A 13-week cash flow forecast, built once and refreshed every week.
The single most useful finance document a growing business can own: thirteen weeks of expected receipts and payments, by customer and by commitment, against the bank balance and the limits. We build it in the first month of an engagement and keep it honest every week after.
Profit tells you how last month went. Cash tells you whether you make payroll next Friday.
Most SMEs forecast cash the way they forecast weather: a glance at the bank balance and a feeling about collections. An annual budget is too coarse to catch a tight week, and a daily cash sheet is too short to change anything. Thirteen weeks is the horizon in which collections can be chased, payments sequenced, limits enhanced and a shortfall avoided rather than survived.
The forecast is direct-method: real customers and their invoice due dates on the receipts side, real salaries, suppliers, GST, TDS, loan instalments and capex commitments on the payments side. It is reconciled to the bank every week, so its errors are visible and shrink.
Done well, it changes behaviour. Sales stops promising terms the cash cannot support. Purchasing times orders to collections. The promoter stops funding the business from personal money without knowing why.
Signs you need one now
- Payroll or a GST payment has been a last-minute scramble this year
- The CC limit is treated as the cash balance
- Collections are tracked by whoever remembers to call
- A large order was accepted without checking the cash it will consume
- The bank or an investor has asked for a cash forecast you do not have
How we build and run it.
- 01
Week one: the opening position
Bank balances, limits and headroom, debtor ageing by customer with realistic collection dates, creditor commitments, statutory dues, loan schedules and approved capex. The first version is usually ready within ten working days.
- 02
Weeks two to four: the forecast habit
Every week the actuals replace the forecast, variances are explained, and the next thirteen weeks roll forward. Collections are assigned to named people with dates. The forecast becomes the agenda of a 30-minute weekly cash call.
- 03
Decisions the forecast forces
Which supplier to pay early for a discount and which to hold, when to draw the limit and when to repay, whether to discount a bill, how much stock the next six weeks can afford, and when to approach the bank for an enhancement with evidence.
- 04
Linking it to the budget and the bank
The 13-week view feeds the rolling annual forecast and the bank's monthly stock statement, so you tell one story to the lender, the board and yourself. Accuracy is tracked: within a quarter, week-one receipts are usually forecast within 5–10%.
What you get, every week.
Concrete deliverables, owned by named people, on a fixed monthly fee.
The forecast
- 13-week receipts by customer and payments by category
- Bank headroom against limits, by week
- Scenario toggles: delayed collection, large order, capex
- Variance to last week's forecast, explained
- Collections list with owner and date
The discipline
- A 30-minute weekly cash call with a fixed agenda
- Payment-run sequencing rules
- Credit-term guardrails for sales
- A monthly bank pack reconciled to the forecast
- Handover to your team once it runs itself
What a weekly cash forecast typically changes.
Shown as ranges across comparable, anonymised engagements. Your numbers depend on your starting point.
Ranges from comparable engagements. The forecast is also the base for the rolling budget and for every bank conversation.
Related pages and tools.
13-week cash flow forecast: common questions
Can you build the forecast as a one-off project?
Yes. A four-week build with a template, the first version and training for your team is available as a fixed-fee project. Most clients then keep us on a light retainer for the weekly call, because the value is in the discipline rather than the spreadsheet. A standalone build is typically a small fraction of a monthly CFO retainer.
Which tools do you use?
Usually a well-built Excel or Google Sheets model linked to exports from Tally, ERPNext, Zoho or your bank portal, because every business can maintain it. Where the ERP supports it we automate the feeds. The tool matters less than the weekly reconciliation to the bank.
How accurate can a 13-week forecast be?
Week one and two are usually within 5–10% on receipts after a quarter of running it. Weeks eight to thirteen are directional and exist to show when a limit will be breached, not to be exact. Accuracy improves because every week's error is explained.
Is this only for businesses in trouble?
No. Growing, profitable businesses need it most, because growth consumes cash. Lenders and investors increasingly ask for it, and a credible 13-week forecast is often what turns a limit enhancement or a bridge round from a no into a yes.
Know your cash position thirteen weeks out.
Book a 30-minute strategy call. Share your bank balances, limits and debtor ageing and we will outline what your first 13-week forecast would show.