How to Read the Weekly Forecast Table
A complete guide to every column in the AskBiz Rolling Cash Forecast table — Week, Projected Inflow, Projected Outflow, Net Cash Flow, and Running Balance.
Key Takeaways
- The table has five columns: Week, Projected Inflow, Projected Outflow, Net Cash Flow, and Running Balance.
- Net Cash Flow is Inflow minus Outflow for that week — green means cash positive, red means cash negative.
- Running Balance shows the cumulative cash balance at the end of each week, assuming the projected figures materialise.
Overview of the Table Structure
The Rolling Cash Forecast table has one row for each of the next 12 weeks. Each row contains five columns. Reading left to right: the Week column identifies the calendar week, the Projected Inflow column shows expected money coming into the business that week, the Projected Outflow column shows expected money going out, the Net Cash Flow column shows the difference, and the Running Balance column shows the cumulative cash balance at the end of that week. The table starts with the current week at the top and extends 12 weeks into the future.
The Week Column
Each row in the Week column is labelled with a short date range indicating the Monday to Sunday of that week — for example, 2 Jun - 8 Jun. The current week may also be labelled as This Week for clarity. Weeks in the near future (weeks one and two) are considered higher-confidence projections. Weeks further out (weeks ten to twelve) are lower-confidence because they are based on extrapolated trends with more potential for variance.
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Start for free →Projected Inflow and Projected Outflow
The Projected Inflow column shows the total expected revenue and incoming cash for that week. This includes forecasted sales revenue, expected receipt of outstanding invoices, and any other anticipated inflows. The Projected Outflow column shows the total expected spending that week, including fixed costs such as rent and subscriptions that fall due in that week, variable costs projected from revenue, and any identified one-off costs such as a quarterly payment known to fall in a particular week. Both columns display amounts in your account currency.
Net Cash Flow Column
The Net Cash Flow column for each row is simply Projected Inflow minus Projected Outflow. A positive net figure means more money is expected to come in than go out that week. AskBiz displays positive net figures in green text with an upward arrow indicator. A negative net figure means you are projected to spend more than you earn that week. Negative figures appear in red text with a downward arrow. A negative net week is not necessarily a crisis — many businesses have regular high-expense weeks followed by high-revenue weeks — but a string of consecutive negative net weeks is a warning to investigate.
Running Balance Column
The Running Balance column shows the projected cash balance at the end of each week, calculated cumulatively. The first row's Running Balance is your current cash balance plus or minus that week's Net Cash Flow. The second row's Running Balance takes the first row's ending balance and adds the second week's Net Cash Flow. And so on, week by week. The Running Balance is the most decision-critical column in the table. If the Running Balance is projected to fall below your minimum operating reserve at any point in the 12-week window, that is a flag to take action now — not when the shortfall actually arrives.