Free template
Profitable on paper. What about the bank?
Revenue says you're fine. Payroll is Thursday and the big invoice is 40 days late. This sheet shows the gap 13 weeks out, so you can do something about it.
The P&L can be green every month and the account can still hit zero on a Thursday. Revenue is recognised when you send the invoice; the money arrives when the client’s accounts person gets round to it. In between sit payroll, rent, super and the BAS, all of which land on the day they say they will.
This is 13 weekly columns that line the two up. Every invoice by the date you actually expect it paid, every cost by the date it leaves, a set-aside line so the tax money stays out of reach, and a running balance that goes red before it goes to zero. Thirteen weeks because it’s a quarter, and far enough out to see payroll trouble before it arrives.
What’s inside
Start here
How to use it in seven lines, why 13 weeks, and the one caveat that matters.
Settings
Opening bank balance, the Monday week 1 starts on, your GST or tax set-aside percent, and the balance you'd rather not go under. Four cells.
Money in
Every outstanding or upcoming invoice: client, amount, invoice date, terms, and how late that client usually is, which gives the expected pay date. Pipeline rows get a probability and are weighted. Confirmed invoices default to 100%.
Money out
Team pay, contractors, rent, software, other recurring costs and one-offs, each with a frequency and next date. A grid shows exactly which weeks each one lands in.
Forecast
Thirteen columns: confirmed money in, weighted pipeline, money out, set-aside moved to reserve, net, running balance. Red below zero, amber below your minimum, plus a second line showing the balance if no pipeline converts.
Summary
Lowest balance and the week it lands, first week below your minimum, first red week if there is one, the no-pipeline version of both, total outstanding, and the set-aside for the quarter.
The same forecast, live
The sheet is the manual version
Handl already knows what’s been invoiced, what’s about to be, and how fast each client actually pays, so its forecast plots real money on real dates. Confirmed income sits next to the weighted pipeline, team costs come off, and the set-aside reminder keeps the tax share in view... no spreadsheet to keep up to date.
Start with the sheet. When you’re tired of re-typing the invoices every Monday, the forecast is already waiting in Handl.
Worth knowing
Not accounting advice, and the set-aside is a reminder
The sheet does the arithmetic. It won’t replace your accountant or your bank feed, and the set-aside line doesn’t move money anywhere; it just keeps the tax share visible so you don’t spend it. The rows marked Example show how it works; delete them and add your own. Put the real expected pay date, not the due date, on your three biggest invoices first.
Handl’s forecast does this from your actual invoices and pipeline, with team costs and set-aside reminders built in.
Free download
Get it free
Drop your email and the forecast lands in your inbox. The download link is on screen too, so you're not waiting on email.
Not accounting advice, and it won't replace your accountant. It'll tell you which week to worry about while you can still do something about it.
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