Free tool
13-week cash flow forecast template (free Excel download)
Decipher's 13-week cash flow forecast template is a free Excel workbook that shows cash in, cash out and the ending bank balance for each of the next 13 weeks, and flags the weeks cash runs close to or below the minimum you set. It is the weekly cash view a CFO checks every Monday, with an illustrative sample company built in.
Get the free template
Enter a work email and the Excel workbook arrives in a few minutes.
What is in the 13-week cash flow template
Three tabs. Inputs are blue on cream; everything in black is a formula. Receipts are cash in the bank, not invoices sent, and disbursements are cash out, not accruals.
Read me
What the forecast is for, six steps to set it up, how a CFO reads it each Monday, a legend for the colors and flags, and what the template will not do.
Invoices
Up to 31 open invoices with customer, amount and due date. One setting, typical days late, is added to every due date; a customer-confirmed pay date overrides it. Each invoice shows the week it lands in, or that it falls before week 1 or beyond week 13.
13-Week Forecast
Settings, scenarios and an At a glance box at the top, then receipts, disbursements and cash by week, an actuals row for each Monday, and a monthly tie-out at the bottom.
Settings, scenarios, flags and the chart
Everything on the forecast tab is driven by three settings and two scenario inputs.
Three settings
The Friday that ends week 1, opening cash (the prior Friday's bank balance), and the minimum cash you will accept, such as a board floor or a lender's minimum balance.
Two scenario inputs
Collections slip pushes every invoice's expected pay date out by a number of weeks. A haircut reduces unscheduled receipts by a percentage. Set both to zero for the base case.
At a glance
The lowest ending cash in the 13 weeks, the week it happens, and weeks of runway at the average burn across the 13 weeks.
The flag row
Watch when ending cash is within 25% above the minimum, BELOW MIN when it is under it. The cushion over minimum is shown for every week.
The chart
A line chart of ending cash against the minimum for each week, so the shape of the quarter and the low point are visible at a glance.
Actuals and re-basing
Type last week's actual bank balance into the actuals row and the next week's opening cash re-bases from it. An Actual vs forecast row shows the miss.
The rows in the forecast
Receipts
Scheduled invoices (pulled from the Invoices tab by week), unscheduled and new sales, the scenario haircut on unscheduled receipts, other receipts such as interest and refunds, and financing on its own line, so the business can be read without money not yet raised.
Disbursements
Payroll, benefits and payroll taxes, commissions, rent and office, hosting and infrastructure, software and subscriptions, marketing programs, contractors and professional fees, insurance, taxes, debt service and capital purchases, each entered in the week the money leaves.
Cash
Opening cash, net cash flow, ending cash, cushion over minimum, the flag and the minimum line, plus a 13-week total for every row.
Monthly tie-out
Receipts, disbursements and net for the weeks ending in each month, to compare with the monthly budget. A week that straddles two months counts in the month it ends, so compare complete months only.
Who the template is for
Founders, owners and finance leads who need a weekly cash view
Anyone who needs to know whether cash stays above the minimum every week for the next quarter, and which week is the problem if it does not.
- Startups with less than a year of runway, or waiting on a few large customer payments.
- Software companies that bill annually in advance, with lumpy receipts and steady costs.
- Owner-led businesses where payroll and rent leave on fixed dates but customers pay late.
- Companies with a lender minimum balance, where a dip below it is a covenant problem, not just a bad week.
When to open it
Before a raise
Show that the company will not run short before the round closes.
Before a board meeting
Answer the question a board asks first: what happens if collections slip.
Before a big commitment
Test a hire, a contract or a purchase against the weekly low point.
When cash feels tight
Find the week the problem starts while there is still time to act.
How to use the template in 5 steps
Have the open invoices list, the payroll calendar and the latest bank balance to hand before starting.
- 01
Enter the settings
Forecast tabThe Friday that ends week 1, opening cash from the bank, and the minimum cash you will accept. Clear the sample numbers first, or keep them while you learn.
- 02
List open invoices
Invoices tabEverything billed and not collected, with due dates. Set typical days late, and enter confirmed pay dates where customers have given one.
- 03
Add other receipts
Receipts rowsCash you expect but cannot name yet goes in unscheduled and new sales. Interest and refunds go in other receipts; financing gets its own line.
- 04
Enter disbursements
Disbursements rowsEach payment in the week it leaves the bank: payroll on pay dates, rent on the first, taxes on the due date. Get payroll right first.
- 05
Read the low point
Every weekCheck the lowest ending cash and the flag, not the last week. Then set collections slip to 2 and see what the flag does.
- The Monday routine
- Enter last week's actual bank balance, compare it with the forecast, fix the assumption behind any miss (usually typical days late), drop the finished week, add a new week 13, and check the flag again.
- The monthly tie-out
- Once a month, compare the weeks ending in each month with the monthly budget. A gap means timing, a missed item, or a budget that needs a look.
- The full walkthrough
- Every step, with the sample worked through week by week: how to build a 13-week cash flow forecast.
What the sample company shows
The workbook opens with an illustrative software company, so the mechanics are visible before any real numbers go in. The figures are made up and are there to show the shape, not to be reused.
The setup
$7.0M of cash, $5.0M of annual recurring revenue and 40 people on January 1, 2027, billing customers annually in advance, so receipts are lumpy and disbursements are steady.
The floor
Its board has set a $6.5M cash floor, so the forecast shows Watch from the first week and the flag trips to BELOW MIN in week 9.
The tie-out
Its January budget called for $175K of net burn, which the monthly tie-out compares with the weeks ending in January.
Why weekly matters: the sample ends January only a little below where it started, yet still breaches its floor later in the quarter. Cash flow forecasting covers how the weekly view fits with a monthly forecast.
What the template will not do
The template will not tell a company what to cut, when to raise, or whether the plan behind the numbers is sound. It also stops short of what a finance lead would build next: variance by line, headcount-driven payroll, debt and covenant tracking, and a roll-forward that does not need cutting and pasting.
If the flag trips and the fix is not obvious, that is the moment to talk. Decipher builds and runs 13-week cash flow forecasts as part of its fractional CFO services, alongside the budget, monthly reporting and board materials.
How to get the file
Enter a work email in the form at the top or bottom of this page and the workbook arrives by email, usually within a few minutes. The sample budget board deck and the finance scorecard are under Free tools on the homepage.
13-week cash flow template: common questions
Is the 13-week cash flow template free?
Yes. Enter a work email in the form on this page and the Excel file arrives by email. There is no cost and no trial period. The workbook includes an illustrative sample company, so the mechanics can be seen before any real numbers go in.
Does the template work in Google Sheets?
The template is built as an Excel workbook (.xlsx). It uses standard functions such as SUMIFS, SUMPRODUCT and INDEX with MATCH, and Google Sheets can open .xlsx files, but the formatting, comments and chart are designed for Excel.
What is the difference between a 13-week cash flow forecast and a monthly cash flow forecast?
A 13-week forecast shows each week of the next quarter, built from named invoices, pay dates and bills, so it catches a low point that a month-end balance hides. A monthly forecast looks a year or more ahead and is built from the plan. Many companies run both and tie the weeks to the monthly budget.
How often should the forecast be updated?
Every Monday. Enter last week's actual bank balance, explain any gap by fixing the assumption behind it, drop the finished week and add a new week 13. Once a month, compare the weeks with the monthly budget using the tie-out section.
Can the template be used outside software companies?
Yes. The sample is a software company, but the structure suits any business that invoices customers and pays staff and vendors on a schedule, including service businesses and multi-location practices. The disbursement lines are general, from payroll and rent to debt service and capital purchases.
Further reading
Decipher's fractional CFO services
Want the forecast built and run for you? Decipher keeps a 13-week cash view current every week as part of a fractional CFO engagement.
Get the 13-week cash flow forecast template
Free, in Excel, with a sample company built in. Or book a 30-minute call to have Decipher build and run the forecast with you.
Or email contact@decipherhq.com