Payables Payment Timing Calculator

How the payables payment timing calculator works

Each input is a cash amount rounded to cents. For each bucket, closing cash equals opening cash plus receipts less supplier payments. That closing amount becomes the next bucket opening. The four ranges cover days 1–7, 8–14, 15–21 and 22–30; other cash spending belongs in the scenario only if incorporated consistently.

The lowest checkpoint is the minimum of opening cash and the four closing balances. Funding to preserve the desired checkpoint buffer is max(0, buffer − lowest checkpoint). It assumes any extra funding is available before the first checkpoint. Negative balances are displayed before that hypothetical funding is added.

Receipts and payments are netted within each bucket, so an earlier payment can cause an intrabucket shortfall that this model does not show. The funding result applies only at its checkpoints. This tool does not change supplier terms, recommend deferring creditors, calculate late-payment penalties or guarantee daily liquidity; use actual dated payments for those decisions.

Worked example

Opening cash of 5,000 with receipts of 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 1,000 and payments of 4,000, 5,000, 2,000 and 3,000 gives closing balances of 3,000, 1,000, 3,000 and 1,000. No added funding is needed for a 1,000 checkpoint buffer. If second-bucket payments rise to 7,000, the lowest checkpoint becomes −1,000 and the buffer funding is 2,000.

Sources and assumptions

The source material explains the underlying calculation or pricing structure. Entered prices, costs, schedules and scenario choices are your assumptions; this tool does not obtain supplier quotes or predict actual results.

• SBA: business planning and startup costs