s have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We f

Small business owners soon learn that Cash Flow and Profit are not one and the same thing. The two may be related but are not always in concert. There can be high profits reported during a period of extremely tight cash flow and low profits reported during a cash rich period.

Profitability is based on invoicing and the relationship of costs, either expended or accrued, to those sales. The actual payment of expenses or receipt of invoice payments can, and often do, occur in periods different that when the sales occurred, so that cash flow can be widely different from reported profit in any period.

Cash Flow is based on changes in cash balance and can be affected by changes in assets that don’t affect profitability. Allowing inventories to build or accounts receivable to go uncollected and grow can have a tremendous cash draining effect on the business. In effect you are converting cash to an investment in these other assets.

During a period of strong growth even a very profitable business can (and usually will) experience cash flow problems. Therefore, corporate growth or sales success should not be viewed as a reason to stop performing a cash flow forecast. On the contrary, it is more important, even critical, that management has access to timely cash management information during growth periods.

Just as many businesses have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We fo

f costs, either expended or accrued, to those sales. The actual payment of expenses or receipt of invoice payments can, and often do, occur in periods different that when the sales occurred, so that cash flow can be widely different from reported profit in any period.

Cash Flow is based on changes in cash balance and can be affected by changes in assets that don’t affect profitability. Allowing inventories to build or accounts receivable to go uncollected and grow can have a tremendous cash draining effect on the business. In effect you are converting cash to an investment in these other assets.

During a period of strong growth even a very profitable business can (and usually will) experience cash flow problems. Therefore, corporate growth or sales success should not be viewed as a reason to stop performing a cash flow forecast. On the contrary, it is more important, even critical, that management has access to timely cash management information during growth periods.

Just as many businesses have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We f

by changes in assets that don’t affect profitability. Allowing inventories to build or accounts receivable to go uncollected and grow can have a tremendous cash draining effect on the business. In effect you are converting cash to an investment in these other assets.

During a period of strong growth even a very profitable business can (and usually will) experience cash flow problems. Therefore, corporate growth or sales success should not be viewed as a reason to stop performing a cash flow forecast. On the contrary, it is more important, even critical, that management has access to timely cash management information during growth periods.

Just as many businesses have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We f

n (and usually will) experience cash flow problems. Therefore, corporate growth or sales success should not be viewed as a reason to stop performing a cash flow forecast. On the contrary, it is more important, even critical, that management has access to timely cash management information during growth periods.

Just as many businesses have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We f

s have succumbed to poor cash management as have been adversely affected by bad profitability. It is imperative, therefore, that cash be monitored and managed efficiently, separate and apart from budgeting and auditing of profit performance.

There are two types of cash flow forecasting that can be done: short term and long term. We focus in this article on short term forecasting only.

What a Cash Flow Forecast Is and Does

A cash flow projection is a forecast of anticipated cash expenditures and receipts over a time span. Typically for short term forecasting the time period is expressed in weeks and covers a projection of 4 to 8 weeks out. As a minimum, the cash flow forecast should take into consideration the following possibilities:

CASH RECEIVED (each week):
Cash Balance Day1, Week 1
Cash Sales
Accounts Receivable Payments
Draw from Line of Credit
Loan Proceeds or Stockholder Funding
Miscellaneous Income
CASH EXPENDITURES – Recurring Expenditures
Payroll
Payroll Taxes & Fees
Rent/Mortgage
Utilities (Gas & Electric, Water/Sewer/Trash)
Telephone (Office, Cell, Pagers/Answering Services)
Computer Services (Internet, Maintenance, Equipment Lease)
Other Equipment Leases or Loan Payments
Vehicle Lease and Loan Payments
Insurance (Health, Business, Life, Property)
Loan Paybacks
CASH EXPENDITURES – Accounts Payable
Vendor Payments for Merchandise (by Invoice)
Vendor Payments for Services (by Invoice)
All Other Non-Recurring Payments

You can devise a spreadsheet that accounts for all these items or purchase a pre-designed system that automates the for