Construction cash flow forecast template for small contractors

Choose the cash you are forecasting

Decide whether the sheet represents one project with an allocated cash starting point or a whole-business view. Keep that choice consistent. Using the full bank balance for one Job while excluding other bills can overstate the cash available to support it.

Enter opening available cash in the yellow cell and set the first week date. Check what that balance needs to cover, including commitments outside the named project. Do not add the same opening balance to separate worksheets and assume the money is available to each independently.

Keep a record of the forecast date and assumptions in your supporting notes. A customer promise, an agreed due date and a cautious receipt estimate may differ. Knowing which one a figure represents makes the next review more useful.

Enter cash receipts in the expected week

Put the money in Receipts for the week you expect it to reach the account. The week you prepare or issue an Invoice may be different. A customer accepting a Quote also does not establish a cash receipt.

If several Jobs contribute to one week, enter the combined receipt amount and retain the breakdown in your supporting records. That lets you investigate a changed forecast without guessing which payment made up the total.

Include money already received in opening cash rather than entering it again as a future receipt. For partial payments, forecast only the remaining expected money in the relevant week. An Invoice total is not automatically the amount still due.

Use the actual payment arrangement and evidence available. The workbook does not prescribe a deposit or stage percentage. If a stage cannot be invoiced until a dependency is complete, review how that affects the earliest realistic receipt date.

Enter outgoings when cash leaves

Use the Labour, Materials, Subcontract, Plant, Overheads, Tax cash and Other cash out columns for expected payments. Place an amount in its payment week, which can differ from when work happens or materials are used.

An early supplier order may create a cash requirement before the corresponding customer stage payment. Conversely, agreed supplier credit may place the payment later. Use the actual arrangement rather than assuming a credit period that has not been confirmed.

Review what the category already includes before adding another figure. A subcontract amount entered under both Labour and Subcontract would count twice. An overhead allocation used for pricing is not necessarily the actual bank payment falling in that week.

Use consistent cash amounts for tax. Where receipts and supplier payments include tax, enter the money actually moving, then record separate remittances in Tax cash when applicable. Do not add the same tax twice. Determine actual obligations with your adviser; the worksheet calculates no tax treatment.

Read the closing balance and gap

Total out sums the outgoing categories. Net movement subtracts that total from the week's receipts. Closing cash adds net movement to the opening balance, and the following week starts from that closing figure.

The Gap column shows the amount below zero at each weekly close. The summary identifies the largest of those gaps and the minimum closing balance. A negative figure is a funding question to review, not permission to use an overdraft or a recommendation to borrow.

Weekly totals can hide an earlier shortfall within the week. A supplier payment due on Monday may precede a customer receipt expected on Friday, even when the closing balance is positive. Inspect specific due dates where the timing matters.

Cash in minus cash out summarises the modelled movements. It is not an accounting profit figure. Financing, tax timing, deposits, purchases and costs belonging to other periods can all change the relationship between cash and profit.

Follow the completed example

The Worked example starts with £2,000 and forecasts £5,000 receipts in week 1, £6,000 in week 4 and £7,000 in week 8. The eight-week receipts total £18,000. These figures illustrate cash timing rather than a recommended payment schedule.

Modelled outgoings total £14,700 across labour, materials, subcontract, plant and overhead categories. Tax cash and other outgoings are zero in this learning example only. Replace them with relevant actual cash movements when planning your business.

The first week closes at £3,150 after £3,850 of payments. Week 3 closes at minus £350, despite a future stage payment. By week 7 the balance reaches minus £1,450, before the final receipt takes week 8 closing cash to £5,300.

That sequence shows why the ending balance alone is insufficient. The business still needs to assess how it meets the intervening commitments. The chart makes the weekly pattern visible, while the rows identify which amounts create it.

Test the delayed-receipt scenario

The Delayed receipt tab moves the £6,000 receipt from week 4 to week 6 without changing any outgoing or the total receipts. Week 4 now closes at minus £2,900 and week 5 at minus £5,450.

When the receipt arrives in week 6, the balance recovers to minus £600. The last week still closes at £5,300 because the same money ultimately came in and went out. The peak weekly gap has nevertheless increased by £4,000.

Run a similar timing test for one receipt you rely on. Use a separate saved scenario or worksheet copy so the base forecast remains available. Move the receipt, inspect the minimum balance and identify which commitments need review if that delay occurs.

Review actions without changing agreements

A gap may prompt a review of purchasing sequence, readiness, invoicing information or agreed payment dates. Check the actual commitments and discuss any proposed change with the relevant people. Altering a forecast cell does not renegotiate a supplier or customer agreement.

Identify unresolved inputs before treating the chart as reliable. A large missing material order or assumed receipt can matter more than a small arithmetic difference. Keep unknown amounts visible in your supporting notes and obtain the information needed.

Review the picture with the person responsible for business finances where appropriate. The sheet explains the modelled timing; it does not choose financing, determine solvency or establish legal rights to payment.

Keep your forecast current

Save a dated copy before changing the forecast and reconcile the new opening position with actual cash. Update expected receipts and payments as evidence changes. Keep completed movements out of the future forecast so they are not counted again.

Use one forthcoming project or a defined business period to complete the blank sheet today. Check the earliest gap and the dates behind it, then test one delayed receipt. The useful outcome is a visible timing question you can investigate before the payment falls due.