How Outflows Are Calculated in the Forecast
Understand how AskBiz calculates projected weekly outflows in the Rolling Cash Forecast, combining your fixed cost schedule with variable cost percentages derived from revenue.
Key Takeaways
- Fixed costs from your Cost Configuration drawer are scheduled across future weeks based on their payment cycle.
- Variable costs are projected as a percentage of projected revenue, derived from your historical expense-to-revenue ratio.
- Reviewing and updating your Cost Configuration regularly keeps the outflow projection aligned with reality.
Two Types of Outflow: Fixed and Variable
AskBiz separates projected outflows into two components: fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are expenses that recur on a regular schedule regardless of revenue — rent, payroll, software subscriptions, insurance premiums. Variable costs scale with business activity — merchant processing fees, packaging, delivery charges, and commission payments tend to rise when revenue rises. By separating these two components, the forecast can project outflows more accurately than treating all costs as a single block.
How Fixed Costs Are Scheduled
Fixed costs are drawn from the values you entered in the Cost Configuration drawer, which is accessible from the CFO dashboard settings. When you configure a fixed cost — for example, 3,500 rent paid on the first of each month — AskBiz places that amount into the Projected Outflow column for the week in which the first of the month falls. If your payroll runs on the 15th and 28th of each month, the payroll amount appears in the two relevant forecast weeks for each month in the 12-week window. This scheduling means the outflow column shows spikes on payroll and rent weeks rather than a flat weekly average, which is a more realistic picture of your cash flow timing.
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Start for free →How Variable Costs Are Projected
Variable costs are projected using a ratio derived from your historical data. AskBiz looks at the last 90 days of expenses in variable-cost categories — primarily Supplies, Shipping, Meals and Entertainment, and Travel — and compares their total to the revenue generated over the same period. This produces a variable cost ratio, expressed as a percentage of revenue. For example, if you spent 1,200 on variable costs in a month when revenue was 12,000, your variable cost ratio is 10 percent. For each future week, AskBiz applies this 10 percent ratio to the projected inflow for that week to estimate the variable outflow.
One-Off Known Costs
In addition to scheduled fixed costs and variable cost ratios, you can flag upcoming one-off costs that are not part of a regular cycle. For example, if you know you will be paying a 4,000 annual software licence renewal in three weeks, you can record this as a planned expenditure with the relevant date. AskBiz adds this amount to the Projected Outflow for that week. Without flagging it, the forecast would not know to include it and the outflow for that week would be understated.
Keeping the Forecast Accurate
The accuracy of the outflow projection depends on two things: the completeness of your Cost Configuration (for fixed cost scheduling) and the accuracy of your recorded expenses (for the variable cost ratio). Review your Cost Configuration at least once a month to ensure fixed cost amounts are current — if your rent increased at the start of a new lease period, update the figure. If your variable costs have changed materially — for example, you switched to a cheaper shipping provider — the ratio will update naturally over time as the new lower expenses enter the 90-day calculation window, but you can accelerate the update by ensuring all recent shipping expenses are correctly logged.