 65,000 | 60,000 | 66,000 | |
| 5 | Auditor | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,500 | |
| 6 | Electricity bills | 1,80,000 | 1,43,807 | 1,58,188 | |
| 7 | Water Bills | 35,000 | 34,026 | 37,429 | |
| 8 | Property Tax | 3,000 | 4,060 | 4,466 | |
| 9 | Parking Lift (Puzzle Parking) | 1,90,000 | 1,97,388 | 2,17,127 | |
| 10 | Passenger Lift | 1,10,000 | 1,09,542 | 1,20,496 | |
| 11 | Pest Control | 10,000 | 10,000 | 11,000 | |
| 12 | Fire Audit | 20,000 | 20,296 | 22,326 | |
| 13 | Building Insurance | 40,000 | 0 | 40,000 | |
| 14 | Electrician | 20,000 | 10,000 | 11,000 | |
| 15 | Plumber | 15,000 | 10,000 | 11,000 | |
| 16 | Tree Pruning | 18,000 | 15,000 | 16,500 | |
| 17 | Water Tank cleaning | 20,000 | 20,000 | 22,000 | |
| 18 | Bore Well Cleaning | 20,000 | 20,000 | 22,000 | |
| 19 | Stationary, photocopies etc | 6,000 | 4,000 | 4,400 | |
| 20 | Miscellaneous Expenses | 6,000 | 8,000 | 8,800 | |
| 21 | Banking charges | 2,000 | 1,568 | 1,725 | |
| Total | 15,58,000 | 10,15,090 | 13,69,500 |