Thirteen-week cash flow

A thirteen-week cash flow lists every expected receipt and every planned payment by week for the next quarter, starting from the actual bank balance. Receipts come from the aged receivables, the sales pipeline and the deposit schedule. Payments come from payables, payroll dates, rent, loan payments, remittance dates and planned purchases. The result is a projected bank balance for each of the next thirteen weeks.

It matters because the income statement cannot tell you when the money moves, and because thirteen weeks is far enough ahead to act. A tight week visible in week nine can be managed by delaying a purchase, pulling in a receivable or drawing on a line. The same week discovered on the Monday it arrives is a crisis. For seasonal BC businesses, it is the tool that shows the trough months coming and funds them in advance.

In practice, the model lives in a spreadsheet or a connected forecasting tool, is updated every Monday, and the previous week is reconciled to the bank so the assumptions stay honest. Every slipped receipt is seen the week it slips, which is what makes collections happen on time. We build it in the first weeks of most engagements and it becomes the one page the owner reads before anything else.