Cash Flow Forecaster

Build cash flow forecast models that predict your financial future with confidence. Covers inflows, outflows, timing, and scenario planning for businesses of any size.

Usage

Provide your current cash position, revenue streams, expense categories, payment terms, and any known upcoming changes. The skill produces:

• Monthly Forecast: 12-month cash flow projection
• Weekly Detail: 13-week rolling forecast for near-term management
• Inflow Modeling: Revenue, collections, investment, other income timing
• Outflow Modeling: Payroll, rent, vendors, debt service, taxes, capex
• Scenario Analysis: Best case, base case, worst case projections
• Runway Calculation: Months until cash reaches zero at current burn
• Sensitivity Variables: Which inputs most impact your cash position

Examples

1. Startup Runway: "Forecast cash flow for a startup with $500K in bank, $40K/month burn, growing revenue from $5K to projected $20K/month over 6 months. When do we run out?"

1. Seasonal Business: "Build a cash flow forecast for a landscaping company. Revenue peaks May-September ($80K/month), drops to $15K in winter. Fixed costs: $25K/month year-round."

1. Growth Planning: "Forecast cash flow for hiring 5 engineers ($120K each) while revenue grows 10% monthly from $100K base. When does hiring pay for itself?"

1. Retail Business: "Create a 12-month forecast for a retail store. Holiday season (Nov-Dec) is 40% of annual revenue. Need to plan inventory purchases 3 months ahead."

Guidelines

• Cash flow timing is everything — recognize revenue when cash arrives, not when invoiced
• Model payment collection delays (net-30, net-60) accurately — they make or break forecasts
• Include payroll taxes, insurance, and benefits on top of base salaries
• Build in a cash buffer for unexpected expenses (10-20% of monthly outflow)
• Update the forecast weekly with actuals to improve accuracy over time
• Identify the variables with the biggest impact on cash and monitor them closely
• For startups, always calculate default-alive vs default-dead (will you reach profitability before running out of cash?)