Cash Flow Forecasting with AskBiz

The 13-week (quarterly) cash flow forecast is the standard used by CFOs and turnaround specialists because it is short enough to be accurate but long enough to see problems coming. Revenue and P&L forecasts tell you whether you are profitable — the cash flow forecast tells you whether you will run out of money.

A business can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash. This happens when customers pay slowly (long debtor days), when you pay suppliers quickly, or when a large VAT or tax payment falls due. The cash flow forecast makes these timing mismatches visible.

AskBiz builds your cash flow forecast from connected data sources:

Cash inflows (from):

• Revenue from Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce (gross sales, net of refunds)
• Invoice payments from Xero or QuickBooks (applying your average debtor days)
• Subscription revenue from Stripe (on payment date)

Cash outflows (estimated from):

• COGS based on gross margin settings
• Platform fees (marketplace commissions, payment processing)
• Known recurring costs you have entered in Settings → Cost Tracking

Note: AskBiz cannot automatically import all cost lines from your bank account. For a complete picture, supplement with your regular outgoings in the Cost Tracking section.

Go to Finance → Cash Flow → 13-Week Forecast to see your weekly cash position.

The view shows:

• Opening cash: your balance at the start of each week
• Cash in: projected inflows for the week
• Cash out: projected outflows for the week
• Net cash: the change for the week
• Closing cash: your balance at the end of the week

Weeks where closing cash drops below your minimum threshold (set in Settings → Finance → Cash Buffer) are highlighted in amber or red. This is your early warning system — it tells you exactly which week a cash crunch is forecast to occur.

The baseline forecast assumes current debtor days, payment terms, and growth rates continue. Use scenario modelling to stress-test your cash position:

Scenario 1 — Slow payment month: What if your largest customer pays 30 days late? Add a one-off inflow delay in the Scenario Planner.

Scenario 2 — Large one-off cost: What does cash look like after a major equipment purchase or VAT payment? Add the outflow to the relevant week.

Scenario 3 — Revenue downturn: What if revenue drops 20% for 8 weeks? Apply a revenue reduction and watch which week cash hits zero.

Scenario planning is accessed via Finance → Cash Flow → Scenarios. Save and name each scenario so you can compare them side-by-side.

If your forecast shows a cash crunch coming, AskBiz can highlight the levers available to you:

• Reduce debtor days: identify invoices that are overdue and chase them — go to Finance → Debtors → Overdue Invoices to see which customers owe money and how late they are
• Extend payment terms with suppliers: if your creditor days are shorter than your debtor days, you are financing your customers — try negotiating longer terms
• Draw down on a credit facility: if you have an overdraft or revolving credit line, model the cost vs the benefit of using it to bridge the gap
• Delay discretionary spend: identify non-essential costs that could be deferred to after the crunch period

AskBiz will suggest the highest-impact levers based on your specific data in the Cash Improvement section.