I will say that one of the best budgetary lessons I ever received was from Mike Alden who was the Athletic Director when I was the strength coach for over a decade. We were building a new weight room and there was not a budget for new equipment. During a discussion with my AD I expressed my disappointment at this, and Mike simply told me to be creative and that’s what we did. I can’t go into all the details in this post, but if you want to know just reach out!

If I had to summarize what I think are 10 of the most important aspects to budgeting, it would be:

1. Develop a strategic plan with several options.
2. Set up a meeting with your supervisor and get their input.
3. Make sure your head coach(es) is/are in the loop.
4. Set up regulars meeting with your business office representative.
5. If you are going to make any purchases out of the ordinary, give the right people a heads up.
6. If it looks like you are going to go over budget, give the business office a warning as soon as possible. They make be able to borrow money from the next year’s budget.
7. If you are going to be under budget, don’t assume the business off will give you credit or roll it into the next fiscal year budget.
8. Make sure you keep good records of all conversations and follow up with email.
9. Be nice to the Business office personnel.
10. Develop good relationships with the business office people outside of work if possible.

I am by no means an expert in budgeting, but there will be people you work with who are. Empower them to help you and advise you on how to better operate in the future. Any form of gratitude will carry you a long way than having an adversarial relationship with people you work with everyday.