A cash flow forecast answers one question: how much money will be in the bank at the end of each month? Start with today's balance, enter what you expect to receive and pay out, and the template rolls each month's closing cash into the next. Adjust any month by hand for a tax bill, a large order or a slow season, see the lowest point and the first month the account would go negative, then download the forecast as a spreadsheet file.
This is a direct-method forecast — the approach accounting standards (IAS 7, US GAAP ASC 230) call reporting cash receipts and payments directly. For each month: closing cash = opening cash + cash in − cash out, and that closing figure becomes the next month's opening cash.
The assumptions fill the months for you: month k's cash in = first-month cash in × (1 + growth)^k, and the same for cash out, rounded to the dollar. Then every cell is editable, because real months are rarely smooth.
A business has $15,000 in the bank. It expects $20,000 in customer receipts next month, growing 2% a month, and $21,000 of payments, growing 1% a month. Month 1 closes at $15,000 + $20,000 − $21,000 = $14,000. Because costs start higher, the balance keeps slipping until month 5, where it bottoms out at $11,960; from month 6 receipts overtake payments and the year ends at $16,910.
That dip is the point of a forecast: the business is growing, yet it would be $3,040 below where it started for most of the first half. Those are the template's default inputs, so the table shows every month.
Record money when it actually moves, not when you invoice or are billed. If customers pay 30 days after invoice, this month's cash in is last month's sales. Include owner contributions, loan proceeds and asset sales in cash in; include loan repayments, tax payments, equipment purchases and owner draws in cash out — none of them appear as normal expenses on a profit and loss statement, but all of them change the bank balance.
Build each figure from last year's bank statements, then adjust for what you know is coming. Re-forecast monthly: replace the month that just ended with the actual numbers and extend the forecast one month further out.
If the forecast shows a dip, you have time to act before it happens: chase overdue invoices, ask for deposits on large jobs, shorten payment terms, move a purchase to a later month, or arrange a line of credit while the numbers still look healthy. The loan amortization schedule on this site shows what any borrowing would cost each month.
A budget plans income and spending, often on an accrual basis. A cash flow forecast tracks when money actually enters and leaves the bank, so it shows timing gaps a budget can hide.
Twelve months is common for planning; a rolling 13-week forecast is often used when cash is tight. This template forecasts 1 to 36 months.
Profit counts sales when they are made; cash counts them when customers pay. Slow payers, stock purchases, loan repayments and tax bills can all drain cash while the profit and loss statement still shows a profit.
Yes. Download the CSV and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. Your numbers are also saved in this browser so you can come back to them.