What should a fleet budget include?
A fleet operating budget covers every cost of keeping vehicles on the road: fuel, maintenance and repairs, tires, insurance, registration and fees, lease or finance payments, depreciation, driver wages, tracking and software, tolls and parking, and other costs. Planning them by month, not just by year, matters because many arrive unevenly: insurance renewals, registration and tire replacements fall in particular months.
This fleet budget template in Excel plans those eleven cost types month by month, compares them with actual spend, and forecasts the full year. It adds a total cost of ownership sheet and a tire lifecycle log, because both feed the next year's budget.
How to use the fleet budget template in Excel
- Plan each cost type by month on the Budget sheet. Rename the lines to match your accounts.
- Enter actual spend each month from invoices, fuel cards and payroll on the Actual sheet.
- Update "Months completed" on Settings so the comparison covers only finished months.
- Read the Variance sheet. Lines more than 5% over or under budget are marked.
- Keep the Vehicle TCO and Tyre log up to date and use them when you plan replacements and next year's budget.
How to calculate budget variance and the full-year forecast
In the example, fuel was budgeted at 81,000 for nine months and 86,940 was spent: 5,940 or 7.3% over. At the same rate the year ends at 115,920 against a budget of 108,000. The forecast assumes the rest of the year looks like the average so far, so allow for known one-off costs when you read it.
How to calculate vehicle total cost of ownership and cost per km
TRK-07 in the example cost 120,000, will sell for about 30,000 after seven years, and runs 110,000 km a year. Its depreciation is about 12,857 a year, its annual TCO about 69,957 and its cost per km about 0.64. For a deeper look at when to replace a vehicle, use the vehicle replacement calculator.
How to calculate tire cost per 1,000 km
Tires are one of the larger running costs and easy to compare once each one is logged. When a tire is removed, the log works out km run and cost per 1,000 km, so you can compare brands, positions and retreads.
A drive tire that cost 420 and ran 80,000 km works out at 5.25 per 1,000 km.
Monthly fleet budget review
Bring the Variance sheet to a short monthly meeting. For each line marked over or under budget, agree the reason: price, volume, timing or a one-off. Timing differences correct themselves; price and volume differences need an action, such as a fuel efficiency program or a review of repeat repairs.
Limits of a fleet budget in Excel
The template is a planning and tracking tool, not an accounting system. Actual figures come from your invoices and payroll, and the forecast is a straight-line projection. Depreciation in the TCO sheet is straight-line and may differ from the method in your accounts.