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Cashflow

The 13 week cash forecast, built in an afternoon

The single spreadsheet that stops a profitable business running out of money. Built from your bank statement, updated every Monday.

6 steps · 6 min read

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  1. 01

    Start with today's bank balance

    One number, from your actual bank account, not your accounting software. Accounting software shows invoices; the bank shows reality.

  2. 02

    List every certain payment out

    Rent, wages, loan repayments, VAT, PAYE, insurance, subscriptions. Put them in the week they actually leave the account, not the month.

  3. 03

    List money in, but only what is contracted

    Invoices raised and orders confirmed. No hopeful pipeline. If it is not signed it goes in a separate optimistic column you ignore.

  4. 04

    Roll it forward 13 weeks

    Thirteen weeks is a quarter, which is long enough to see a tax bill coming and short enough that you can still act.

  5. 05

    Update it every Monday morning

    Fifteen minutes. Same time every week. The value is in the habit, not the model.

  6. 06

    Set your floor

    Decide the lowest balance you will tolerate. When the forecast dips below it, you have weeks of warning instead of days.