What is in the workbook?
The Budget sheet has 16 expense rows: venue, food, drinks, cake, tableware, invitations, games, decorations, favors, keepsakes, tax and fees, transport, and four rows for your own extras. Each row separates the planned cost, the full actual bill and the amount already paid.
At the top, you can see the planned total with a reserve, the latest forecast with a reserve, how much of your budget remains, what you have paid and what is still to pay. All amounts use one currency. The starting currency label is USD; changing that label does not convert prices.
How to use the baby shower budget template
- Set the limit and guest count. Enter your total budget in
A5, guests inC5, reserve percentage inE5and currency label inG5. Yellow cells are editable. Food, drinks and favors quantities follow the guest count. - Replace the example prices with your quotes. Edit quantity and unit cost for each item. For a fixed-price booking, use quantity 1 and the full price as the unit cost. Rename the four Other rows for extra items. Keep the formula columns E, H and I.
- Enter the full bill in Actual total. Leave it blank while you are using the estimate. Enter 0 if an item is cancelled or free. For a supplier requiring a deposit, enter the full expected final bill here, not just the deposit.
- Record deposits and later payments in Paid so far. Replace the amount with the cumulative total you have paid for that item. Payments reduce Still to pay; they are not added to the cost a second time.
- Check the remaining budget before adding extras. A negative remaining amount turns red. A payment larger than its forecast also turns red so you can check for an incorrect bill or a refund.
Keep tax, delivery and service charges in the relevant supplier price or in the Tax / fees row, but do not count them in both places. The reserve is money held back for changes, not a bill you owe.
Example: a 25-guest baby shower
These are illustrative numbers from the download, not typical prices or a recommended spend. Replace them with costs for your own event.
| Expense | Calculation | Planned cost |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | 1 × 100 | 100.00 |
| Food | 25 × 8 | 200.00 |
| Drinks | 25 × 2 | 50.00 |
| Cake | 1 × 60 | 60.00 |
| Tableware | 1 × 30 | 30.00 |
| Games and decorations | 20 + 35 | 55.00 |
| Favors | 25 × 2 | 50.00 |
| Tax / fees and transport | 30 + 20 | 50.00 |
| Invitations and optional keepsakes | No planned purchase | 0.00 |
| Subtotal | 595.00 |
A 10% reserve adds 59.50, giving a planned total of 654.50. With a 900 budget cap, that leaves 245.50 unallocated. Raising the guest count from 25 to 30 adds 60 to food, drinks and favors, plus 6 to the reserve.
Deposit example: if the venue's final bill is 120 and you have paid a 40 deposit, enter 120 under Actual total and 40 under Paid so far. The venue's Still to pay becomes 80. The total forecast with reserve becomes 676.50, and the budget remaining becomes 223.50.
How the formulas work
- Planned total: quantity × unit cost, rounded to two decimal places. For the venue, the calculation is
ROUND(C15*D15,2). A missing quantity or unit cost shows an error so an unfinished estimate does not silently become zero. - Forecast total:
=IF(ISBLANK(F15),E15,F15)uses the plan until you enter the actual bill. An explicit zero remains zero. - Still to pay:
=MAX(0,H15-G15)subtracts payments from that item's forecast. Overpayments are flagged separately and do not cancel another supplier's unpaid balance. - Reserve: subtotal × reserve rate. Planned and forecast reserves are calculated separately.
- Budget remaining: budget cap minus the forecast including reserve. It measures room in your plan, not the money left in your bank account.
Need a refresher on formulas and cell references? Keep the Excel cheat sheet nearby while adapting the workbook.
Keep optional keepsakes in their own row
A printed photo, guest book or digital image can be a separate Keepsakes expense. For example, an AI ultrasound baby photo from ImagineMyBaby is an artistic keepsake made from an ultrasound image, not a medical image or a prediction of the baby's appearance. The service is paid; check its current price and add any printing or delivery costs if you choose it. Leaving this category at zero is fine.
Before you start
Can I change the categories?
Yes. Rename categories and items in columns A and B. The totals add expense rows 15–30 regardless of their names. Use the four spare rows first. If you insert more rows, check the subtotal ranges and copy the formulas into the new rows.
Does changing the guest count update everything?
It updates the quantities for food, drinks and favors. Fixed costs such as room hire and cake stay unchanged. If a price includes a set package or you are not buying one favor per guest, replace that quantity formula with your own number.
Is the template free?
Yes, the Excel workbook is free to download and edit. It uses ordinary cell formulas and has no macros, external data connections or sign-up requirement.