13-Week Cashflow Forecast Template
A practical weekly cash forecast for UK small businesses, with editable Excel and CSV versions, clear roll-forward formulas and a worked timing example.
Forecast cash by the week it is expected to reach or leave your bank account. The template covers 13 weeks and rolls each closing balance into the next week’s opening balance.
Both downloads contain 13 weekly rows. The XLSX includes a styled instructions sheet, a cash buffer indicator and editable blue input cells. The CSV is a 13-week worked example with formulas that recalculate when opened in spreadsheet software; use the XLSX if you want the formatted input notes and buffer warning.
Preview: delayed receipt and tax payment
The example starts with £5,000 cash, assumes £2,000 of ordinary weekly receipts and £1,500 of weekly operating outflows. A £2,000 receipt expected in Week 5 arrives in Week 6 instead, so the forecast moves that cash receipt to Week 6. A £4,000 tax payment is entered in Week 8. These are illustrative amounts, not tax calculations or predictions.
| Week | Opening cash | Receipts | Operating + tax outflows | Closing cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 — receipt delayed | £7,000 | £0 | £1,500 | £5,500 |
| 6 — late receipt collected | £5,500 | £4,000 | £1,500 | £8,000 |
| 8 — tax payment due | £8,500 | £2,000 | £5,500 | £5,000 |
How the formulas roll forward
For each week, closing cash equals opening cash plus expected receipts, minus operating outflows and tax or one-off payments. Week 1 opens with the opening-cash input; each following week opens with the previous week’s calculated close. Change the blue inputs, including the week-start date, receipt amounts and expected payment weeks. The formulas do not estimate invoices, tax due, credit availability or cash on an accrual basis.
Payment timing assumptions
- Enter sales when the money is expected to arrive, not when you issue the invoice.
- Enter supplier bills, payroll, VAT, tax, rent and debt payments in the week they are expected to clear.
- Use Monday week starts and update the forecast when a customer promise or payment date changes.
- Move a late receipt to its expected collection week; do not count it in both weeks.
To test the effect of a receipt arriving one week late alongside a known tax outflow, use the 13-week cash-flow stress-test tool. It moves the selected share of Week 1 receipts into Week 2 and shows the tax outflow in the selected week.
How to use it
- Replace the example opening balance and select the first Monday of your forecast.
- Enter customer receipts and other cash inflows in the week you expect to collect them.
- Enter operating, payroll, supplier, VAT, tax and one-off outflows in their expected payment weeks.
- Review and update the 13-week view at least weekly; investigate a projected cash-buffer breach early.
Related guides
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Information on this page is general guidance for UK small businesses and is not financial, tax or legal advice. Tax rules, allowances and product terms change. Always check current information with HMRC, Companies House or a qualified professional before making decisions.