Budgeting for a Drop in Revenue in 2026
I’ll officially declare my 2026 planning session last week (that happened at my kitchen table, overlooking the valley and mountains) a booming success. Not because I plan to grow X% next year, quite the opposite actually, but because I felt like I walked away with clarity and peace.
For me, clarity + peace = ability to charge forward confidently
My time started off with the question I posed last week: “What are my life (non-work) related priorities in 2026”?
Not shockingly, my answers revolved around my family like teaching our oldest to drive, watching movies/Fortnite Lives with our youngest, and dating my husband (no plans to date anyone else next year 😏). It also included continuing to lean into my health-maintenance journey that I started last year: lots of walking, a little running, weight lifting, and researching all things perimenopause.*
Then, when I dove into the actual numbers of my business and really looked at what was realistic for next year’s numbers…
Here’s what I (shockingly) budgeted for 2026:
28% decrease in revenue
Dipping into my firm’s cash reserves
Here’s why:
I anticipate losing a large client after 2025 closes (you ever have that feeling about a client?)
I experienced a lot of churn in 2025 (more on that next week), so I’ll continue to experience a wrap-around effect in 2026
After the year I had this year, I don’t have the heart (or financial need) to put pressure on myself to chase potentially non-ideal clients just to hit a revenue number
Also…I don’t have a boss and I can do whatever I want :o)
If you’re about to write me an “I’m so sorry, Erica” email, no need (but do feel free to send me an email just to say Hi), I feel great about this. I honestly feel great about what I’m going to do and who I’m going to do it for in 2026.
(Also, since setting my budget a week ago, I got 2 referrals from quality sources for work, so I may very well be laughing at this email this time next year.)
If you’re curious on the tactics of my budget…
I do it in Fathom, just like I would for my clients. I set it up using micro forecasts that look like this:
Other things I planned for in 2026:
New Business > $1,500/mo starting in April (not sure where this will come from yet)
Time > work hours down to 10-15 hrs/wk due to reduction in client work and marketing shifts
Tech Exploration > Ramp (because I have a client newly using it) & Double (because it wasn’t around when I first built my workflow)
Technical CPE > Gusto’s People Advisor Certification & Trust / Estate taxes (because it’s fun to take highly technical CPE? I’m weird.)
Marketing > Pull back on my firm’s podcast and newsletter (because I don’t think either is driving ideal client acquisition)
Cost savings > I realized I could downgrade a QBO subscription for one of my clients; I also learned that you can’t downgrade to Ledger in QBO. I even called and asked if they could do it behind the scenes - they can’t.
The whole annual planning process is one of the most important processes I do in my business, because it triggers a waterfall for the whole year:
Annual planning > Quarterly planning > Monthly planning > Weekly time blocking > show up at my desk and do the work that I planned to do this year.
I’m sharing all of this just to pull back the curtain a bit on how I think through my business plans for the upcoming year, not because I recommend you copy any of what I’ve decided to do in 2026.
You need to do what’s right for you, but you can only figure out what that is if you give yourself the time to think through it.
Hope this helps.
Erica
*Am I allowed to say perimenopause in an accounting email? Did I just break the internet?
What’s Happening in Aligned
2026 Planning Guide
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