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Zero Based Budgeting Software

Build, analyze and optimize your budget in record time

Automatically consolidate data in real-time to quickly identify unproductive activities and reallocate those resources to high-priority initiatives that will move your business forward.
Fueling finance teams globally
4.9
5
Rating by G2 users

Outcomes

Shrink budgeting cycles

Automatic data aggregation eliminates the need for multiple spreadsheets that make budgeting tedious, time-consuming and error-prone.

Drive faster alignment

A single source of truth and collaboration features makes it easier for teams to access and share the information they need to understand and align on the final budget.

Improve accuracy

Continuously evaluate performance in real time to create rolling budgets and forecasts to identify risks and opportunities and strategically reallocate resources for maximum impact.

Easily create a rolling, zero-based budget for faster, data-driven decisions

Connect all your data sources for accurate, up-to-date information, reducing the risk of budgeting errors and inconsistencies to create a zero-based budget.
Track actuals against your budgets and forecasts in one place across any dimension such as countries, segments, business units, or any other split without duplicating work.
Pull in your actuals for each period as soon as it ends to make your zero-based budget a rolling budget for a continually improving, up-to-date forecast and data-driven insights.
Start with one of our best-of-breed budget templates to get a jump on the budgeting process. They’re designed for SaaS – use them as-is or customize them for the unique needs of your business.

Speed up variance analysis to drive more accurate forecasting & optimize costs

The ability to monitor variances and quickly drill down into transaction-level data makes budget variance analysis and variance reporting in real time, anytime, fast and easy.
Identify risks and opportunities with built-in tools for root cause analysis (RCA), revealing actionable insights hiding in your variances so you can quickly take corrective actions more quickly.
Explore your variances and budget at a deeper level with a what-if analysis to identify new ways to optimize your costs and boost revenue.
With built-in version control, you can create multiple versions of your plan and analyze variances to improve budget and forecast accuracy.
"With Drivetrain, we are now able to seamlessly aggregate data from multiple stakeholders into one unified planning process and collaborate within the same view. We don’t deal with offline spreadsheets or experience data fidelity challenges anymore."
Aman Bafna
Manager - Office of the CEO, Mindtickle
Ready case study
Want to see Drivetrain in action?
Book a Demo

Achieve alignment on the budget faster and easier

A single source of truth for the entire company streamlines the budgeting process and drive alignment. With every team able to see and work with the same data, assumptions are more easily calibrated and misunderstandings are minimized.
Speed up the budgeting process by getting the answers you need in record time, with comprehensive audit trails, in-app communications, and notifications through email and Slack.
Create powerful, interactive reports and best-in-class dashboards showing the results of your analysis that you can share securely, with rule-based access controls that ensure users can only access the information they need.

Create more accurate and strategic budgets faster in Drivetrain

Connected planning

Align teams around a single source of truth with connected plans, shared metrics, and collaboration tools.

Rolling budgets

Easily implement a rolling budget to ensure your plans, forecasts, and reports are always up to date.

Budget variance analysis

Monitor your budget vs. actuals in real time with automated data consolidation.

Scenario modeling

Answer higher-order questions in minutes with tools for What If analysis and root cause analysis.

Support for multiple regions and currencies

Consolidate data from multiple geographies with different currencies for region- and currency-specific reports.

Budgeting any way you like

Create top-down, bottom-up, zero-based, driver-based, or hybrid budgeting models.

Frequently asked questions

What is zero-based budgeting?

Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which each new budget is built from the ground up. While previous budgets and historical data help to inform the budgeting process, each line item starts at zero and every expense added must be justified based on its value and contribution to your financial objectives. A zero-based budget enables CFOs and finance teams to identify and eliminate unnecessary costs, better control spending, and focus on high-profit initiatives.

What are the core capabilities to look for in a zero-based budgeting software?

While you could look for a software with features specific to zero-based budgeting, the best budgeting software should support a variety of business budgeting methods, including those that focus on optimizing costs. 

Look for features designed to help businesses create, track, and report on their budgets in order to make informed business decisions, improve financial transparency, and achieve their strategic goals, including:  

  • Forecasting capabilities to better predict future revenues, expenses, and cash flows
  • The ability to compare actuals vs the budget every month for rolling forecasts to better track spending and more effectively control costs    
  • Scenario planning tools and what-if analysis to help you build more accurate forecasts, better mitigate risks, and identify potential opportunities. 
  • Variance analysis capabilities help you keep performance on track and reveal actionable insights you can leverage to improve your business. 

While many of these features can be found in different types of financial management tools, your best bet for getting all the features you need to not only prepare a zero-based budget but also implement it successfully is a comprehensive financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platform. Such solutions typically offer a full range of capabilities designed for budgeting and all the other processes needed to do it effectively.

How can Drivetrain help me with zero-based budgeting?

Drivetrain is a powerful yet easy-to-use FP&A solution with features that facilitate all strategic budgeting methods including zero-based budgeting. Drivetrain also supports all of the other financial processes required to successfully implement your budget. Here are just a few of the capabilities that you’ll find in Drivetrain to make your budgeting easier and more effective:

  • 200+ integrations
  • Financial forecasting
  • Rolling forecasts
  • Variance analysis
  • Scenario planning and what-if analysis
  • Financial reporting
  • Advanced reporting features including interactive dashboards

Ready to start your journey?

Book a Demo

Zero Based Budgeting Software

Build, analyze and optimize your budget in record time

With automatic data consolidation across multiple systems in real time, Drivetrain can help you quickly identify unproductive activities and reallocate those resources to high-priority initiatives that will move your business forward.
Book a Demo

Empowering fast-growing category leaders

Mindtickle
Airmeet
Quartzy
4.9 star rating on G2
Drivetrain's G2 High Performer badge awarded for Summer 2023
Rated  #1
for Ease of Use on G2

Outcomes

Shrink budgeting cycles

Automatic data aggregation eliminates the need for multiple spreadsheets that make budgeting tedious, time-consuming and error-prone.

Drive faster alignment

A single source of truth and collaboration features makes it easier for teams to access and share the information they need to understand and align on the final budget.

Improve accuracy

Continuously evaluate performance in real time to create rolling budgets and forecasts to identify risks and opportunities and strategically reallocate resources for maximum impact.

Easily create a rolling, zero-based budget for faster, data-driven decisions

  • Connect all your data sources for accurate, up-to-date information, reducing the risk of budgeting errors and inconsistencies to create a zero-based budget.
  • Track actuals against your budgets and forecasts in one place across any dimension such as countries, segments, business units, or any other split without duplicating work.
  • Pull in your actuals for each period as soon as it ends to make your zero-based budget a rolling budget for a continually improving, up-to-date forecast and data-driven insights.
  • Start with one of our best-of-breed budget templates to get a jump on the budgeting process. They’re designed for SaaS – use them as-is or customize them for the unique needs of your business.
See all integrations

Speed up variance analysis to drive more accurate forecasting & optimize costs

  • The ability to monitor variances and quickly drill down into transaction-level data makes budget variance analysis and variance reporting in real time, anytime, fast and easy.
  • Identify risks and opportunities with built-in tools for root cause analysis (RCA), revealing actionable insights hiding in your variances so you can quickly take corrective actions more quickly.
  • Explore your variances and budget at a deeper level with a what-if analysis to identify new ways to optimize your costs and boost revenue.
  • With built-in version control, you can create multiple versions of your plan and analyze variances to improve budget and forecast accuracy.
Learn more

With Drivetrain, we are now able to seamlessly aggregate data from multiple stakeholders into one unified planning process and collaborate within the same view. We don’t deal with offline spreadsheets or experience data fidelity challenges anymore.

Aman Bafna

Mindtickle

Read case study

Want to see Drivetrain in action?

Book a Demo
Drivetrain provided our entire company with anywhere, anytime access to our plans, budgets, forecasts and scenarios in a single place.

We were able to adapt our plans faster to market changes with access to up-to-date, drillable data and automated reporting.
John Doe
CFO, ACME Inc.

Achieve alignment on the budget faster and easier

  • A single source of truth for the entire company streamlines the budgeting process and drive alignment. With every team able to see and work with the same data, assumptions are more easily calibrated and misunderstandings are minimized.
  • Speed up the budgeting process by getting the answers you need in record time, with comprehensive audit trails, in-app communications, and notifications through email and Slack.
  • Create powerful, interactive reports and best-in-class dashboards showing the results of your analysis that you can share securely, with rule-based access controls that ensure users can only access the information they need.
Learn more

Uncover actionable insights faster

  • Use the What If scenario analysis tool to examine the potential effects of changes in churn, hiring decisions, vendor selection, or how opening a remote office might affect revenue, costs and runway.
  • Easily build and compare multiple scenarios to create new plans to determine the best, worst, and base-case outcomes.
  • Identify key drivers and anomalies with one-click root cause analysis to optimize revenue, cost, and profitability.
Learn more

Create more accurate and strategic budgets faster in Drivetrain

Connected planning

Align teams around a single source of truth with connected plans, shared metrics, and collaboration tools

Rolling budgets

Easily implement a rolling budget to ensure your plans, forecasts, and reports are always up to date

Budget variance analysis

Monitor your budget vs. actuals in real time with automated data consolidation

Scenario modeling

Answer higher-order questions in minutes with tools for What If analysis and root cause analysis

Support for multiple regions and currencies

Consolidate data from multiple geographies with different currencies for region- and currency-specific reports

Budgeting any way you like

Create top-down, bottom-up, zero-based, driver-based, or hybrid budgeting models