Quote → invoice → payment follow-up → expenses → cash flow. All business names and figures below are synthetic examples.
Use the quick tool for a period, a sheet for the weeks
The Cash-flow Forecast takes opening cash, expected customer receipts, supplier/operating payments and loan/payroll/other payments. It calculates one period's closing cash. It does not generate a 13-week schedule, import bank data or chase customers. Use the downloadable weekly worksheet below for timing.
Worked example: profit is ₹27,000, closing cash is ₹19,000
Continue the fictional business in the monthly expense example. Enter ₹10,000 opening cash, ₹42,000 expected customer receipts, ₹30,000 supplier and operating payments, and ₹3,000 loan, payroll and other payments. Each payment belongs in only one group.
The tool displays ₹42,000.00 expected cash in, ₹33,000.00 expected cash out, ₹9,000.00 net movement and ₹19,000.00 expected closing cash. Formula: 10,000 + 42,000 − 30,000 − 3,000 = 19,000.
A four-week view can reveal a gap that the total hides
| Week | Opening | Receipts | Payments | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹10,000 | ₹12,000 | ₹8,000 | ₹14,000 |
| 2 | ₹14,000 | ₹0 | ₹9,000 | ₹5,000 |
| 3 | ₹5,000 | ₹18,000 | ₹8,000 | ₹15,000 |
| 4 | ₹15,000 | ₹12,000 | ₹8,000 | ₹19,000 |
These synthetic weeks total the same ₹42,000 receipts and ₹33,000 payments. If the ₹18,000 receipt moves from week 3 to week 5, week 3 closes at −₹3,000 and week 4 at ₹1,000, before considering later bills. A positive month-end total would have hidden the week-3 gap.
Build and maintain all 13 weeks
- Start from a reconciled opening balance. Add week-start dates to the downloaded worksheet.
- Assign each receipt to a realistic expected week, supported by the invoice and customer response.
- List payments by expected date, including items absent from the profit estimate. Never count the same payroll or supplier amount twice.
- For each week calculate closing = opening + receipts − payments, then carry that closing into the next opening.
- Mark uncertain receipts and rerun the delayed-payment scenario. Compare each week's closing against a buffer you choose.
- Replace elapsed forecasts with actual figures, explain differences, and add a new final week.
The CSV includes the four worked weeks and empty rows for weeks 5–13. It contains no automatic formulas; fill and calculate the remaining weeks in your own spreadsheet. Empty cells are unknown, not zero.
Download the 13-week CSV worksheet →
Act on a gap early: verify the receipt date, review discretionary payments, and discuss any proposed changes with the relevant counterparty. This is a planning model, not a funding recommendation.
Printable working checklist
- ☐ Reconcile opening cash and choose week-start dates
- ☐ Place receipts in expected collection weeks, not invoice weeks
- ☐ List all payment groups without double counting
- ☐ Calculate closing cash and carry it into the next opening
- ☐ Mark uncertain receipts and test a delay
- ☐ Compare every week against a chosen cash buffer
- ☐ Replace past weeks with actuals and roll the forecast forward
- ☐ Treat blank future cells as unknown, not zero
This guide describes the current tools and an original synthetic workflow. It is not tax or legal advice. Editorial policy · Report a correction