Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Budget Planner agent skill (budget-planner)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Budget Planner skill is an agent skill that turns a business plan, historical figures or a project spend description into a budget. It delivers an Excel workbook with account lines, a monthly spread, summaries and a separate assumptions sheet. This guide explains what an agent skill is, how to install this one, how to trigger it with a request, and what to check before you rely on the result.
Budget Plannergenspark-ai/genoffice · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the skill ZIP from this page. It contains SKILL.md.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ in your project.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Confirm a spreadsheet tool. Make sure the agent has a spreadsheet tool that can create Excel workbooks.
- 5Describe your budget. Ask in plain language, naming your business plan, historical figures or project spend.
- 6Answer the scope questions. Give the scope, period, starting month, currency, tax basis and any roll-up needs the agent asks for.
- 7Confirm the assumptions. Confirm or change each key assumption before the workbook is built, and supply any missing unit prices or growth rates.
What an agent skill is and what Budget Planner makes the agent do
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file with instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill. Budget Planner is the skill named budget-planner, in the finance category, from the genspark-ai/genoffice repository under skills/recommended. Its licence is Apache-2.0.
Once installed, the agent acts as a budget-planning specialist. It first asks for the scope, period, currency and tax basis, then lists the key assumptions for you to confirm before building anything. It then produces an Excel workbook with Assumptions, Detail, Summary and Change log sheets, where amounts are calculated by formulas so that changing one assumption updates the whole budget.
- Annual budget: a department budget built from a business plan
- Project budget: a workbook for a project's spend
- Assumption modelling: traceable formulas and documented assumptions
Install the Budget Planner skill
Download the ZIP of the skill from this page. The skill is distributed as a single file, SKILL.md.
For a personal install, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into the project's .claude/skills/ folder. Either way, the skill folder should contain SKILL.md.
If you use the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Check what you need before you start
The skill needs a spreadsheet tool that the agent can use to create Excel workbooks. The SKILL.md refers to 'the spreadsheet tools available here' without naming a specific tool, so confirm that your agent environment has one before you begin.
You also need input: your business plan, historical figures, or a description of the project spend. The skill runs no scripts and uses no network access, according to its listing.
- A spreadsheet tool available to the agent for creating Excel workbooks
- Your business plan, historical figures or project spend description
Trigger the skill with a natural request
You do not need a special command. Describe what you want in plain language and mention the budget. The skill's quick prompts in the source are examples of the kind of request that fits.
Good requests name the source material and the outcome you want, for example a department budget for next year or a workbook for one project's spend. Expect the agent to ask follow-up questions about scope, period, currency and tax basis in one batch.
- Build next year's department budget from this business plan
- Turn this project's spend into a budget workbook
Review the assumptions and the workbook
Before any workbook is built, the agent lists the key assumptions, such as headcount and start months, unit prices, growth rate, exchange rate, and the split between one-off and recurring spend. Confirm or correct each line. Nothing enters the workbook until you confirm it.
The workbook is titled '<Scope> <Year/Project> Budget'. The Assumptions sheet holds every input with its source, the Detail sheet holds monthly amounts calculated from those inputs, Summary aggregates by account and quarter, and the Change log records changes starting with 'Initial version'. Unit prices or growth rates you did not give are left blank and marked [to confirm], so the Summary shows as incomplete until you fill them in.
- Assumptions: Assumption | Value | Unit | Source/Basis | Notes
- Detail: level-1 and level-2 accounts, one column per month, full-year total
- Summary: tables by level-1 account and by quarter, with YoY and net position where the data allows
- Change log: Date | Change | Before | After | Reason
Read the report and ask for scenarios
After delivering the workbook, the agent reports the total budget, the top three accounts and their share, and the two or three assumptions with the biggest effect on the result. It also asks whether you want a conservative or aggressive scenario version.
Tax rates and social-insurance ratios must be checked by a tax or finance professional under current local rules before any formal submission.
What people use it for
- Building a next-year department budget from a business plan, with monthly spread and quarterly summary
- Turning a project's spend list into a budget workbook with one-off spend placed in its specific month
- Testing how a change in headcount start month or unit price moves the total, using the formula-driven Assumptions sheet
- Preparing a budget with an audit trail, using the Change log to record revisions and reasons
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the Budget Planner agent skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ inside a project. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is the Budget Planner skill free to use?
The skill is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, as stated on this page. Check the licence text in the repository for the terms that apply to your use.
What do I need to run the budget-planner skill?
You need a spreadsheet tool available to the agent that can create Excel workbooks, since the SKILL.md does not name one. You also need your business plan, historical figures or a description of project spend.
Does Budget Planner run scripts or access the internet?
According to its listing, the skill runs no scripts and uses no network access. It ships as a single SKILL.md file.
Can I use Budget Planner for a formal tax filing or financial submission?
The skill says tax rates and social-insurance ratios must be checked by a tax or finance professional under current local rules. Have a qualified reviewer check the workbook before any formal submission or tax filing.
How does Budget Planner compare with building a budget by hand in Excel?
The skill's main difference is structure: it separates assumptions onto their own sheet, uses formulas so totals update when an assumption changes, and keeps a change log. It leaves unknown unit prices and growth rates blank rather than inventing them.
New agent skills, repos and AI tools — every week
The best new skills and open-source projects, the fastest-growing repos, and one free prompt. Five minutes to read. Unsubscribe anytime.
Our verdict
Budget Planner suits finance or operations staff preparing an annual department budget from a business plan, project managers who need a traceable project budget workbook, and anyone who wants documented assumptions and formulas instead of hard-coded totals. It is not a substitute for a finance professional when a budget goes into formal submissions or tax filings, and if you want the agent to invent unit prices or growth rates, pick a different tool.
Download the skill