Businesses with tight working capital
Where the gap between paying suppliers and being paid is the main pressure.
Business Advisory & Finance
Cash-Flow Forecasting
Cash-flow forecasts to anticipate funding requirements, manage working capital and support informed decisions.
Overview
How we help with Cash-Flow Forecasting
Profitable businesses fail on cash, not on profit. A forecast turns the question "can we afford this?" into something you can answer with a date attached.
We build a rolling weekly or monthly cash-flow forecast from your actual receipts and payments patterns: customer payment behaviour, supplier terms, payroll, VAT and Corporation Tax dates, loan repayments and planned capital spend. It updates as actuals come in, so the forecast stays honest.
From there you can test decisions before you make them: taking on a hire, extending credit to a large customer, buying equipment, or bringing forward a tax payment. Each scenario shows the low point and the date it happens.
What's included
Everything covered in this service
This service maps the timing of cash receipts, payments and funding headroom so management can see pressure points before they arrive. It is distinct from a profit budget. Use budgeting and forecasting for the wider operating plan, working-capital analysis for structural cash-conversion issues, or funding support when the forecast must support a finance request.
- Rolling 13-week or 12-month cash-flow forecast
- Receipts and payments modelled on real payment behaviour
- VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax payment dates built in
- Scenario testing for hiring, investment and pricing decisions
- Identification of the funding gap and its timing
- Regular refresh against actuals
Who it's for
Built around how you actually operate
Companies planning investment
Owners who need to know what a purchase or hire does to headroom.
Seasonal businesses
Trading patterns where good months have to carry the quiet ones.
FAQs
Cash-Flow Forecasting: common questions
How far ahead should we forecast?
A 13-week rolling forecast is the standard for managing short-term cash. A 12-month view is more useful for planning investment, funding and tax payments. Many businesses run both.
How often does it need updating?
Weekly if cash is tight, monthly if it is comfortable. A forecast that is not refreshed against actuals stops being useful quickly.
What information goes into a cash-flow forecast?
The starting bank position, expected customer receipts, supplier and payroll timings, tax payments, finance commitments and planned one-off spending are mapped by date. Assumptions are kept visible so they can be updated.
Is a cash-flow forecast the same as a profit forecast?
No. A profitable business can still run short of cash when receipts arrive after wages, tax or suppliers must be paid. This service concentrates on liquidity and timing rather than only accounting profit.
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Let's talk about Cash-Flow Forecasting
Bring the current bank position, aged customer and supplier balances, payroll and tax dates, finance commitments and known one-off spending. We will agree the horizon and update frequency.
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