Free tools / Cash flow planning
Plan when money will arrive, when payments will leave, and how much cash may remain each week. This Excel template gives small businesses a blank worksheet and a completed example to start from.
Download free Excel templateXLSX · No signup required · Works independently of Bokeping
By Bokeping Team · Reviewed
Cash plan · first four weeks
See the tight weeks ahead
Week 1
From Oct 12
$12,400
Closing cash
Week 2
From Oct 19
$9,600
Closing cash
Week 3
From Oct 26
$9,200
Closing cash
Week 4
From Nov 2
$1,300
Below chosen minimum
Week 4 closes at $1,300. Review payment timing before that week arrives.
Enter your start date, checked opening cash, minimum cash target, and weekly receipts and payments. Formulas carry each closing balance into the next week and highlight balances below your chosen minimum.
The sample uses USD. Plan in one currency throughout; the workbook does not convert currencies or connect to your accounts.
A completed 13-week example
This fictional business starts with $12,000 and chooses a $5,000 minimum. Its expected closing cash falls below that minimum in week 4, even though cash later recovers.
The weekly calculation
Opening cash + receipts − payments = closing cash
A positive closing balance can still be below the cushion you want. The minimum is your planning choice, not an industry benchmark or an automatic overdraft limit.
| Week starting | Opening cash | Receipts | Payments | Closing cash | Minimum check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1Oct 12 | $12,000 | $6,000 | $5,600 | $12,400 | At or above minimum |
| Week 2Oct 19 | $12,400 | $5,000 | $7,800 | $9,600 | At or above minimum |
| Week 3Oct 26 | $9,600 | $4,500 | $4,900 | $9,200 | At or above minimum |
| Week 4Nov 2 | $9,200 | $2,500 | $10,400 | $1,300 | Below minimum |
| Week 5Nov 9 | $1,300 | $10,000 | $5,700 | $5,600 | At or above minimum |
| Week 6Nov 16 | $5,600 | $7,500 | $8,000 | $5,100 | At or above minimum |
| Week 7Nov 23 | $5,100 | $8,000 | $3,400 | $9,700 | At or above minimum |
| Week 8Nov 30 | $9,700 | $7,000 | $9,100 | $7,600 | At or above minimum |
| Week 9Dec 7 | $7,600 | $8,500 | $6,000 | $10,100 | At or above minimum |
| Week 10Dec 14 | $10,100 | $7,500 | $8,100 | $9,500 | At or above minimum |
| Week 11Dec 21 | $9,500 | $8,000 | $4,400 | $13,100 | At or above minimum |
| Week 12Dec 28 | $13,100 | $8,000 | $8,000 | $13,100 | At or above minimum |
| Week 13Jan 4 | $13,100 | $8,500 | $6,200 | $15,400 | At or above minimum |
Try a late-payment scenario: save a separate copy, move a customer receipt one week later, and review the resulting balances. Keep all other assumptions unchanged first, so you can see what that timing change does.
Build your first forecast
Use one business, one currency, and a consistent set of cash and bank accounts. Enter the first week’s start date and the checked cash available just before that week. Edit the input cells and leave the formula cells in place.
Enter positive amounts in their receipt or payment rows, using expected cash dates. Include outstanding invoices and bills, upcoming cash sales, rent, payroll, taxes, and other commitments. The worksheet subtracts payment totals for you.
Check whether each closing balance covers your chosen cash cushion. Confirm uncertain customer receipts and large upcoming payments. Test a separate cautious scenario before relying on an optimistic collection date.
Save a dated copy of the plan before the week begins. After it ends, compare expected amounts with actual receipts and payments from your records. Note timing or amount differences. Start a fresh 13-week copy using actual closing cash, the next start date, revised assumptions, and one new final week.
Expected is not actual. You can enter actual closing cash to see actual minus forecast variance. That entry does not replace forecast assumptions or feed the next week’s opening forecast. Keep your original plan before updating it. Changing the start date only relabels the weeks; it does not move the amounts to new dates. The workbook does not import bank activity, roll forward automatically, or reconcile your accounts.
Use the records you already keep
Bokeping provides invoices, bills, aging reports, and historical financial statements. Review those records, manually copy the amounts you need, and set your own expected receipt and payment dates in Excel.
Banking and your bank records
Check the cash and bank accounts included in your forecast. Resolve timing differences, keep the same account scope each week, and exclude unavailable cash. Do not count an unused credit limit as cash.
Reconcile a bank accountSales & Receivables → Invoices
Review unpaid invoice amounts alongside Reports → A/R Aging Summary. Check payments, credits, and customer deposits first. Copy only the remaining cash you expect to collect and choose its expected receipt week.
Read A/R Aging SummaryPurchases & Expenses → Bills
Review unpaid bills alongside Reports → A/P Aging Summary. Check partial payments, vendor credits, and advances before scheduling the remaining cash payment. Add commitments that are not yet recorded as bills separately.
Read A/P Aging SummaryReports → Statement of Cash Flows
Review recorded cash movements over a past period. Use these and your payment records to estimate recurring amounts, then adjust for actual upcoming dates, one-off purchases, financing, and changes in the business.
Read your financial statementsKeep the connection clear: this standalone template does not sync with Bokeping, import into your account, or activate an in-app forecast. Its future cash balances come from your assumptions; Bokeping’s Statement of Cash Flows describes recorded activity.
Keep your records in BokepingAn unpaid invoice may count as earned revenue under accrual accounting before its cash arrives. Buying inventory can use cash before that inventory becomes cost of goods sold. Borrowing increases cash without creating sales. Forecast the movement of money, not a second profit and loss statement.
If expected customer receipts include sales tax, include the gross cash received and schedule the tax payment separately when you expect to remit it. Do not add tax collected again as a second receipt. Use your own tax obligations and dates.
Show expected loan proceeds or owner contributions as financing receipts, not customer sales. Include principal, interest, and owner withdrawals when cash will leave. Loan principal and owner draws are not operating expenses on a profit report.
For a forecast of cash and bank accounts, a card purchase usually affects cash when the card is paid. Do not also include that same purchase as a cash outflow in its purchase week. Review fees and any direct bank payments separately.
A transfer between two accounts already included in the forecast does not change total cash. Exclude both internal legs from receipts and payments. If you plan for one account only, reflect transfers into or out of that account consistently.
FAQs
It is a weekly plan for cash coming into and leaving a business over the next 13 weeks. Each week starts with an opening cash balance, adds expected receipts, subtracts expected payments, and carries the closing balance into the next week. It helps you see when cash may be tight; it is not a guarantee of future results.
Yes. Download the Excel workbook without signing up. It includes a blank Forecast sheet, a completed Example, and instructions. The example is fictional, uses USD, and is for learning how the worksheet works.
No. This is a standalone Excel planning workbook, not a Bokeping import file or an in-app forecasting feature. You manually copy reviewed balances and amounts from your records, then choose the dates you expect cash to arrive or leave. Editing the workbook does not change your books.
Use the week when you realistically expect to receive the cash. A due date is a useful starting point, but a late-paying customer may pay later. Use only the remaining amount after payments and credits, and split it across weeks if you expect installments. Avoid adding the same receipt again as a cash sale.
Keep a dated copy of the original plan. At the end of each week, compare it with actual cash receipts and payments and explain the differences. Then start a new 13-week copy using the next start date and your checked actual closing cash. Re-enter the remaining expected cash flows and add a new final week; the workbook does not roll forward or import actuals automatically.
A forecast looks ahead using assumptions about amounts and timing. Bokeping’s Statement of Cash Flows reports recorded activity over a selected past period. Use that report to review patterns and check your assumptions, but do not copy historical totals into future weeks as if the payments were certain.
Download the workbook, enter your assumptions in Forecast, and use Example as a reference. Review your plan each week.