Free 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template for Ecommerce

A 13-week cash flow forecast lists the cash you expect to receive and pay out in each of the next 13 weeks, and the bank balance it leaves at the end of each one. Thirteen weeks is one quarter, long enough to see a stock order or a tax bill coming and short enough to plan week by week.

This template is built for an online store. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel, replace the example figures with your own, and the closing cash for every week updates as you type.

What is in the template

Each week has its own column. Enter cash received and payments as positive numbers, in the week the money reaches or leaves your bank. The totals, net cash flow and closing cash are formulas, and each week's opening cash is the closing cash of the week before.

The last row shows the lowest closing cash across all 13 weeks: the week to plan around.

Reading the example quarter

The example store starts the quarter with $40,000 and ends it with $63,400. Over the full 13 weeks it takes in more cash than it pays out, so a monthly view would show nothing to worry about. The weekly view shows two tight weeks.

In week 3 a $45,000 supplier payment takes the balance down to $35,500. In week 9 the $70,000 holiday stock order lands, and the balance falls to $12,000, less than the store pays out in an ordinary week. One late payout or a larger ad bill that week and the store cannot pay its suppliers or staff on time.

Seen 8 weeks ahead, the gap is easy to close. If the supplier agrees to take $35,000 in week 9 and $35,000 in week 11, the balance never falls below $35,500 in the quarter. Moving the week 8 owner draw to week 12 or holding back some ad spend in weeks 7 and 8 adds more room.

How to fill in the template

1. Start from today's bank balance. Use the cash you can spend now in week 1's opening cash. Leave out stock and money customers still owe you.
2. Enter payouts when they land. Use your payout schedule, not order dates. A sale on Friday may not reach the bank until the following week.
3. Copy in what is already agreed. Supplier balances, payroll dates, loan repayments, tax due dates and owner draws are known in advance. Enter those first.
4. Estimate the rest from recent weeks. For ads, shipping and payouts, start from the average of the last four to six weeks and adjust for promotions and seasons.
5. Roll it forward every week. Replace last week's estimates with what actually happened, add a new week 13 and check the lowest closing cash again.

Plan cash with your books in Nummbas

A spreadsheet forecast is only as current as the last time someone updated it. Nummbas Books, included in every plan, records payouts, fees, refunds and bills from your store and bank as they happen, so your actual cash figures are ready when you roll the forecast forward. The dashboard shows cash runway every day.

13-week cash flow forecast FAQs

What is a 13-week cash flow forecast?

It is a week-by-week plan of the cash a business expects to receive and pay over the next 13 weeks, one quarter. It ends each week with a closing bank balance, so you can see the weeks when cash runs low before they arrive.

Why use 13 weeks instead of a monthly forecast?

Payments in ecommerce are lumpy. A stock order, a tax payment or a payroll date can all fall in the same week, and a monthly total hides that. Thirteen weekly columns show the timing while still covering a full quarter.

How is a cash flow forecast different from a profit and loss statement?

A profit and loss statement records sales and costs in the period they belong to. A cash flow forecast records money on the day it reaches or leaves the bank. A store can show a profit for the month and still run short of cash in one week of it.

How often should I update a 13-week cash flow forecast?

Every week. Replace the week that just ended with actual figures, add a new week at the end, and check the lowest closing cash. It takes about 15 minutes once the routine is set.

What should I do if the forecast shows a cash shortfall?

Start with the payments you can move: ask suppliers for longer terms or split payments, delay non-urgent purchases, reduce ad spend that does not pay back, or move owner draws to a stronger week. If the gap remains, arrange funding while you still have time to compare options.