13-week cash flow forecast template (Excel)

What is inside the cash flow forecast template

• 13 weekly columns: set the start date once and every week header updates automatically.
• Opening and closing balance chain: each week opens with last week's closing balance, so one formula error cannot hide.
• Late payer slippage input: set the percentage of invoiced sales you expect to arrive late. The template moves that cash out of the week it was due and brings it back two weeks later, which is what late payment actually does to your bank balance.
• HMRC payment rows: pre-built placeholder rows for your VAT quarter, monthly PAYE and NI, and Corporation Tax, each with a note on when the payment is normally due.
• Negative balance warning: any week whose closing balance drops below zero turns red automatically.

How to use the cash flow forecast template in Excel

• Set your forecast start date, opening bank balance and late payer slippage percentage at the top of the Forecast tab.
• Enter invoiced sales in the week they are due to be paid, not the week you send the invoice.
• Fill in the cost rows: suppliers, wages, rent, loan repayments and drawings.
• Put your estimated VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax bills in the weeks the payments actually leave the bank. The cell notes give the usual HMRC due dates.
• Every Monday, replace last week's estimates with actuals and add a new week 13 at the end. That is the rolling part, and it takes about ten minutes once you are set up.

Example figures are pre-filled in weeks 1 to 3 so you can see how the balance chain and the red flag behave. Replace them with your own numbers. Assumes tax year 2026/27. Rates last checked: 15 July 2026.

Why 13 weeks and not 12 months

A 12 month forecast is a budgeting tool. A 13-week forecast is a survival tool. Thirteen weeks is one full quarter, so it always contains at least one VAT payment, three PAYE runs and a realistic view of your sales pipeline. Beyond that horizon the numbers are guesses, and guesses hide problems. Most businesses that get into cash trouble did not lack a forecast, they lacked one short enough to be honest. This is the format lenders and turnaround advisers ask for.

How do I make a cash flow forecast in Excel?

List weeks across the columns and money in and money out down the rows. For each week, add total receipts to the opening bank balance and subtract total payments to get the closing balance, then carry that closing balance forward as the next week’s opening balance. This free template has the structure and formulas already built.

What is a 13 week cash flow forecast?

It is a rolling weekly forecast covering the next quarter. Each week you update actuals, drop the week just gone and add a new week at the end. It is the standard short-term cash tool used by finance teams and lenders because 13 weeks is long enough to see a VAT bill coming and short enough to stay accurate.

How do I allow for late paying customers in a cash flow forecast?

Decide what percentage of invoiced sales typically arrives late, then move that share of each week’s expected receipts to a later week rather than deleting it. This template has a slippage percentage input that does the move automatically, shifting the slipped cash two weeks later.

What payments do UK businesses forget in a cash flow forecast?

The big three are the VAT quarter (due one month and 7 days after the quarter ends), PAYE and NI (due by the 22nd of the following month), and Corporation Tax (due 9 months and 1 day after year end). The template includes placeholder rows for all three so they are never a surprise.

Does this cash flow forecast template work in Google Sheets?

Yes. The workbook only uses portable functions such as SUM and ROUND, so you can upload it to Google Drive and open it in Google Sheets without anything breaking. The red negative-balance formatting carries over too.

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