A 13-week cash forecast lists the money you expect in and out each week for the next three months, then shows your expected bank balance at the end of every week. It catches the tight weeks before they arrive, when you still have time to move a payment or hold off on a purchase.
Why 13 weeks
Thirteen weeks is one quarter. It's long enough to see payroll cycles, rent, loan payments and an estimated tax payment, and short enough that your guesses are still close. A monthly view hides the problem when rent and two payrolls land in the same week.
What goes in
Money in:
- Membership payouts from your platform, on the days they hit the bank.
- Employer contract payments, on the dates you expect them, not the due dates.
- Anything else you collect, like labs or product sales.
Money out:
- Payroll, on each pay date, with payroll taxes.
- Rent, loan payments and the credit card payment.
- Software, supplies and other regular bills.
- Estimated tax payments and your own pay.
- Any one-time purchases you're planning.
A made-up example
Say you start a week with $30,000. That week, $10,000 in payouts comes in, and rent of $5,000 and payroll of $9,000 go out. You end the week at $26,000. Run that forward week by week. If week 7 dips below your cash floor because payroll, rent and an annual insurance bill all land together, you know now, not that morning. Start with your cash floor here.
How to keep it accurate
Each week, replace last week's forecast with what happened, then add a new week at the end so you always see 13 ahead. Compare forecast to actual. If payouts keep arriving later than you expected, change the timing in the forecast.
Start from your real bank balance, not the book balance, and use the same weekly dates for every row. A simple spreadsheet works fine. Put the cash floor in its own row so every week's ending balance sits right next to it, and color any week that falls below it.
What to do when a week looks tight
- Move a purchase to a later week.
- Ask a vendor for a later due date.
- Follow up on late employer invoices. Here's how.
- Hold your owner pay a week or two.
- Talk to your bank about a line of credit before you need it.
What I'd do this week
- Open a spreadsheet with 13 weekly columns, starting this Monday.
- Fill in your payroll dates, rent and loan payments first.
- Add expected payouts using the last two months as a guide.
- Mark any week that ends below your cash floor.
Common questions
How is this different from a budget?
A budget plans income and costs by month. A cash forecast tracks when money moves, week by week. You need both.
How long does it take each week?
Once it's set up, about 15 minutes. Most rows repeat on a schedule.
Do I need software for this?
No. A spreadsheet works for most practices. What matters is updating it every week.
Want help seeing tight weeks coming?
At the Fractional CFO level, we add a cash flow forecast to the monthly close, so you can see tight weeks before they arrive. If that's what you need, apply to work with us.