Latest estimate, budget or forecast: what a group should report
Three plans that people use as one word. What each is for, why a group reports the budget and the latest estimate together, and a worked year for five companies.
Part of: Group budgeting for multi-company groups: the complete guide
In this post 8 sections
In short
A budget is the plan approved before the year and it stays fixed. A latest estimate is the actual months so far plus a fresh estimate for the months left, so it shows how the year is likely to end. A forecast looks beyond the year. A group should report the budget and the latest estimate side by side.
Key takeaways
- Never overwrite the budget. It is the one fixed reference the board has.
- The latest estimate is actuals plus a new estimate. Closed months are not re-forecast.
- Report the gap by company, so the board can see where the year is moving.
- Check the estimate against the run rate. A big jump in the remaining months needs a reason.
This post is part of the series that starts with Group budgeting for multi-company groups: the complete guide. Budgets, forecasts and estimates are management information. No accounting standard fixes the words, so the definitions below are the ones this series uses.
What is the difference between a budget, a forecast and a latest estimate?
| Plan | What it is |
|---|---|
| Budget | Approved before the year. Fixed. Measures performance against the plan. |
| Latest estimate | Actual months to date plus a new estimate for the months left. Shows how the full year is likely to end. |
| Forecast | A projection that looks beyond the current year, or a rolling one that always covers the next twelve months. |
Some groups call the latest estimate a reforecast, a 9+3 or a 6+6, which means nine months of actuals and three of estimate, or six and six. The name matters less than the rule: closed months are actuals, and only open months are estimated.
Why should a group report both the budget and the latest estimate?
They answer two different questions. The budget asks whether the group did what it said it would. The latest estimate asks where the group is going to land. If the board sees only the budget, it learns in November that the year was lost in March. If it sees only the estimate, nobody can say whether the estimate has been drifting.
The risk of a single moving plan is real. When the budget is revised in July to match the latest estimate, every variance after that looks small. The group has not improved; the target moved. Keep the original and report the estimate beside it.
Free: Group budget and latest estimate template
This free Excel template builds a group budget from up to eight companies, each budgeting in its own currency. It translates every budget into the group currency at a budget rate, takes the closed months as actuals, and shows the latest estimate for the year with the variance to budget. An example group is filled in.
- Up to eight companies and twelve months, budgeted in each company's own currency.
- One budget rate for each currency, with the group budget worked out by formula and rounded to whole units.
What does a latest estimate look like for a group?
Take 2026 revenue for the five companies of the example group, in pounds at the group’s budget rates so that currency does not blur the gap. After the September close, the group has nine months of actuals. Each company has estimated October to December.
| Company | Budget | Actual Jan to Sep | Estimate Oct to Dec | Latest estimate | Gap to budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenvara | 8,200,000 | 6,150,000 | 2,150,000 | 8,300,000 | 100,000 |
| Fernhollow | 4,400,000 | 3,100,000 | 1,050,000 | 4,150,000 | (250,000) |
| Palmridge | 9,300,000 | 7,200,000 | 2,450,000 | 9,650,000 | 350,000 |
| Kestrelwick | 3,100,000 | 2,420,000 | 880,000 | 3,300,000 | 200,000 |
| Quillfern | 4,800,000 | 3,640,000 | 1,180,000 | 4,820,000 | 20,000 |
| Group | 29,800,000 | 22,510,000 | 7,710,000 | 30,220,000 | 420,000 |
Example group used across Finconsol guides. Figures are an illustration; the five companies’ figures are not taken from any real group. Gap is the latest estimate less the budget.
The group now expects to finish GBP 420,000, or 1.4%, ahead of its revenue budget. Behind that sits a different story by company. Palmridge is GBP 350,000 ahead and Fernhollow GBP 250,000 behind, and the two are not related. The board should hear both names.
How do you build the estimate for the months that remain?
- Close the actuals. Closed months are fixed, in the group accounts, after eliminations.
- Ask each company for the open months only, in its own currency and on the group layout.
- Translate at the budget rates. Keep the actual rates for actuals, as in the other posts in this series.
- Check the run rate. Compare the estimate’s monthly average with the year to date.
- Publish it as a new version, dated, and leave the budget unchanged.
The run-rate check catches most mistakes. Palmridge has averaged GBP 800,000 a month and estimates GBP 816,667 for the next three, 2.1% higher, which is plausible. Kestrelwick has averaged GBP 268,889 and estimates GBP 293,333, 9.1% higher. That may be a contract starting in October, or hope. Ask which.
How often should the latest estimate be refreshed?
Quarterly is the usual rhythm and it fits board meetings. Move to monthly when the business is volatile, when a bank covenant depends on the year-end figure, or when a large contract is about to start or end. The effort falls over time because the open months shrink as the year goes on.
What does Zoho Books say about forecasts and estimates?
Checked against Zoho’s help centre on 29 Oct 2026. Zoho’s budgets help page describes budgets for a fiscal year, with monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly periods1. It says budgets help you forecast how your business is going to perform, and that they can be edited at any time. The page does not mention a latest estimate, a revision or more than one budget for the same year, and it does not describe a view across organizations.
Because the budget can be edited, a group using it must decide how to keep the original: for example, by exporting the approved budget to a spreadsheet and storing it before anyone edits. Zoho ERP is a different product with its own budget pages and is not covered here.
How does Finconsol handle this?
A year in Finconsol can hold several versions: for example Budget 2026 v1, Budget 2026 v2 and a latest estimate for September. One is active for the board, and the board summary and packs use it. A version can start from an existing plan with a growth percentage and then be adjusted, or be uploaded as a CSV, wide with months across or long with one row for each line and month.
Every line shows actual, budget or latest estimate, variance and variance %, marked ahead or behind, for the month and the year to date. Actuals come from the same group accounts the board reads: Zoho Books directly (read only, nightly), Xero and QuickBooks by trial balanceTrial balanceA list of every account balance at a date, with total debits equal to total credits. It is the starting point for consolidating a company's figures.Open the glossary entry upload today with direct connections coming soon, or any system by trial balance.
| Company | Budget 2026 | Latest estimate | Gap | Against plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zenvara | 8,200,000 | 8,300,000 | 100,000 | 1.2% ahead |
| Fernhollow | 4,400,000 | 4,150,000 | (250,000) | 5.7% behind |
| Palmridge | 9,300,000 | 9,650,000 | 350,000 | 3.8% ahead |
| Kestrelwick | 3,100,000 | 3,300,000 | 200,000 | 6.5% ahead |
| Quillfern | 4,800,000 | 4,820,000 | 20,000 | 0.4% ahead |
| Group | 29,800,000 | 30,220,000 | 420,000 | 1.4% ahead |
The group budget template has the budget by company and month, with the actual months locked in and the gap to the latest estimate shown for the whole group.
Questions
What is the difference between a forecast and a latest estimate?
A latest estimate is the actual months so far plus a new estimate for the months that remain, so it always ends at the year-end. A forecast looks beyond that, or rolls forward so it always covers the next twelve months.
Should the budget be changed when the latest estimate moves?
No. Keep the approved budget as it was and report the latest estimate beside it. Changing the budget removes the fixed reference that the board uses to judge the year.
Does Zoho Books support a latest estimate?
Zoho’s budgets help page, checked 29 Oct 2026, does not mention a latest estimate or more than one budget for a year. It says budgets can be edited at any time, so keep a copy of the approved version.
How many months of actuals should a latest estimate contain?
All the months that have closed. A 9+3 estimate has nine closed months and three estimated, a 6+6 has six and six. Closed months are never re-forecast.
Sources
- Zoho Books, Budgets. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
Prabhu, A. (2026, 23 November). Latest estimate, budget or forecast: what a group should report. The Finconsol Blog. https://finconsol.com/blog/latest-estimate-vs-budget-vs-forecast/
Amit Prabhu leads Finconsol at Aaxonix Tech, a Zoho and NetSuite implementation partner based in Pune, India. He works with multi-company groups and the accountants who serve them on closing many sets of books into one set of group numbers.