From traditional to zero-based: Automate your ZBB workflow for better control

At a glance

Zero-based budgeting creates accountability by rebuilding every expense from zero.
It uses structured request decomposition, evidence-backed approvals, and governance checkpoints to drive visibility.
Automated workflows and system integrations remove manual effort and speed up collaboration.
With secure, audit-ready tools, teams achieve transparency, compliance, and measurable cost control across every budget cycle.

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Rethinking the budgeting cycle

Many organizations begin each fiscal year with last year’s numbers plus incremental adjustments. That pattern locks inefficiency into the future. Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) changes that by requiring every expense to be justified anew.

As shown in McKinsey’s analysis, companies that apply ZBB can reduce indirect costs by up to 25 percent while increasing cost transparency. The process challenges teams to align spending with strategic outcomes, not history.

To make this sustainable, finance leaders need a connected structure that combines data, approvals, and audit evidence — all orchestrated through secure workflow automation.

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ZBB principles: Building budgets that justify themselves

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) is all about creating a budget from scratch, ensuring every expense is transparent, purposeful, and aligned with business goals. Unlike traditional budgeting, which often relies on historical spending patterns, ZBB requires each cost to be justified from the ground up.

Here are the key principles of ZBB:

• Transparency: Every expense is made visible, helping organizations understand exactly where their money is going. No assumptions, no hidden costs.
• Purpose-driven spending: Each cost must serve a clear, defined purpose and directly contribute to business objectives. If it doesn’t add value, it gets cut.
• Alignment with priorities: ZBB ensures that resources are allocated based on current priorities, rather than outdated habits.
• Accountability: Teams are held accountable for justifying their spending, fostering a culture of responsibility.

By automating your ZBB workflow, you can streamline these processes and maintain better control over your finances. Automation tools can help with:

• Data gathering and analysis: Quickly compile, categorize, and analyze expenses to identify areas for optimization.
• Expense monitoring: Track ongoing costs in real-time to ensure they remain justified.
• Scenario planning: Simulate different budgeting scenarios to make better, data-driven decisions.

Transitioning to ZBB may seem daunting, but leveraging automation makes it efficient and scalable, allowing businesses to stay agile and focused on growth.

Traditional spreadsheets lack the control and accountability required for this. Digitizing these steps within connected workflows ensures accuracy and consistency — every decision is logged, traceable, and policy-aligned.

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Decompose requests: Start from the smallest unit

In Zero-Based Budgeting, every line item requires justification, a departure from traditional budgeting, where previous budgets are simply adjusted. This is where request decomposition comes in. It’s the practice of breaking down large, vague budget requests into their smallest, most specific components. This detailed approach allows finance teams to scrutinize each cost, understand its direct impact, and eliminate the risk of blanket approvals for poorly defined expenses.

Here's why it's crucial for ZBB:

Granular visibility: Instead of a single large request like "$50,000 for Marketing," decomposition breaks it down into "PPC Ads: $20,000," "Content Creation: $15,000," and "Event Sponsorship: $15,000."

Informed decisions: This level of detail empowers finance teams to assess the value and necessity of each individual activity, ensuring every dollar is allocated efficiently.

Enhanced accountability: Department heads are required to justify each specific expense, fostering a culture of ownership and strategic thinking about resource allocation.

For example, a marketing department’s $1M line item could be decomposed into advertising, software tools, and events, each evaluated on ROI. Teams can capture this data through customized forms that record objectives, GL codes, and attachments — creating a standardized intake across departments.

These forms feed into Moxo’s centralized document collection module, which stores every supporting file and version history. Reviewers can reference all materials from one place, eliminating lost attachments and inconsistent formats.

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Review gates and evidence: The discipline behind control

ZBB’s strength lies in structured validation. Review gates serve as checkpoints to ensure justification and compliance before approvals move forward.

According to Deloitte, 65 percent of organizations struggle with audit readiness because their evidence is fragmented across emails and spreadsheets. Digital workflows solve this by embedding checkpoints into a secure approval chain.

Within the Moxo product platform, each gate records sign-offs, comments, and uploaded files. Every action generates a time-stamped audit trail, ensuring full traceability. Finance leaders can demonstrate policy compliance instantly during audits, reducing manual preparation time.

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Implementing ZBB as a connected workflow

A structured ZBB workflow connects every element — from request intake to review, approval, and reporting — in one system. Moxo’s Workflow Builder lets finance teams create, automate, and manage this cycle without code.

Step 1: Create structured request forms

Departments submit requests using standardized templates that capture objectives, costs, and supporting documentation.

Step 2: Configure controls and thresholds

Administrators define conditional logic — for example, all CapEx above $250K routes to CFO review — ensuring governance by design.

Step 3: Integrate with financial systems

Through integrations with tools like SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, and QuickBooks, data flows automatically across systems, removing duplicate entry and ensuring alignment between FP&A and ERP.

Step 4: Enable external participation

Executives and budget owners can approve via Client portal links without logging into the system. This ensures faster approvals while maintaining full traceability and security.

Step 5: Track performance and reports

Real-time dashboards display time-to-approve, SLA compliance, and variance by department. Finance can identify bottlenecks and benchmark cycle efficiency across entities.

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Governance and compliance: Audit-ready by design

Modern budgeting must meet strict governance and security standards. Moxo safeguards financial processes with SOC 2, SOC 3, and GDPR compliance, encrypted file storage, and role-based access control.

Every change or upload generates an automatic audit trail, meeting SOX evidence standards and internal policy retention rules. With compliance built into the workflow, finance teams no longer spend days compiling documentation — it’s already logged and reportable.

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How Moxo helps

Moxo enables finance teams to implement ZBB as a living, transparent workflow — not a one-time project. Its interconnected modules cover every phase of budgeting:

• Workflow builder: Design and iterate ZBB templates without technical help using drag-and-drop configuration within Workflows.
  
• Workflow automation: Automate notifications, reminders, and routing, reducing manual follow-up through Product automation tools.
  
• Document collaboration: Store, share, and review evidence centrally through secure document management.
  
• Security and compliance: Protect sensitive budgets using enterprise-grade controls with encryption, audit trails, and retention policies.
  
• Integrations: Sync with ERP, FP&A, and accounting tools through system integrations for real-time accuracy.
  

Case study: Consulting firm improves ZBB visibility

A mid-sized consulting organization managed its budgeting process manually, leading to version confusion and delays. After implementing its ZBB workflow in Moxo:

• Approval turnaround reduced by 45%.
  
• Audit trail coverage reached 100%.
  
• Departmental variance tracking improved across three entities.
  

The firm used Moxo’s Workflow Builder, document collaboration, and integration with NetSuite to create a unified approval environment — eliminating spreadsheet dependency while enhancing transparency.

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Implementing your automated ZBB workflow: A step-by-step guide

Building an effective ZBB workflow, especially one that leverages automation for better control, requires a structured approach. Here's how you can set it up, step by step:

1. Define categories, cost centers, and ownership.

Establish clear definitions for all spending categories (e.g., operational, strategic, discretionary).

Identify responsible cost centers and assign clear ownership for each budget item. This ensures accountability from the start.

2. Create standardized intake forms for requests.

Design digital forms that capture all necessary justification for each budget request.

Standardization ensures consistent data collection and easier comparison across departments.

3. Configure review gates and delegation rules.

Map out your approval hierarchy: who reviews what, at which spending threshold, and in what order.

Automate the routing of requests based on these rules, reducing manual effort and potential bottlenecks.

4. Automate routing and escalation notifications.

Set up automatic routing of requests to the correct approvers.

Implement automated notifications for pending reviews, approvals, and escalations, keeping the process moving efficiently.

5. Integrate ERP or FP\&A systems.

Connect your ZBB platform with existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Financial Planning & Analysis (FP\&A) systems.

This ensures data consistency, streamlines budget execution, and provides real-time financial insights.

6. Track SLAs and review efficiency via dashboards.

Monitor Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for review and approval times to identify and address bottlenecks.

Utilize customizable dashboards to gain insights into budget allocation, spending patterns, and process efficiency.

7. Apply role-based permissions and retention settings.

Implement robust security by assigning specific permissions based on user roles (e.g., requestor, reviewer, administrator).

Define data retention policies to comply with regulatory requirements and internal governance.

Each step transforms budgeting into an accountable, trackable workflow aligned with compliance and strategic visibility.

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Build smarter budgets, not smaller ones

Zero-based budgeting is about intentional spending, not just cost control. When built around structured workflows and audit-ready automation, it gives finance leaders visibility, precision, and control.

Moxo turns that discipline into daily practice. With no-code workflows, automated approvals, secure collaboration, and real-time integrations, organizations replace static spreadsheets with a connected budgeting ecosystem that scales with them.

Ready to simplify your next budgeting cycle? Get started and experience how Moxo transforms ZBB into a continuous improvement process.

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FAQs

What is a zero-based budgeting workflow?

It’s a structured budgeting approach where every expense is justified from zero and tracked through automated approvals and evidence collection.

How does ZBB differ from traditional budgeting?

Traditional budgeting adjusts prior-year figures. ZBB rebuilds every line item from scratch, linking spend to purpose and outcomes.

How does automation improve ZBB?

Automation eliminates manual tasks, ensures timely reviews, and provides audit trails, giving finance teams real-time visibility and compliance assurance.

How does Moxo help enable ZBB?

Moxo connects every budgeting step — from requests and reviews to documentation and reporting — using automated, secure workflows that integrate with ERP and FP&A tools.

Can Moxo work with accounting and consulting workflows?

Yes. Moxo supports budgeting and approval flows across industries, including accounting, consulting, and other professional services, aligning client collaboration with financial governance.

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