What You Will Learn

• What a budget is and what its key components are
• How the whole budgeting process works
• What the difference is between capital and expense items
• Whether leasing or buying is better
• Key budgeting factors to consider

Introduction

As a manager, one of the things you have to manage is the money your department spends. And since IT departments often have one of the largest budgets in the organization, many eyes will be on your budget. This chapter will help you minimize, and deal with, raised eyebrows over those eyes.

6.1 Budgeting: What Are the Key Items in a Budget?

Every company keeps track of items a bit differently and may use different names, categories, and groupings. The best way to get started with a budget is to review the previous years' budgets for your department. Budgets are historical records and are (in most cases) carefully tracked documents somebody in your company is always watching the money.