What is the difference between Rolling (continuous) budget and Zero based budget?

I agree with Fahad. I can only add : zero-based budget is more complicated and required much time to create, review and upgrade.

Zero based budgeting

, is being  prepared with no reference or depending on on any hestorical data unill getting the relevent reasons why to put cost at this area.

 

Rolling budget, is something else that depends on making a fully periods budgets untill thefinishing of one period is to make a new period at the end of the cureent rolling budget periods just to keep up fully rolled budget all the time.

Thanks Mr. Mohamed for your question. I think continuous budget is incremental through which amendments applied to previous year's budgets while the zero based Budget totally relates to a specific period then it is cleared by closing the accounting period.

Rolling budget is continually updated to add a new budget period as the recent budget period is completed. It involves the extension of the existing budget model. By doing so, a business always has a budget that extends one year into the future.

Let’s take an example 

XYZ Company has adopted a 12-month planning, and its initial budget is from January to December. After a month passes, the January period is complete, so it now added a budget for the following January, so that it still has a 12-month planning horizon that now extends from February of the current year to January of the next year.

While Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base" and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs.

A continuous budget, also called a rolling budget, is one that is prepared for a certain period of time ahead of the present. Each month or quarter, the month or quarter just completed is dropped and a new monthly or quarterly budget is added to the end of the budget.

Zero based budgeting, the budget is prepared without any reference to, or use of, the current period’s budget or the likely operating results for the current period. Every planned activity must be justified with a cost-benefit analysis.                   Though zero-based budgeting is more time consuming and difficult.

Rolling budget is prepared by adding certain percentage from previous year budget while Zero based budget is formulated based on previous year actual data and current year actual data.

Rolling budget is a period specific and is made with the reference of past period by adding some percentage.

whereas zero based budget doses not have any reference and need to priotize and justify the activity from the bottom. It is a time consuming process.