Cash planning & dated checkpoints
Rolling Cash-Flow Forecast Calculator
Plan a rolling cash forecast with three entered event days. See receipts, payments and financing, the lowest modeled balance and its first day, and funding needed to retain your cash buffer.
133 / ENTERED SCENARIO
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INPUT GROUP 01
Opening and event 1
INPUT GROUP 02
Event 2
INPUT GROUP 03
Event 3
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Read the method and exampleYOUR CALCULATION
Three entered day-offset events, netted on matching days.
Lowest opening / event-day closing cash
First day at minimum cash
Day 0 includes opening cash; equal later minima keep the earliest day.
Added cash to preserve event-day buffer
Sorted event-day cash forecast
| Day offset | Customer receipts | Operating payments | Capital outlays | Signed financing | Net event cash movement | Closing cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $5,000.00 | $8,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$3,000.00 | $7,000.00 |
| 20 | $10,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $5,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $8,000.00 |
| 30 | $6,000.00 | $7,000.00 | $0.00 | -$1,000.00 | -$2,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
Illustrative inputs loaded. Replace them with your own assumptions.
How to roll a cash-flow forecast forward
Use this three-event scenario to examine your next cash checkpoints. Enter day offsets from the start of your scenario, with customer receipts, operating payments, capital spending and financing in separate fields.
Closing cash = opening cash + receipts + signed financing − operating payments − capital outlays
- Compare the first checkpoint with what actually happened. Confirm the available closing cash and which receipts and payments have settled.
- Carry that actual closing cash into the next forecast as opening cash. Replace settled checkpoints with upcoming events and reset their day offsets from the new start.
- Update future amounts and timing, then check the minimum cash balance, its day offset and the funding needed to reach your chosen buffer.
A practical roll-forward example
If actual available cash after the first checkpoint is 7,200, start the refreshed forecast with 7,200. A receipt previously expected on day 20 is now 10 days ahead when the new start is the old day 10. Update its timing and amount using what you know now, and clear settled movements so they are not counted again.
Read the low point and funding separately
Day 0 is the scenario start. The minimum includes opening cash and any day-0 event closing balance. When the minimum occurs more than once, the result shows its earliest day. Same-day movements are combined; the model does not establish whether a receipt arrives before a payment within that day. Added funding is assumed available before the first checkpoint.
For project-specific receipts and expense timing, use the project deposit and cash-gap calculator. For a balance-sheet timing measure, use the cash conversion cycle calculator; a cycle in days is different from a dated cash forecast. The job pricing and cash-flow guide connects pricing with payment timing.
How the rolling cash-flow forecast calculator works
This bounded rolling scenario accepts three event days as offsets from your chosen start date. It sorts them chronologically and combines events sharing a day. Each net event is customer receipts plus signed financing less operating payments and capital outlays. Financing draws are positive; repayments are negative.
Starting from opening cash, each event-day closing balance becomes the next opening balance. The table combines matching days and keeps customer receipts, operating payments, capital outlays and signed financing visible before showing net movement and closing cash. The minimum includes opening cash on day 0 and each event-day closing. Equal minima retain the earliest day. Added funding is the positive gap between that minimum and the desired buffer, assumed available before the first checkpoint. All money inputs round to cents before reconciliation.
To roll the forecast forward, replace opening cash with the actual available balance at your new start, remove movements already settled, revise the amounts and offsets of remaining movements, and enter the next expected event. Do not count settled receipts or payments again. This tool keeps three entered events; it does not generate a recurring or 13-week schedule or synchronize a bank account. Same-day movements are netted, so it does not test intraday payment order.
Worked example
Opening cash of 10,000 is 7,000 after day 10 receipts of 5,000 and payments of 8,000. Day 20 adds receipts 10,000 and financing 2,000, less payments 6,000 and capital 5,000, leaving 8,000. Day 30 receipts 6,000 less payments 7,000 and financing repayment 1,000 leave 6,000: the minimum first occurs on day 30. With zero opening cash, the minimum is −4,000 and a 2,000 buffer needs 6,000 added funding. If day 10 has settled exactly as entered, start the next forecast with actual cash of 7,000, remove that settled event, move the remaining offsets to days 10 and 20, and add the next expected event.
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.
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