Cash Flow Forecasting For What Comes Next
Who This Fits, And What It Solves
Forecasting fits the business that has learned, the hard way, that revenue and cash are not the same thing — and would rather see the timing gap coming than explain it after the fact.
Businesses Where Revenue And Cash Arrive On Different Clocks
You bill on completion but pay staff weekly, or your clients pay in thirty days while your suppliers want ten. The income statement looks healthy; the bank balance tells a different story. Forecasting reconciles the two clocks.
Owners Sizing A Move Against The Runway
You are about to hire, invest, or commit, and you want the cash picture — not just the profit picture — understood before you move. Forecasting turns the runway into a decision you make on purpose.
Scope & Deliverables
A cash flow forecast is a living model, not a one-time document. The scope covers the model itself, the assumptions it rests on, and the cadence that keeps it honest as the business moves.
Rolling Cash Forecast
A forward view of cash — receipts and disbursements on their real timing — that rolls forward each period so the picture reflects the business today rather than the business at the start of the year.
Assumptions, Made Explicit
The timing and collection assumptions behind the forecast written down so they can be questioned, tested, and updated. A forecast you cannot inspect is a forecast you cannot trust.
Scenario & Sensitivity Views
What changes if revenue slips a month, if a large payment lands late, or if a planned hire moves up. The forecast holds up to the question because the assumptions are visible, not hidden.
A Cadence That Keeps It Current
The forecast is revisited on a rhythm that fits the business — monthly for most, more often when cash is tight — so the picture stays useful rather than drifting into fiction.
How The Work Runs
Forecasting is a habit. It starts with the model, runs on a cadence, and earns its keep when the business deviates and the forecast is the thing that catches it.
Forecast Inputs
- Receipts — when cash actually arrives
- Commitments — when cash has to leave
- Scenarios — what shifts if timing slips
The model is only as honest as the assumptions behind it.
Build The Model
We build a rolling forecast on the real timing of your receipts and disbursements, not generic monthly averages, so it reflects how cash actually moves through the business.
Make The Assumptions Visible
The assumptions behind the forecast are written down — collection days, payment timing, one-time items — so you can see what drives the picture and challenge it.
Roll It Forward Each Period
Each period the forecast rolls forward and is compared to what actually happened. Variances are explained, not just noted, and the model learns from the business.
Use It To Decide
The forecast earns its keep when a decision — a hire, a purchase, a payment — is made against the runway it shows, rather than against a bank balance that will not last.
How It Plays Out In Practice
Illustrative Scenario
A Profitable Business With A Quiet Cash Gap
- Map receipts and disbursements on their actual timing, not averages
- Make the collection and payment assumptions explicit and testable
- Spot the weeks where the gap appears before it becomes a problem
- Plan the timing of a hire or purchase against the runway it shows
Questions Before You Start
Most owners weigh a forecast against a budget, or expect it to predict the bank balance to the dollar. It helps to know how far ahead it looks, how precise it needs to be, and what happens when the business does not move the way the model assumed.
If it is easier to talk through, start a conversation and we will scope it with you.
Pair This With The Right Scope
Most owners combine two or three services into one scoped engagement. These are the natural companions to Cash Flow.
Begin A Scoped Engagement
Tell us where the business is today and where you want it to go. We'll propose a written scope you can hold us to — and adjust as the company grows.