The SBA describes financial statements as tools for tracking capital and projecting cash flow. The worksheet below applies that idea to invoice-level dates. Every amount in the example is fictional.
Copy this weekly table
| Week | Opening cash | Receipts by expected deposit date | Payroll and contractor payments | Other bills | Closing cash | Owner-set reserve |
|---|
For each week, calculate closing = opening + receipts − payroll − other bills. The next week's opening equals the previous closing. Enter a customer receipt on the date you reasonably expect funds to be available, not when the invoice is sent. Keep the invoice, amount, client, due date, and expected deposit date in a separate list so you can move a late receipt without rewriting the forecast.
Worked two-week example
Start with $10,000. In week 1, clients are expected to pay $5,000 and scheduled payroll and bills total $7,000. Closing cash is $8,000. Week 2 has no receipts and $1,000 in bills, leaving $7,000. If the owner-set reserve is $7,500, the forecast shows a $500 gap in week 2. It does not tell the owner which bill to delay or whether to borrow.
Move a $3,000 receipt from week 1 to week 3. Week 1 closing becomes $5,000, below reserve. The total receivable is unchanged, but its date changes the low point. This is why a monthly revenue total can hide a weekly cash problem.
Use scenarios without making up a late-pay rate
Keep a baseline and named stress cases, such as “Invoice 104 arrives 14 days later” or “planned hire starts on December 1.” Change one assumption per case and identify the affected rows. Do not apply a generic late-payment percentage unless it comes from the business's observed history.
Update the forecast weekly with actual payments. Record the difference between actual and forecast and use repeated patterns to improve future assumptions. One customer's delay does not establish that all customers will pay late.
What the forecast can answer
- Which week has the lowest projected cash?
- Which expected receipts need to arrive for the reserve to hold?
- What does a proposed hire or software fee do to the low point?
- How does a two-week receipt delay change the schedule?
The simple worksheet does not model credit facilities, restricted funds, taxes, interest, seasonality, or bank-clearing rules. Include your own obligations and seek qualified help for financing, payroll, and tax decisions. We reviewed general SBA material; this forecast has not been tested with users.
Sources checked October 22, 2026
- SBA: Manage your business and financial statements
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), employer payroll timing
Related guides
A/R aging template, late invoice cash impact, employee cost planner.