Budget Navigator pairs practical budgeting education with guidance inside Martus; expanded AI capabilities help teams answer financial and software questions while retaining control over connected tools.
GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 4, 2026 — Today, Martus Solutions announces its newest innovations including their Budget Navigator, a free Budgeting Playbook and expanded Martus Intelligence capabilities as organizations prepare their 2027 budgets.
Nonprofit finance teams are building 2027 budgets with less certainty. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s charitable giving changes are reshaping donor incentives, adding a new deduction for some donors while limiting it for others. Researchers at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy estimate the changes will reduce annual U.S. giving by about $5.69 billion, even as roughly 8 million more households give. Meanwhile, 79% of nonprofit finance leaders still manage finances in manual spreadsheets, according to a 2026 BTQ Financial survey.
Martus’ latest features help share that load, giving lean finance teams actionable steps for every stage of the budget cycle and answers when they need them, whether in Martus or in the AI tools they already use.
“Finance leaders shouldn’t have to build the budget, teach the process and answer every software question on their own,” said Taylor Macdonald, CEO of Martus Solutions. “We’re connecting practical budgeting guidance with the work customers do in Martus, so they can spend less time explaining the next step and more time helping their organizations make informed decisions.”
The Martus Budgeting Playbook is a free learning path available to anyone, including non-customers. The Playbook explains the decisions, sequence, habits and common mistakes behind an effective budget cycle while Navigator connects that guidance to where the work happens inside the Martus platform.
The Playbook is written for any finance team responsible for a budget, regardless of the budgeting or accounting software they use. It’s especially helpful for finance leaders running their first cycle, new hires inheriting a process midstream, and teams that want a shared reference for how budget season should run. Once the process is written down, it no longer depends on one person remembering it.
Built natively into the Martus platform, Budget Navigator organizes the budget cycle into easy-to-follow stages spanning preparation through approval, reporting and ongoing budget management. Tasks, due dates and links to Martus help articles give finance administrators a framework for moving the budgeting process forward. Administrators can add custom tasks, track completion and reset phases.
The budget calendar no longer has to live in one person’s inbox or a spreadsheet tab. Finance administrators can see progress through each phase, shape tasks around their own approval process and reset the framework for next year’s cycle. Because tasks link to the relevant help articles, the people doing the work can find the how-to at the moment they need it.
Together, these tools support finance leaders running their first budget cycle, organizations moving off spreadsheets and teams coordinating contributions from department heads and program leaders. Client accounting services firms and value-added resellers can also use the framework to guide clients through budget cycles.
Martus Intelligence brings financial and software guidance into the same conversations inside Martus. Users can ask natural-language questions about budgets, forecasts and financial performance, then ask how to complete work on the platform.
Martus is also launching its MCP connector, or “Bring Your Own AI,” for customers. The connector uses Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect Martus data to customer-preferred AI tools, such as Claude, allowing teams to analyze budget and forecast information alongside data from other systems.
Budget Navigator is currently available to customer administrators and partner users. The Budgeting Playbook is a free resource available on Martus’ website. The capabilities build on more than 135 product enhancements since mid-May 2026 and Martus’s work supporting more than 1,400 customers.
To explore Budget Navigator and register for the free Playbook, visit martussolutions.com/martus-budget-navigator. For details about Martus Intelligence and data handling, visit martussolutions.com/securityandtrust.
Founded in 2008, Martus Solutions simplifies budgeting, forecasting and reporting for more than 1,400 organizations worldwide. Serving nonprofits, faith-based organizations, schools, associations and growing businesses, Martus helps finance teams and organizational leaders collaborate, understand their resources and make informed decisions. Martus connects with leading ERP and accounting systems including Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, Blackbaud, NetSuite, Campfire, and Microsoft Business Central. For more information, visit martussolutions.com.