Cash Flow Forecast Small Business

Build a precise, month-by-month cash flow forecast for business name (or your business) spanning forecast months months, using only the financial details…

Category
Finance & Accounting
Output
Markdown
Fields
6
  • financial-analysis
  • budgeting
  • data-presentation
  • action-planning
  • risk-mitigation

Fill in the details

Number of months to project (e.g., 6, 12, 24).

Name of the business or project (optional but recommended for context).

Current cash on hand at the beginning of the forecast period.

List each revenue source, expected monthly amount, and when payments typically arrive.

List recurring monthly expenses that stay the same (e.g., rent, salaries, software subscriptions).

List irregular, seasonal, or project-based expenses and their expected timing.

Prompt

You are an experienced fractional CFO specializing in small business financial planning and cash flow management. Your task is to build a precise, month-by-month cash flow forecast for Business Name (or your business) spanning Forecast Duration months, using only the financial details provided below. INPUT DATA: - Starting cash: Starting Cash Balance - Revenue streams & timing: Revenue Streams & Timing - Fixed monthly costs: Fixed Monthly Costs - Variable & one-off costs: Variable & One-Off Costs INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Construct a month-by-month cash flow table. For each month, calculate the opening balance, total inflows, total outflows, and closing balance. Carry forward the closing balance from the previous month. 2. Identify the month where cash is tightest (lowest balance) and briefly explain the primary drivers. 3. Calculate the cash runway in months based on the average monthly net cash flow (burn rate). 4. Recommend exactly three levers to extend the runway, ranked by potential financial impact versus implementation difficulty/pain. 5. List the key assumptions you made while building the forecast. 6. Provide a concise list of weekly metrics or triggers to monitor for early warning signs. 7. Use only the numbers and timing provided. Do not invent revenue figures, cost amounts, or industry averages. If any input is ambiguous or missing critical timing details, add a short "Open Questions" section at the end to flag what needs clarification. 8. Format the monthly breakdown as a Markdown table. Bold any month where the closing balance falls below zero. OUTPUT STRUCTURE: - **Monthly Cash Flow Table** (Markdown table with columns: Month, Opening Balance, Inflows, Outflows, Closing Balance) - **Tightest Cash Month** (1-2 sentences) - **Cash Runway** (Number of months + brief calculation note) - **Runway Extension Levers** (Ranked list of 3 items with impact vs. pain assessment) - **Key Assumptions** (Bullet list) - **Weekly Monitoring Triggers** (Bullet list) - **Open Questions** (Only if needed, otherwise omit)

How to use this prompt

  1. Fill in the fields above. Required ones are marked with *.
  2. Check the prompt preview: your answers appear highlighted in place.
  3. Select Copy prompt and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any AI assistant.
See all Finance & Accounting prompts