A 13-week cash-flow forecast gives management enough detail to act on immediate liquidity while looking far enough ahead to manage collections, payments and funding decisions.
Start with verified opening cash
Reconcile bank accounts and separate unrestricted cash from balances that cannot be used freely. Include overdraft and committed facility limits where relevant.
The forecast should begin from cash that genuinely exists and is available.
Forecast receipts by source
Use customer-level collection expectations for material balances rather than applying one average assumption to all receivables. Add recurring income and known one-off receipts separately.
Challenge dates using payment history, disputes, contractual terms and direct input from account owners.
Schedule payments realistically
Include payroll, tax, rent, suppliers, debt service, capital expenditure and owner distributions. Identify essential, committed and deferrable payments.
Timing should reflect approval cycles and contractual obligations, not only accounting due dates.
Create a base case and downside view
Model the effect of slower collections, lost sales, unexpected costs or delayed funding. Highlight the earliest week in which headroom becomes insufficient.
Scenarios help management agree actions before pressure becomes urgent.
Update and explain weekly
Roll the forecast forward every week, replace estimates with actuals and explain material variances. Assign actions for collections, payment negotiation, spending control and funding.
The value of the forecast comes from the management conversation and decisions it creates.