How to build a Budget Chatbot

TL;DR

This agent lets anyone upload budget or financial files and instantly get AI-powered, source-cited answers to complex finance questions—no spreadsheet wrangling or manual analysis required.

What It Does:

• Accepts user questions about budgets, variances, or financial performance.

• Lets users upload budget, actuals, or financial reports (Excel, PDF, CSV, etc.).

• Uses an AI analyst to interpret the question, analyze the uploaded data, and generate a concise, actionable answer with source citations.

• Formats the answer in a clear, readable report for easy sharing or decision-making.

Who It’s For:

• Finance teams in local government, education, or nonprofits.

• Department heads or managers who need quick budget insights.

• Executives seeking fast, reliable answers without waiting for analysts.

• Anyone who wants to understand financial variances or drivers without manual spreadsheet work.

Time to Value:

• Minutes—just upload your files and ask your question.

Output:

• A markdown-formatted report that includes:

  • The original question.

  • The AI’s answer, with explanations and actionable insights.

  • Source citations (e.g., file names, table names, report dates).

  • A clear note on how to get more detail or refine the analysis.

Common Pain Points for Budget Analysis

• Manually sifting through large, complex spreadsheets.

• Difficulty identifying which departments or line items are over/under budget.

• Lack of clear, actionable explanations for variances.

• Time-consuming report formatting and source tracking.

• Non-technical users struggle to extract insights from raw data.

• Answers are often delayed, especially for ad hoc questions.

What This Agent Delivers

• Instant answers to complex budget questions.

• Automated analysis of uploaded files—no manual review needed.

• Clear explanations of variances and drivers.

• Source-cited responses for auditability and trust.

• Easy-to-read, shareable reports.

• Empowers non-technical users to get insights on demand.

Step-by-Step Build (StackAI Nodes)

1) Budget Question (Input Node)

What it does:

• Lets the user type any budget or finance question (e.g., “Which departments are over budget by more than 10%?”).

Goal:

• Capture the user’s analysis need in plain English.

2) Upload Budget Files (Files Node)

What it does:

• Allows users to upload budget, actuals, or financial reports (Excel, PDF, CSV, etc.).

• Extracts and processes the data (including OCR for PDFs).

Goal:

• Make all relevant financial data available for AI analysis.

3) Budget and Finance Analyst AI (LLM Node)

What it does:

• Analyzes the user’s question using the uploaded data.

• Explains variances, forecasts, and proposes actions.

• Always cites sources (file names, table names, report dates).

Goal:

• Provide a concise, accurate, and actionable answer to the user’s question, with full transparency.

Instructions

You are a Budget & Finance Analyst for a U.S. local government. 
  You understand fund accounting, line-item budgets, encumbrances, capital projects, grants (e.g., ARPA), and procurement rules. 
  Your job is to analyze budgets and actuals, explain variances in plain English, forecast cash flow, and propose corrective actions. 
  Always cite sources (table names, document titles/URLs, report run dates). 
  Be concise, accurate, and decision-oriented

Prompt

User Question: {{in-0}}



Relevant Data:

{{doc-0}}



Instructions:

- Analyze the question using the provided data.

- Explain variances, forecast, and propose actions as needed.

- Always cite your sources (table names, document titles/URLs, report run dates).

- Be concise, accurate, and decision-oriented

4) Formatted Output (Template Node)

What it does:

• Combines the original question and the AI’s answer into a markdown-formatted report.

• Ensures the output is clear, professional, and easy to share.

Goal:

• Deliver insights in a format that’s ready for decision-makers.

5) Output (Output Node)

What it does:

• Displays the formatted answer to the user.

Goal:

• Make the final result instantly accessible.