How can I practise budgeting and forecasting as a trainee?

The most realistic way to build this is through Hey Monika's The World of Business Challenge, alongside the VoltWise EV Solutions or Eco Orange OS Scenario — a fast-growing £6.8m EV charging company whose director, Alex, needs help getting visibility on overdue debtors, remittance queries and new customer accounts. You're not filling in a worksheet; you're working with real invoices, statements and client correspondence through the document vault, covering building a forecast from real numbers and explaining the assumptions behind every line, and getting Monika's feedback on what you'd do differently before a real employer ever asks you to do it unsupervised. More detail Start with The World of Business Challenge to isolate the core technical skill before adding a client relationship on top of it. Move into the VoltWise EV Solutions or Eco Orange OS Scenario, where the same skill shows up inside real documents and client correspondence rather than as a standalone exercise. Read Monika's feedback properly and redo anything she flags — repetition with correction is what actually builds the skill, not a single pass. Repeat the same task a second time once you've had feedback — the second attempt is usually where it actually clicks.Frequently asked questions Do I need any experience before trying the VoltWise EV Solutions Scenario? No. Hey Monika's Scenarios and Challenge Mode tasks are built so a complete beginner can start straight away — Monika's feedback is there precisely because you're not expected to already know the answer. How long does this usually take to feel comfortable with? Most trainees need two or three attempts at the same Scenario or Challenge before it stops feeling unfamiliar. The value is in repeating it with Monika's feedback applied each time, not in getting it right first go. Is this the same as just reading about budgeting and forecasting (trainee) in a textbook? No — the difference is that you're handling real documents, a real (if fictional) client, and in some Scenarios a live voice call, rather than reading a description of how the process works in theory. Get started Open The World of Business Challenge today and follow it straight into the VoltWise EV Solutions Scenario — doing both back to back, rather than weeks apart, is what makes the skill stick.