Cash Flow
Cash flow forecasting that survives contact with reality
The problem
Most owners either have no cash forecast or have one built once, in a spreadsheet, that nobody updated after week three.
Why it matters
A forecast is what converts anxiety into a decision. Without one, every commitment — a hire, a truck, a deposit on equipment — is made on the feeling that the balance looks okay right now.
How to know if you have this
- You check the bank balance before making commitments
- You cannot say what your lowest cash week looks like in the next quarter
- Payroll weeks feel different from non-payroll weeks
- Your line of credit balance never returns to zero
How Advisory Motion solves it
- 01Build a rolling 13-week forecast from receivables, payables, payroll and debt service — not from a revenue guess
- 02Update it every month so it stays a live document rather than a one-time exercise
- 03Flag the constraint week: the specific week where cash gets thin, with the actions that relieve it
- 04Attach the forecast to real decisions — hires, equipment, distributions, expansion
Illustrative example
A $6M contractor with a June problem in March
The forecast showed two large draws slipping to July while a summer payroll ramp began in May. The fix was not more revenue — it was a conversation with the general contractor about draw timing and a temporary shift in equipment purchase to a lease. The June crunch never happened.
Illustrative composite · not a client identification
Where this connects