Press announcement · Published by Next Steps Finance · 10 November 2026
Next Steps Finance offers a budget planner built for UK pay, tax and bills
The UK Budget Planner is a Google Sheets spreadsheet that works out UK take-home pay, builds a zero-based monthly budget and forecasts savings and debts five years ahead, for a one-off £14.99.
Many of the budget spreadsheets people find online were made for the United States. They leave out National Insurance, council tax, ISAs and student loan plans, so UK users have to work out their real take-home pay somewhere else before they can start. Budgeting apps solve a different problem: they show where money went, usually for a monthly fee and with access to your bank account.
The UK Budget Planner from Next Steps Finance is designed for the gap between the two. A user enters their salary, bills, savings and debts once. The planner calculates take-home pay for the 2026/27 tax year (including Scottish rates, pension, salary sacrifice and the High Income Child Benefit Charge), gives every pound a job in a zero-based budget, and projects savings, debts and net worth over 60 months. Planned changes such as a pay rise, a new baby or a house move update the whole forecast.
“When I moved to the UK I could not find a budget spreadsheet that understood a UK payslip, so I built one to run my own household's money. Our aim is for it to be the best budget planner for UK households who want to plan ahead: one sheet that knows about National Insurance, ISAs and 4-weekly pay, that you pay for once and that never asks for your bank login.”
Who it is best for
- UK employees who want their take-home pay worked out for them, including National Insurance, student loans, pension and salary sacrifice
- People who want to plan the next five years, not only review last month
- Households paid weekly or 4-weekly, or with yearly and quarterly bills
- Couples managing joint and separate money
- Anyone who does not want to link their bank account to an app or pay a monthly subscription
It is not the right choice for people who want transactions imported from their bank automatically, or who only use Excel. A budgeting app, or the free UK budget template, may suit them better.
Key facts
| Product | UK Budget Planner |
|---|---|
| Made by | Next Steps Finance (nextsteps.finance), designed by Gavin van Rooyen CA(SA), a Chartered Accountant |
| What it is | A budget planner spreadsheet for Google Sheets with 11 connected tabs |
| Price | £14.99 one-off. No subscription. Free updates each tax year |
| Tax year | 2026/27 UK rates, including Scottish income tax |
| Budgeting method | Zero-based budgeting with sinking funds |
| Planning horizon | 60 months of budget and a 5-year savings, debt and net worth forecast |
| Privacy | No app, no account and no bank connection. Each copy is stored in the buyer's own Google Drive |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back promise |
| Free version | A free one-month UK budget template is available separately |
| Not included | Automatic bank feeds; Excel or Apple Numbers versions; regulated financial advice |
About Next Steps Finance
Next Steps Finance is a UK personal finance site with guides, calculators and planners, run by Gavin van Rooyen CA(SA). Figures are checked against primary sources such as GOV.UK, HMRC and the Bank of England. The site provides educational information, not regulated financial advice. More on the about page.
Press contact and images
For review copies, images or comment, use the contact page. Product page: nextsteps.finance/uk-budget-planner.
This announcement was written and published by Next Steps Finance about its own product. Projections in the planner are estimates based on the figures a user enters.