Free tool

Xero budget template: fill it in and import it

Xero imports budgets from its own template file. This tool fills that file for you: enter an annual amount per account, choose how the year is spread, and download a CSV ready for Budget Manager. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.

1. Get the template from Xero

In Xero, go to Reporting > All reports > Budget Manager. Open the budget, click Import, then Download template and pick CSV. The file lists your profit and loss accounts, named exactly as Xero expects.

2. Load it here

How Xero's budget import works

Budgets in Xero live in Budget Manager. There's one Overall Budget, and you can add more budgets, with or without a tracking category. You can type figures straight into Budget Manager's grid, but for more than a handful of accounts the import is quicker.

The template Xero gives you has an *Account column with each account's name and code, such as "Sales (200)", followed by one column per month, such as "Jan-2026", for the period you picked. A few things to know:

  • Keep the account column as it is. Don't rename accounts or add rows. If you've added or renamed accounts in Xero since, download a fresh template.
  • Empty cells are skipped. If you leave a cell empty, Xero doesn't change that value. To set a month to zero, enter 0.
  • Importing overwrites. Values for the accounts and months in the file replace what's in Budget Manager.
  • CSV, Excel or ODS. Xero accepts all three for the import; this tool reads and writes CSV.

Prefer a spreadsheet?

The Excel budget planner does the same sums in a workbook: set the first month, a seasonality row and an annual amount per account, and it works out the monthly figures to copy into Xero's template. Free, no email needed.

Then compare the budget with what actually happened

Once the budget is in Xero, the Budget Variance report shows actuals against it. If you'd like that comparison in your inbox every month without logging in, Reportpost can email a budget vs actual report for last month, the quarter or the year to date, as PDF or Excel.