Monthly Cash Flow Forecast
Projects cash inflows and outflows across 12 months to produce a running cash balance. Flags months where the balance goes negative so you can arrange financing or defer spending before the shortfall hits.
Accounting - Monthly Cash Flow Forecast.xlsx
Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
What This Spreadsheet Solves
- Discovering a cash shortfall weeks or months before it occurs
- Quantifying how seasonal revenue swings affect your bank balance
- Deciding whether you can afford a large purchase in a specific month
- Estimating the minimum credit line needed to stay cash-positive
- Reducing reliance on gut-feel cash management
Who This Is For
- Small business owners tracking monthly cash position
- Controllers preparing rolling liquidity forecasts
- CFOs presenting cash runway to the board
- Startup founders monitoring burn rate against bank balance
Inputs
- $Opening cash balance
- $Monthly revenue (per month)
- $Monthly fixed costs
- $Monthly variable costs
- $One-time inflows or outflows
- dateForecast start date
Outputs
- Monthly closing cash balance for each of 12 months
- Cumulative net cash flow over the forecast period
- Months flagged with negative closing balance
- Peak cash surplus month and amount
- Minimum cash balance across the 12-month window
How Calculations Work
Each month's closing balance equals the prior month's closing balance plus total inflows minus total outflows. The model separates fixed costs from variable costs so you can see how volume changes shift the cash position. Any month that produces a negative closing balance is flagged automatically. A summary row shows the lowest point in the 12-month window.
Example Use Case
Scenario: A consulting firm starts with $40,000 in the bank, earns $25,000/month in revenue, has $18,000 in fixed costs and $4,000 in variable costs, and plans a $30,000 equipment purchase in month 4.
Result: The forecast shows cash drops to $1,000 in month 4 after the equipment purchase, recovers to $4,000 by month 5, and reaches $40,000 again by month 12. No negative-balance months, but month 4 is flagged as critically low.
What You Get — 5 Sheets
Technical Details
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extend the forecast beyond 12 months?
The template is built for 12 months. You can duplicate the LOGIC columns to extend it, but accuracy degrades past 12 months because assumptions compound.
How do I handle revenue that arrives irregularly?
Enter the expected amount in each specific month's revenue row on the INPUT sheet rather than using a single average figure.
Does the forecast account for taxes?
Not directly. Enter estimated tax payments as outflows in the months they are due. For detailed tax modeling, use the Tax Liability Estimator template.
What does the negative-balance flag mean practically?
It means projected outflows exceed projected inflows plus the carried-forward balance for that month. You would need additional cash from savings, a credit line, or deferred expenses.
Can I model multiple scenarios?
Duplicate the INPUT sheet with different assumptions (e.g., optimistic, pessimistic) and point the LOGIC sheet at each version to compare outcomes.
Download Monthly Cash Flow Forecast
Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.