Free Template
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
The single most useful financial tool for a growing small business -- and it does not require expensive software. A simple weekly view of the cash you expect in and out for the next 13 weeks, with a running cash position that carries forward. Enter your email and we will send you the spreadsheet.
Why 13 weeks
A profitable P&L and a tight bank account are not a contradiction. Profit and cash move on different timescales -- the gap lives in receivables you have not collected, inventory and capex you paid for upfront, debt principal, and owner draws, none of which a P&L shows cleanly. A 13-week forecast is the standard horizon for seeing that gap coming while you still have room to act.
What is in the template
- 13 week-columns, with a beginning and ending cash position for each week.
- Cash in: customer payments and collections, financing draws, other.
- Cash out: payroll, rent, vendors and materials, debt service, taxes, owner draws, other.
- Net cash flow and a running cash balance that carries forward automatically.
- A short "how to use" tab. Built in plain Excel -- no special software.
How to use it
Enter your current bank balance in Week 1, forecast the cash you expect in and out by the week it actually moves (not when you invoice), and update it every Friday. A negative ending position in any week is an early warning -- act on it now rather than the week payroll is due.