Free template
13-week cash flow forecast template
Forecast cash week by week for the next quarter. Enter opening cash and the receipts and payments you expect each week; the template rolls the balance forward, flags the weeks that fall below your minimum, and compares each week's actual closing cash to the forecast once it's known.
Download the template
Download the 13-week cash flow forecast template .xlsx
What’s in the workbook
- Inputs: the Monday week 1 starts, opening cash and the minimum balance you want to keep
- Thirteen weekly columns of cash receipts (customer collections, other receipts) and disbursements (payroll, suppliers, rent, taxes, debt service, capital spending, other), with spare lines
- Total receipts, total disbursements, net cash flow, opening and closing cash, and the cushion or shortfall against the minimum
- The number of weeks below the minimum, the lowest closing balance, and an actual-vs-forecast variance row for rolling the forecast forward
Blue cells are inputs. Formulas recalculate in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. The sample data below is already filled in so you can see how it works; replace it with your own.
What the sample looks like
- Opening cash
- 118,000.00
- Minimum balance
- 50,000.00
- Weeks below minimum
- 3
- Lowest closing cash
- 25,100.00
| Week starting | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | 11/30 | 12/7 | 12/14 | 12/21 | 12/28 | 1/4 | 1/11 | 1/18 | 1/25 | 13 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer collections | 52,000 | 48,500 | 55,200 | 50,800 | 47,300 | 53,600 | 49,900 | 38,200 | 31,500 | 54,100 | 51,700 | 56,300 | 50,400 | 639,500 |
| Other receipts | – | – | – | 3,200 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,500 | 4,700 |
| Total receipts | 52,000 | 48,500 | 55,200 | 54,000 | 47,300 | 53,600 | 49,900 | 38,200 | 31,500 | 54,100 | 51,700 | 56,300 | 51,900 | 644,200 |
| Payroll and benefits | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | – | 41,500 | 290,500 |
| Suppliers and inventory | 21,800 | 19,400 | 23,600 | 20,100 | 22,500 | 24,800 | 26,300 | 18,900 | 15,200 | 21,400 | 20,700 | 22,900 | 21,100 | 278,700 |
| Rent and occupancy | 12,500 | – | – | – | 12,500 | – | – | – | 12,500 | – | – | – | – | 37,500 |
| Taxes | – | – | 6,200 | – | – | – | 6,800 | – | – | – | 24,300 | – | – | 37,300 |
| Debt service | – | 6,800 | – | – | – | 6,800 | – | – | – | 6,800 | – | – | – | 20,400 |
| Capital expenditures | – | – | – | – | – | – | 28,000 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 28,000 |
| Other disbursements | 1,800 | 2,100 | 1,600 | 2,400 | 1,900 | 2,200 | 3,100 | 1,500 | 1,200 | 2,300 | 1,900 | 2,000 | 1,700 | 25,700 |
| Total disbursements | 77,600 | 28,300 | 72,900 | 22,500 | 78,400 | 33,800 | 105,700 | 20,400 | 70,400 | 30,500 | 88,400 | 24,900 | 64,300 | 718,100 |
| Net cash flow | -25,600 | 20,200 | -17,700 | 31,500 | -31,100 | 19,800 | -55,800 | 17,800 | -38,900 | 23,600 | -36,700 | 31,400 | -12,400 | -73,900 |
| Opening cash | 118,000 | 92,400 | 112,600 | 94,900 | 126,400 | 95,300 | 115,100 | 59,300 | 77,100 | 38,200 | 61,800 | 25,100 | 56,500 | |
| Closing cash | 92,400 | 112,600 | 94,900 | 126,400 | 95,300 | 115,100 | 59,300 | 77,100 | 38,200 | 61,800 | 25,100 | 56,500 | 44,100 | 44,100 |
| Cushion (shortfall) vs. minimum | 42,400 | 62,600 | 44,900 | 76,400 | 45,300 | 65,100 | 9,300 | 27,100 | -11,800 | 11,800 | -24,900 | 6,500 | -5,900 |
Building the forecast
This is a direct-method forecast: it lists the cash expected to come in and go out each week, rather than starting from net income and adjusting for non-cash items. Thirteen weeks covers a quarter, and weekly columns are short enough to show when payroll, rent, tax and supplier runs land against collections.
Start from the bank
Set opening cash to the bank balance at the start of week 1, less checks written that haven't cleared. A bank reconciliation gives you that figure.
Forecast collections from receivables
Work through open invoices on the accounts receivable aging report, and place each in the week you expect payment, based on how that customer actually pays. Add new sales you expect to collect inside the 13 weeks. Days sales outstanding is a check on the overall pace.
Schedule fixed payments
Put payroll on its pay dates, then rent, loan payments, insurance and tax deposits on their due dates. These are the most predictable lines and usually the largest.
Add supplier payments
Take open bills from the accounts payable aging report and place them in the week you plan to pay, not the week they're due if you pay on terms. Add expected new purchases.
Set a minimum and read the shortfalls
The cushion row shows how far each week's closing cash sits above or below the minimum. A shortfall is the time to move a payment, chase a collection or arrange a draw on a credit line, weeks before it happens.
Rolling it forward each week
A 13-week forecast is most useful when it's kept current. At the end of each week, enter the actual closing cash in the roll-forward row; the variance shows how far reality moved from the forecast. Look at which lines caused it, adjust the remaining weeks, and add a new week at the end so the forecast always looks a full quarter ahead.
Variances that repeat on the same line, such as collections that keep landing a week late, are worth building into the assumptions rather than correcting by hand each week.
Treasury and cash management software automates the same steps from live bank data: categorizing transactions, forecasting from history and receivables, and comparing forecasts to actuals. Tools that document AI forecasting are compared in cash flow forecasting and treasury software.
13-week cash flow forecast template: questions
- What is a 13-week cash flow forecast?
- A week-by-week projection of cash receipts, payments and the closing cash balance for the next 13 weeks, about one quarter. It uses the direct method, listing actual cash in and out, so it shows the timing of shortfalls that a monthly or annual forecast can hide.
- What's the difference between the direct and indirect method?
- The direct method forecasts cash receipts and payments line by line. The indirect method starts from net income and adjusts for non-cash items and changes in working capital, the way a statement of cash flows often reconciles operating cash. Short-term forecasts like this one use the direct method.
- How often should I update it?
- Weekly: enter the actual closing cash, review the variance, adjust the remaining weeks and add a new week at the end, so the forecast always covers the next 13 weeks.
- What minimum cash balance should I use?
- One that covers the payments you can't move, such as payroll and debt service, for the period it would take to raise cash if collections slowed. Many businesses set it from their largest regular payment run plus a margin; there's no single rule.