Cash Flow Forecast Template: 13 Weeks

What this calculator includes

• Build thirteen seven-day periods from your selected start date.
• Enter up to 100 dated cash events with financing shown separately.
• Test operating receipt delays and collection reductions without changing payment dates.
• See minimum cash, reserve shortfall and events excluded from the horizon.
• Download your current CSV snapshot or a separate formula-driven Excel template.

How to fill out a cash flow forecast template

1. Choose a start date and reconciled available bank cash. Do not include undrawn borrowing or restricted deposits as spendable opening cash.
2. List customer receipts on realistic expected collection dates rather than invoice or sale dates. Include cash tax received in the bank amount when applicable.
3. List payroll, suppliers, rent, equipment, tax remittances and owner withdrawals on cash payment dates. Include withheld amounts and employer obligations once on their actual remittance dates.
4. Keep loan or equity receipts and financing payments separate. They change cash but do not turn into operating sales. Do not include noncash depreciation as a payment.
5. Review all thirteen weeks, especially the lowest balance and reserve shortfall. An empty future week means no events entered, not proof that the business has no expenses.
6. Test a collection delay or lower collection percentage, then inspect excluded events. Download the snapshot or use the Excel template for a base forecast that recalculates when edited.

13-week cash flow forecast formulas

Week 1 covers the selected start date through six days later. Each following week starts seven days after the previous start; the thirteenth week ends 90 days after the start date.

Cash receipts = operating receipts + financing receipts. Cash payments = operating payments + financing payments. Net cash = receipts − payments. Closing cash = opening cash + net cash. Next week opening cash = previous week closing cash.

Reserve headroom = closing cash − minimum reserve. Reserve funding shortfall = max(0, reserve − lowest of initial opening cash and thirteen weekly closing balances). This identifies the modeled funding floor, not an automatically approved credit line.

Scenario operating receipt date = original cash date + delay days. Scenario operating receipt amount = entered amount × collection percentage ÷ 100. Payments and financing dates/amounts remain unchanged. A delayed receipt beyond week thirteen does not appear in the displayed cash totals.

Worked forecast example: profitable work can still create a cash gap

The base example opens with $12,000. Week 1 collects $9,000 and pays $8,000 payroll, closing at $13,000. Week 2 pays $7,000 suppliers and closes at $6,000. Week 3 collects $11,000 and pays a $2,000 financing repayment, closing at $15,000. Later weeks remain flat because the fictional schedule has no more events.

With a $5,000 reserve, the base example stays above the floor. Add a 14-day operating receipt delay: week 1 closes at $4,000 and week 2 at −$3,000. The reserve funding shortfall is $8,000, even though the unchanged receipts eventually restore the closing balance.

At 50% operating collections and no delay, total operating receipts fall to $10,000. The same $17,000 payments leave $5,000 closing cash. This is a collection assumption, not a probability or a bad-debt accounting entry.

A receipt scheduled on the final day belongs to week thirteen. Moving it one day later removes it from the window; the exclusion warning explains the missing cash instead of silently extending the horizon.

Free Excel template and CSV: choose the right download

The current-scenario CSV includes your entered cash events, scenario settings and thirteen computed weekly rows. It contains snapshot values and does not recalculate after editing. Free spreadsheet applications can open it.

The Excel download is a separate, editable base template with dated cash events and formulas for weekly receipts, payments, opening cash, closing cash and reserve headroom. It begins with fictional example values; replace them before using it. Its base schedule does not include the browser delay and collection controls.

Keep the dated events tied to absolute dates when rolling forward. Reconcile actual bank cash, remove completed events, update unpaid receipts and payment dates, and enter the new opening balance. Changing the start date alone can exclude old events; it does not roll their dates forward.

Review payment timing before arranging funding

1. Confirm large customer receipts with the person who will pay. Contractual terms and DSO averages cannot establish an individual receipt date.
2. Review daily transactions within a low-cash week. Weekly closing balances can hide payroll going out before a customer pays.
3. Separate confirmed borrowing from a funding need. Add financing only when its amount and timing are plausible, then retain repayment dates.
4. Refresh the forecast regularly with actual bank cash and newly confirmed dates. Use the separate runway tool for a stable monthly-burn estimate.

Assumptions and limits

This is a direct cash forecast, not revenue recognition, net profit or a three-statement accounting model. Start from reconciled available cash and enter actual expected bank movements once. The two display categories distinguish financing from all other cash; they are not a statutory cash-flow classification statement. Scenario delay and collection percentage apply only to operating receipts; financing is unchanged. Events outside the date window are excluded and counted. Minimum cash considers opening and weekly closing balances, so an intraweek overdraft can still be missed. Negative cash does not create a loan facility.

Frequently asked questions

Method references

• Cash flow statement and forecast method — business.gov.au