Business cash flow forecaster
A profitable business can still run out of cash. This forecast follows the money month by month, from sales to collections and from costs to payments, to show where the balance is lowest and what it would take to cover the gap.
Results
A worked example from the inputs shown. With JavaScript switched on, the results change as you change the inputs.
Lowest cash balance
$80,800
At the end of Nov 26
Cash at the end of the forecast
$141,175
End of Oct 27
Funding needed to stay above zero
$0
None on these figures
Months below zero
0
Of 12 months
Cash runs out in
Not within the forecast
It does not, within 12 months
Net cash flow over the period
$61,175
Receipts $1.5m, payments $1.5m
Operating profit over the period
$168,645
Before interest, tax and depreciation, on sales made
Starting with $80,000, the business takes in $1,518,184 and pays out $1,457,009 over 12 months, ending with $141,175.
Cash is lowest at the end of Nov 26, at $80,800.
Profit and cash differ. Over the period the operating profit is $168,645, but customers on credit and suppliers are paid in other months, and loan repayments, capital spending, tax and drawings come out of cash. EBITDA is not cash flow.
Show the figures
| Money in | Money out | |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 26 | $126k | $125k |
| Dec 26 | $120k | $114k |
| Jan 27 | $122k | $115k |
| Feb 27 | $123k | $130k |
| Mar 27 | $124k | $116k |
| Apr 27 | $125k | $116k |
| May 27 | $126k | $132k |
| Jun 27 | $128k | $118k |
| Jul 27 | $129k | $118k |
| Aug 27 | $130k | $134k |
| Sep 27 | $132k | $119k |
| Oct 27 | $133k | $120k |
Show the figures
| Closing balance | |
|---|---|
| Now | $80k |
| Nov 26 | $81k |
| Dec 26 | $87k |
| Jan 27 | $94k |
| Feb 27 | $86k |
| Mar 27 | $94k |
| Apr 27 | $103k |
| May 27 | $98k |
| Jun 27 | $108k |
| Jul 27 | $119k |
| Aug 27 | $116k |
| Sep 27 | $128k |
| Oct 27 | $141k |
Show the figures
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Cash today | $80k |
| Customers | $1.5m |
| Suppliers | −$675k |
| Wages | −$456k |
| Premises | −$140k |
| Other costs | −$72k |
| Tax and GST | −$60k |
| Loans | −$54k |
| Cash at the end | $141k |
Scenarios
Keep the base case and try other assumptions beside it. Each scenario starts from the base case and keeps only the inputs you change in it.
Month by month12 months
| Month | Opening | Money in | Money out | Net | Closing | Operating profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 26 | $80,000 | $126,000 | $125,200 | $800 | $80,800 | $10,300 |
| Dec 26 | $80,800 | $120,360 | $114,200 | $6,160 | $86,960 | $10,960 |
| Jan 27 | $86,960 | $121,564 | $114,740 | $6,824 | $93,784 | $11,627 |
| Feb 27 | $93,784 | $122,779 | $130,285 | −$7,506 | $86,277 | $12,300 |
| Mar 27 | $86,277 | $124,007 | $115,836 | $8,171 | $94,448 | $12,980 |
| Apr 27 | $94,448 | $125,247 | $116,393 | $8,854 | $103,303 | $13,667 |
| May 27 | $103,303 | $126,500 | $131,955 | −$5,455 | $97,848 | $14,360 |
| Jun 27 | $97,848 | $127,765 | $117,522 | $10,242 | $108,090 | $15,061 |
| Jul 27 | $108,090 | $129,042 | $118,095 | $10,947 | $119,037 | $15,769 |
| Aug 27 | $119,037 | $130,333 | $133,674 | −$3,342 | $115,695 | $16,483 |
| Sep 27 | $115,695 | $131,636 | $119,259 | $12,377 | $128,072 | $17,205 |
| Oct 27 | $128,072 | $132,952 | $119,850 | $13,103 | $141,175 | $17,934 |
| Total | $80,000 | $1,518,184 | $1,457,009 | $61,175 | $141,175 | $168,645 |
The full schedule, repayment by repayment, is in the downloads.
Download
The inputs, results and schedules of the scenario on screen. Files are made in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
What it does
The forecast starts with the cash in the bank and adds, month by month, the money that comes in and takes off the money that goes out. Sales become cash when customers pay, which for sales on credit can be a month or more later. Stock and materials are paid when suppliers' terms fall due. Wages, rent and the other running costs, loan repayments, tax and GST payments, equipment purchases and owners' drawings are paid in the months they fall.
It shows the closing balance each month, the lowest point, the months below zero and the funding needed to cover the gap. Professional mode adds a start month, a seasonal pattern, a minimum balance to keep, a pattern for how customers pay, and adjustments for testing scenarios. A downside and an upside scenario are ready to compare.
Understanding your results
- Lowest cash balance
- The lowest month-end balance in the forecast. It is the figure that decides whether the business needs an overdraft or new money, and when.
- Funding needed
- How much more cash would keep every month-end balance at or above zero, or above the minimum you set. It is a gap to plan for, not a recommendation to borrow.
- Cash runs out in
- The first month the balance falls below zero, or below your minimum: how long the cash lasts on these assumptions.
- Operating profit and cash
- Profit counts sales and costs when they are made. Cash counts them when they are paid. The difference is timing, plus the payments that are not costs at all, such as loan principal, equipment and drawings.
The method
How this is calculated
Sales. Sales in month m are the first month's sales grown at the monthly rate, times the seasonal pattern for that month:
Sales_m = Sales_1 × (1 + g)^(m − 1) × season_m
Money in. The share paid on the spot is collected in the month of sale; the rest is collected the chosen number of months later. With a collection pattern, each month collects its share of the sales of that month and the three before it, and whatever the pattern leaves out is a bad debt. What customers owe today is collected evenly over the months they take to pay.
Money out. Purchases are the cost of sales percentage of each month's sales, paid after the suppliers' terms; what is owed to suppliers today is paid evenly over the same number of months. Running costs and loan repayments are paid every month, tax and GST every third month from the month chosen, and equipment purchases and new funding in their months.
The balance. Each month's closing balance is the opening balance plus money in, less money out, and becomes the next month's opening balance:
Closing_m = Opening_m + In_m − Out_m
Funding needed is the minimum balance to keep, less the lowest closing balance, when that is positive. Operating profit is sales less cost of sales less running costs, before interest, tax and depreciation.
Amounts exclude GST; enter GST you pay to the ATO in the quarterly tax figure. See How the tools work for the conventions all the tools share.
Assumptions and limitations
The defaults describe an illustrative business with $120,000 of monthly sales growing 1% a month, 30% paid on the spot and the rest a month later, a 45% cost of sales and about $60,000 of monthly running costs and repayments. They are there to show how the forecast works. Replace them with figures from your own accounts, bank statements and budgets.
A monthly forecast looks only at month-end balances; within a month the balance can dip lower, for example on payday or when a large invoice is paid. Interest on the bank balance, GST timing in detail and income tax are not modelled separately. The forecast is general information, not accounting or financial advice, and it is only as good as the figures entered.
Learn more
- Costs up, customers careful: how inflation is affecting Australian businesses in 2026.
- Beyond the balance sheet: the operating questions we ask alongside the accounts.
- Commercial lending explained: overdrafts, invoice finance and term loans.
- The break-even and pricing analyser, for the sales a business needs to cover its costs.