A cash flow forecast template is a simple table that shows your opening balance, the money you expect in, the money you expect out and your closing balance for each month ahead. Copy the blank template below into a spreadsheet, fill in your own figures, and update it once a month so you can see a cash gap coming before it arrives.
The most useful thing a forecast tells you isn't whether you're making a profit. It's whether you'll have enough money in the bank on a given date to pay wages, suppliers and tax. A business can look healthy on paper and still run short of cash, because customers pay late or a big bill lands in a quiet month.
I've kept this template deliberately plain. Every cell is empty, so you start with your own numbers rather than someone else's guesses.
The template
| Row | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | |||
| Money in | |||
| Customer payments | |||
| Other income | |||
| Loans or funding in | |||
| Total in | |||
| Money out | |||
| Wages and freelancers | |||
| Rent and bills | |||
| Suppliers and stock | |||
| Software | |||
| Tax payments | |||
| Loan repayments | |||
| Owner drawings | |||
| Total out | |||
| Net cash flow | |||
| Closing balance |
Copy the table into Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. Add a column for each month until you've got twelve, then turn the totals, net cash flow and closing balance into formulas so they update when you change a number. Rename or add rows to fit your business. If you don't borrow, delete the loan rows. If stock is a big part of your spending, split it into its own lines.
If you'd rather build the sheet from a blank page, my guide to creating a budgeting template in Excel from scratch walks through the formulas step by step.
How to fill it in, row by row
Work from top to bottom. The order matters, because each month's closing figure feeds the next month.
Opening balance
This is the cash in your business bank account on the first day of Month 1. Use the real figure from your bank statement, not what your accounting software says you're owed. If you've got more than one business account, add them together. Leave out money that isn't yours to spend, such as a deposit you might have to return.
Money in
Put income in the month you expect it to land in your account, not the month you send the invoice. If your clients usually pay a month after you invoice, the work you do in Month 1 belongs in Month 2. Be honest about slow payers. A forecast that assumes everyone pays on time is a wish list.
- Customer payments: sales, retainers, deposits and instalments, in the month the cash arrives.
- Other income: anything that isn't a sale, such as interest, refunds from suppliers or a grant payment.
- Loans or funding in: one-off amounts from a bank, a lender or an investor. Keep these separate so they don't make your trading look stronger than the real picture.
- Total in: the sum of the three rows above.
Money out
List every payment you know is coming, in the month it leaves your account. Check last year's bank statements for the ones that are easy to forget.
- Wages and freelancers: salaries, payroll costs and contractor invoices.
- Rent and bills: premises, utilities, phone, broadband and insurance.
- Suppliers and stock: materials, products and anything you buy to resell.
- Software: monthly subscriptions, plus annual renewals in the month they're charged.
- Tax payments: VAT or sales tax, income or corporation tax, and payroll taxes. Due dates depend on where you are and how you're set up, so check them with your accountant and put each one in the right month.
- Loan repayments: the regular amount you pay back on any borrowing.
- Owner drawings: what you pay yourself. Leaving this out is the most common way a forecast looks better than real life.
- Total out: the sum of everything in this section.
Closing balance
First work out net cash flow, which is total in minus total out. It can be negative, and that's fine for a month or two if you planned for it. Then add net cash flow to your opening balance. That gives you the closing balance, the cash you expect to have at the end of the month.
Here's the part that makes the whole thing work: the closing balance for one month becomes the opening balance for the next. Link those cells with a formula, and a change in Month 2 flows all the way to Month 12.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Weekly or monthly?
Monthly suits most small businesses. It's quick to keep up, and it shows the big picture without drowning you in detail.
Switch to weekly when cash is tight, when you've taken on a big contract with upfront costs, or when you're heading into a seasonal dip. In those weeks, the timing of a single payment can decide whether you can pay a supplier on Friday. A weekly view of the next few months, with monthly columns after that, gives you detail where you need it and keeps the rest light.
Four warning signs it shows you early
The value of a forecast is that it shows trouble while you've still got time to act. These are the four patterns I'd look for first.
- The closing balance drops below your safety buffer. Pick a minimum you never want to go below, such as one month of fixed costs, and highlight any month that dips under it.
- Money out keeps growing faster than money in. One heavy month isn't a problem. Three in a row is a trend worth fixing.
- One customer makes up most of your money in. If they pay late or leave, the whole forecast changes. It's a prompt to widen your client base.
- A big lump lands in a quiet month. Tax bills, insurance and annual software renewals often fall when income is low. Spotting them early means you can set money aside each month.
A 15-minute monthly review
Set a recurring slot in your calendar for the first few days of each month. Then work through these steps.
- Enter last month's actual figures. Take your real closing balance from the bank and put the actual totals next to what you forecast.
- Compare forecast to actual, row by row. Note any line that's noticeably out, in either direction.
- Ask why each difference happened. A late payment, an unexpected bill and a timing shift each need a different response.
- Adjust the months ahead. If a client always pays late, move their income later for good. If a cost has gone up, update every month it affects.
- Chase late payers. Any unpaid invoice that should have landed is a job for today. If chasing eats your time, here's how to use AI for chasing late-paying clients without sounding cold.
- Roll it forward. Add a new month at the end so you've always got a full year in view.
A cash flow forecast tells you about timing, not profit. If you want both, pair it with an income statement spreadsheet, so you can see whether the business is making money and whether the cash will be there when you need it.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a cash flow forecast and a budget?
A budget sets out what you plan to earn and spend over a period. A cash flow forecast shows when that money will hit or leave your bank account, so it tells you whether you'll have enough cash on a given date.
How far ahead should a small business forecast cash flow?
Twelve months is a sensible default, with the next three months filled in carefully and the later months kept rough. Roll it forward each month so you always have a year in view.
Should I include VAT or sales tax in my cash flow forecast?
Yes. Include the tax you collect from customers in money in, and the payments you make to the tax authority in tax payments. It's real cash moving through your account, even though it isn't yours to keep.
Can I use this template if I'm a sole trader or freelancer?
Yes. Delete the rows you don't need, such as stock or loans, and keep owner drawings, because what you pay yourself is often the biggest line in money out.
