Business Budget 2027 in Jordan: 7 Steps and a JOD Template

A business budget for 2027 in Jordan needs two views of the same year: a profit budget, which shows what you expect to earn, and a cash budget, which shows when money actually moves. Build only the first and you can be profitable on paper yet short of cash in January, when Ramadan stock has to be paid for, or in April, when the income tax balance falls due.

The seven steps in this guide:

• Step 1: Monthly revenue, with Ramadan, Eid and back-to-school seasonality.
• Step 2: Stock purchases, timed before each peak.
• Step 3: Payroll at full cost, social security included.
• Step 4: Running costs, including JoFotara e-invoicing.
• Step 5: The 16% general sales tax as a cash line.
• Step 6: Income tax and the national contribution.
• Step 7: A cash buffer and a monthly budget-vs-actual review.

Copy this layout into a spreadsheet: one row per line below and one column per month of 2027, in JOD.

• A. Opening cash (last month's closing cash)
• B. Collections from customers, including 16% sales tax
• C. Other cash in: loans, partner funding
• D. Supplier and import payments, including sales tax and customs costs
• E. Net salaries paid
• F. Social security paid to the SSC (21.75% of last month's insurable wages)
• G. Rent, utilities, internet, software and other running costs
• H. Sales tax paid to ISTD, in the month each return is due
• I. Income tax: withholdings, advance payments and the annual balance
• J. Loan repayments and equipment
• K. Closing cash = A + B + C − D − E − F − G − H − I − J
• L. Minimum cash buffer (step 7)
• M. Headroom = K − L

A negative row M is a decision for today, not for that month. The steps below fill rows B to J.

Do not divide your annual target by twelve. Start from your actual monthly sales, excluding sales tax, for 2025 and 2026, turn each month into an index where an average month equals 100, then apply those indexes to your 2027 target.

The Jordanian calendar moves sales in predictable places. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February, with Eid al-Fitr around 9 or 10 March and Eid al-Adha around 16 or 17 May; confirm the exact days once the official holidays are announced. The Hijri calendar moves about 11 days earlier each year, so shift your indexes with the seasons, not the month names. Back-to-school spending lands in August and September, and your own history will show whether year-end buying lifts December.

Example: an Amman retailer of clothing and school supplies targets JOD 480,000 of sales in 2027, or JOD 40,000 in an average month, with indexes taken from its own records:

• January 80: JOD 32,000
• February 115 (Ramadan begins): JOD 46,000
• March 130 (Eid al-Fitr): JOD 52,000
• April 80: JOD 32,000
• May 120 (Eid al-Adha): JOD 48,000
• June 85: JOD 34,000
• July 90: JOD 36,000
• August 125 (back to school): JOD 50,000
• September 110: JOD 44,000
• October 80: JOD 32,000
• November 85: JOD 34,000
• December 100: JOD 40,000

Step 2 is buying for those peaks. With a 35% gross margin, stock for February and March costs about JOD 63,700, and it is usually ordered, and often paid for, in January, a JOD 32,000 sales month. That is the first cash squeeze of 2027, and it comes before a single Ramadan sale. Put supplier payments in the month you actually pay them, and remember that imported goods also carry 16% sales tax and a 2% income tax advance at customs (steps 5 and 6).

Payroll is usually the largest fixed line, so budget it at full cost, not at gross salary.

• Minimum wage: JD 290 a month from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2027, under the Tripartite Committee decision published by the Ministry of Labour. It applies to every worker covered by the Labour Law, however their wages are paid.
• Social security: the employer pays 14.25% on top of the insurable wage and deducts 7.5% from the employee, 21.75% in total, due by the 15th of the following month.
• The ceiling: contributions stop at JD 3,733 a month in 2026, as the SSC announced on 14 May 2026. It is indexed to inflation each year, so budget 2027 at JD 3,733 and update it when the 2027 figure is published.

Example: eight staff with total gross pay of JOD 6,400 a month. The employer share is JOD 912, so payroll costs JOD 7,312 a month, or JOD 87,744 a year before raises. The firm sends the SSC JOD 1,392 a month (its 912 plus the 480 deducted from staff) and pays staff JOD 5,920 before income tax. One employee on the JD 290 minimum costs JOD 331.325 a month. Our social security and payroll guide has worked payslips and the allowances that count towards the insurable wage.

Step 4 covers rent, utilities, internet, software, marketing, maintenance, bank charges and advisers' fees. Split each line into fixed and variable, and mark the months when annual payments fall, such as licence renewals and insurance.

Budget e-invoicing properly too. ISTD has said the national e-invoicing system was designed to add no costs or financial burdens for the businesses required to join it, and Odoo's JoFotara module is free and installs with the Jordanian localization. What costs money is the work around it: onboarding, cleaning customer tax numbers, training till staff and a reliable connection at every point of sale. Our guide to Odoo cost in Jordan separates those once-off and recurring lines.

Step 5: treat the 16% general sales tax as money you hold for ISTD, never as revenue. Give it its own rows: tax on sales, tax on purchases and imports, and the net payment. As of November 2026:

• Under Article 16 of the General Sales Tax Law, a registered business files a return for every two-month period, on period dates ISTD sets for it, and pays the net tax with that return after the period closes.
• On imports, the sales tax is normally paid at customs before the goods are released.
• Registration is required once 12-month sales reach JOD 75,000 in trade and industry, or JOD 30,000 in services, according to ISTD's registration notice; if your 2027 plan crosses that line, budget the 16% from the month you register.

In the example, February and March sales of JOD 98,000 carry JOD 15,680 of sales tax. Reserve it in row H so Eid cash is not spent twice.

Step 6: income tax. Under Article 11 of the Income Tax Law, most companies pay 20% of taxable income plus a 1% national contribution. Banks, telecoms, insurers, financial companies and a few others pay more, and individuals trading in their own name pay progressive rates from 5% to 30%. The cash dates:

• The 2026 balance is due by 30 April 2027, inside your 2027 cash budget. That is a Friday, so plan for Thursday 29 April; our year-end closing checklist covers the run-up.
• Importers pay 2% of the import value at customs as an advance on income tax, unless excluded.
• If gross business income passed JOD 1,000,000 last year, two advances, each 40% of the tax on that half-year's accounts, fall due within 30 days of each half's end.

In the example, a taxable profit of JOD 60,000 means JOD 12,000 of tax and JOD 600 of national contribution: set aside JOD 1,050 a month. Have your tax adviser confirm the taxable figure, which often differs from accounting profit.

Step 7 has two parts. First, the cash buffer. Add up what you must pay even in a month with no sales: payroll at full cost, rent, utilities and loan repayments. Multiply by the months of cover you choose, then add any tax due in the next 60 days. In the example, JOD 7,312 of payroll, JOD 2,500 of rent, JOD 900 of utilities and software and JOD 1,200 of loan repayments make JOD 11,912 a month; two months of cover is about JOD 24,000, before reserved sales tax. That is row L of the template, and row M shows the months that fall below it.

Second, a monthly budget-vs-actual review. By the 10th of each month:

• Reconcile every bank account and post all of last month's bills.
• Compare each line: budget, actual, and the variance in JOD and in %.
• Explain any variance above an agreed limit, say 10% or JOD 1,000, and give it an owner.
• Re-forecast the remaining months, keeping the original budget unchanged for comparison.

An ERP makes the actual column automatic. In Odoo 20, according to Odoo's budget documentation, you open the Profit and Loss report, click Budget and type amounts per account directly into the report, and a % column shows where you stand. Analytic budgets, switched on with Budget Management in the Accounting settings, follow branches or projects and show Achieved from posted entries and Committed, which adds confirmed purchase orders not yet billed. A purchase order line that would exceed an open budget is highlighted in red.

These features are part of Odoo Enterprise Accounting, and they only show what has been posted: if bills pile up until month-end, the comparison is late too. Odoo's budgets follow profit and loss, so keep the cash sheet alongside them.

METCH, an official Odoo partner serving Jordan, can set up your chart of accounts, Jordanian taxes and budgets, and load your 2027 budget so actuals sit next to it from January.