The job by hand
Explaining variances means hunting through the ledger for what moved, then writing the same overspend paragraph for the fifth month running.
The ask
Hello, explain this month’s budget variances
What comes back
A Google Sheet lands in the Finance Budget & Variance Workspace folder in your Google Drive: Account, Budget, Actual, Variance, Source and Explanation.
| Account | Budget | Actual | Variance | Source | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infra & hosting | $1,200 | $2,100 | +$900 (75% over) | AWS invoice Aug | Traffic spike from launch week; may recur |
| Contractors | $6,000 | $5,400 | -$600 (10% under) | Bank feed Aug | One contractor invoice arrived late, lands in Sep |
Sample data shown. Your workspace fills with your real work.
What it takes over
- Reads the exact inputs and sources you approve.
- Saves the work as a review-ready Google Sheet in the Finance Budget & Variance Workspace folder in Google Drive.
- Shows evidence, unknowns and blocks instead of guessing.
- Prepares the next action and stops at the human gate.
How buying works
- Buy once for $19. Three files arrive:
skill.md,setup-prompt.txtandusage-prompt.txt. - Hand the files to the assistant you already use. It sets the job up on Google, Microsoft or Zoho and tests it on fictional data.
- Approve the setup. It runs the job and stops at every external action for your sign-off.
Where it stops
It does not send, spend, publish, schedule or make a human decision without the exact approval that action needs.
Common questions
What does the output include?
Account, budget, actual, variance, source and a written explanation per line, in a Google Sheet in a Finance Budget & Variance Workspace folder.
Are the explanations made up?
Each explanation links the source rows it rests on. If the source does not explain it, that shows as an open item.
Whose budget format does it use?
Yours. Setup points it at your existing budget spreadsheet.
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Questions people ask
What does the Budget & Variance Agent actually do?
It maintains your approved budget sheet and explains budget-to-actual variance with the source row linked: account, budget, actual, variance, source, explanation. It prepares review-ready work and stops for your approval before anything is sent, spent, published or scheduled.
Which AI assistants work with the Budget & Variance Agent?
Any assistant that reads plain-text files: Instinct, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Hermes, OpenClaw, Town, Muse and others. You hand it three files - skill.md, setup-prompt.txt and usage-prompt.txt.
Is the Budget & Variance Agent $19 a subscription?
No. $19 is one-time. You download and keep the three files forever; there is no account and no renewal.
How long does setup take?
About 10 minutes: attach the files, run the setup prompt, approve the fictional-data test. It never touches real work until you approve the sample run.
Last updated 13 September 2026 · Reviewed by the AI Agent Skills team.