What the template is
The template has one row for each of the next 13 weeks. Each row starts with the cash you have, adds the money you expect to receive, takes away the money you expect to pay, and ends with the cash you will have. That closing figure becomes the next week's opening figure.
The formulas are already in place. You type in the first week's date, your bank balance and the amounts. Everything else calculates.
What each column is for
- Opening balance: for week 1, what is in the bank today. After that it fills itself in.
- Invoices paid by clients: invoices you expect to be paid that week, by the date you expect the money, not the date on the invoice.
- Other money in: anything else you can rely on, such as a grant, a loan drawdown or a tax refund.
- Payroll: net pay, plus the PAYE and National Insurance that fall due in the same week if you pay them together.
- Suppliers and bills: what you owe and when it is due.
- Rent and overheads: fixed costs on their usual dates.
- VAT, PAYE and corporation tax: the lumpy items that cause most surprises. Put each one in the week it is due.
- Cash buffer: the minimum balance you want to stay above. The last column shows how far above or below it you are.
How to fill it in
- Enter the date of the Monday of the current week in week 1, and your real bank balance in the week 1 opening balance.
- Go through your unpaid sales invoices. Put each in the week you realistically expect payment. If a client usually pays 10 days late, use that.
- Go through your unpaid bills and your regular commitments. Put each in the week it is due.
- Add payroll, rent, loan repayments, subscriptions and tax for every week they fall due.
- Enter your cash buffer in every week of the buffer column.
- Look at the headroom column. Any negative figure is a week where you would be below your buffer.
What to do with a low week
A week below your buffer is not a failure, it is a warning with time attached. Options include chasing the largest overdue invoices, invoicing earlier or in stages, moving a discretionary payment, agreeing a later date with a supplier, or arranging a short-term facility before you need it. Our guide on chasing late payments covers the first of these.
Keeping it current
Each week, replace the forecast with what actually happened, then roll the 13 weeks forward by one. This takes most people longer than building it the first time, which is the main reason spreadsheets drift. Cadence does this step for you: it reads your invoices and bills and keeps the forecast current. You can try it free for 14 days.
The template is general information. It is not financial, tax or legal advice.