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13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template

A week-by-week cash grid, variance ledger and weekly memo that show your next 13 weeks of cash and the first week you run short.

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What you get

Pack of 9 files: 4 documents, 5 spreadsheets

13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template
  • Forecast AssumptionsDocument
  • Timing or StructuralDocument
  • Weekly Cash MemoDocument
  • Cash Coverage NoteDocument
  • 13-Week ModelSpreadsheet
  • Receipts DetailSpreadsheet
  • Disbursements DetailSpreadsheet
  • Variance LedgerSpreadsheet
  • Forecast AccuracySpreadsheet
River13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template

Variance Ledger

[Entity], week ending [__ ____ 20__]

One row per line that missed. Opened when the week locks, against the forecast that was in force at the time.

What every cash spreadsheet already has

Line itemForecastActualVarianceVariance %Trigger
blankblankblankcomputedcomputedcomputed

What it does not

CauseClassReverses inAssumption changedReversed?
one sentenceTiming or Structurala week ending datea named rulechecked, not assumed

Three triggers, and the third is the one that pays

TriggerSet inCatches
Over the dollar floorForecast AssumptionsThe obvious misses
Over both the dollar and the percentage floorForecast AssumptionsSmall lines moving hard
Same line, same direction, twice runningAny size at allA recurring cost error, which is small every week and permanent

A timing call with no reversal week is a deferral, not a classification. This sheet will not take one.

Page 1 of 1149 words

How to build a 13-week cash flow forecast

A 13-week cash flow forecast projects the cash your business will receive and pay out in each of the next 13 weeks, starting from today's bank balance. Each week shows opening cash, receipts, payments and ending cash against the minimum balance you must hold. Every week you record what actually happened, explain the gaps and add a new week 13, so a shortfall shows up while you still have time to act.

Build it from what your customers and vendors actually do, not from what their terms say. A forecast that assumes everyone pays on time is wrong in the same direction every week.

A man in a gray blazer types on a keyboard, his other hand resting on a printed report with charts on a clipboard
Compare each week's actual cash with the forecast you made for it. Photo: Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Set up the weekly grid

Thirteen weeks is one quarter: short enough to forecast from invoices, bills and payroll dates you know, and long enough to see trouble coming. Use weeks, not months. A month can end with plenty of cash while one week inside it can't cover payroll.

Pick a week-ending day, usually Friday, and open week 1 with the cash actually in the bank, not your book balance. Then write down the minimum balance you must hold. If a loan agreement sets one, use its exact figure. If not, set your own floor and note how you chose it.

The rows of a 13-week cash flow forecast

RowWhat goes in it
Opening cashLast week's ending cash, or the bank balance in week 1
ReceiptsCustomer payments by group, plus other cash received
PaymentsPayroll, suppliers, rent, insurance, taxes and other costs
FinancingLoan payments, credit line draws and repayments
Ending cashOpening cash plus receipts, minus payments, plus or minus financing
HeadroomEnding cash minus your minimum balance: the row to watch

Forecast receipts from payment history

Receipts are the hardest line to forecast. The Association for Financial Professionals, which awards the Certified Treasury Professional credential, advises starting from your bank statements1 to see where cash comes from and goes. Jeff Cappelletti, a consultant the article quotes, calls other indicators, such as a percentage of sales, "too theoretical."

Pull 6 to 12 months of bank history, match payments to invoices, and measure how many days each customer, or group of similar customers, takes to pay. A bank statement converter turns statement PDFs into rows you can sort. Then place each open invoice from your receivables aging in the week that history points to, not the week it falls due.

For later weeks, add sales you haven't invoiced yet only when something backs them: a signed order, a contract or a steady run rate from repeat customers. Pipeline deals, unsigned renewals and an unused credit line are not receipts. Carry disputed invoices at the undisputed amount.

Put every payment in its real week

Start with the payments that can't move. Payroll sets the shape of every tight week. Net pay leaves on payday. The tax deposit, including what you withheld, follows your deposit schedule.

In the US, IRS Publication 152 sets two deposit schedules for federal payroll taxes. Monthly depositors pay by the 15th of the next month. Semiweekly depositors pay taxes on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday payday by the following Wednesday, and on a Saturday-to-Tuesday payday by the following Friday.

With Friday week-ends, a Tuesday payday's deposit lands in the same week, but a Thursday payday's lands in the next. On either schedule, taxes that reach $100,000 in a deposit period are due the next business day.

How to date each payment

PaymentDate it byCan it move?
PayrollYour payroll calendarNo
Payroll taxesYour IRS deposit schedule, or your payroll provider's debit dateNo
Rent and loan paymentsThe lease and loan scheduleOnly by agreement
Other taxesEach tax's due dateNo
SuppliersYour real payment history with each vendorOften, with notice
Discretionary ordersThe order's payment termsYes, until you commit

Mark each payment committed or discretionary, with the notice needed to move it. Those notes turn a short week into a list of options.

Explain every miss as timing or structural

When a week closes, enter the actuals beside the forecast you made for it, and never edit that forecast afterward. Then explain every line that missed by more than a threshold you set in advance.

Lenders can write this into a loan. Under a November 2023 amendment to its credit agreement, the mattress company Purple Innovation had to send an updated 13-week forecast every Friday3 and a weekly variance report. That report had to explain every line-item variance over 10%.

Next, class each miss. A timing variance means the cash still arrives or leaves, just in another week, so it reverses. A structural variance means an assumption was wrong, and the forward weeks stay wrong until you change it. In AbitibiBowater's 2009 restructuring in Canada, the court-appointed monitor, Ernst & Young, explained the main variances line by line4 and said which it expected to reverse.

ExampleTwo misses, explained in a court filingErnst & Young Inc., Fifteenth Report of the Monitor, AbitibiBowater restructuring, September 2, 2009 · Read the filed report

Restructuring Costs were $1.8 million during the Reporting Period as compared with the forecast amount of $2.9 million. This variance is primarily due to timing and is expected to reverse as various professional service firms submit their invoices for payment.

A/R Collections … were approximately $159.9 million during the Reporting Period compared to a forecast amount of $176.1 million. This variance is primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable aging.

  • Timing. The fees are still owed and will be paid when the invoices arrive.
  • Structural. The filing names no reversal. Older receivables mean slower payers, so forward collections need the slower pace.

Give every timing call the week it should reverse, and check the invoices when that week closes. A timing miss that never reverses was structural all along. When a customer group pays slower than forecast two weeks running, raise its days to pay in every forward week. An accounts receivable collections template shows who to chase first.

Explain favorable misses too

A bill that never arrived may be late, canceled or no longer owed, and each changes the weeks ahead differently.

Roll the 13-week cash flow forecast forward

Once the closed week is explained, drop it and add a new week 13 built from current assumptions, not copied from week 12. Start the forward weeks from the actual closing balance, and push each structural change through every week it touches.

Score the closed week twice: the error in ending cash, and the same error with reversed timing misses taken out. If the first is large and the second small, late payments did the damage. If both are large, your assumptions need work.

Act early on the first short week

When a forward week ends below your minimum, name the week, the shortfall and how many weeks away it is. Then list every payment or receipt that could move, with the notice each needs, sorted by the date you must decide, not by size.

A lever that needs five days' notice, nine weeks out, is a calendar entry. A gap two weeks out, when your only lever needs 30 days, is a call to your lender.

Read the loan agreement with an adviser

If a forward week dips below a minimum in your loan agreement, review it with your lawyer or accountant before you act. What counts as a breach, and what you must tell your lender, depend on its exact wording.

Before you send this week's forecast

  • Week 1 opens at the actual bank balance
  • Every receipt traces to an invoice, contract or steady run rate
  • Payroll and its tax deposits sit in the right weeks
  • Every miss over your threshold has a cause and a class
  • Every timing call names the week it should reverse
  • The first short week is named, with options and decision dates

The template at the top of this page has the grid, ledger and memo ready to use. For a longer view, a cash runway scenario template shows how long cash lasts under different scenarios.

How to use this template

Use the files as they are, or open them in River. Send River your bank history (statement PDFs are fine), your receivables and payables agings and your payroll calendar. It works out how fast your customers and vendors really pay and places every open invoice and bill in its likely week. Then it names the first week that ends below your minimum balance and the three assumptions that move it most.

River asks for that minimum rather than guessing it, and leaves out anything without a document behind it, such as pipeline deals or an unused credit line. It reports each week against your minimum and leaves conclusions about a covenant to you.

  1. Download it or open it in River

    Download the four Word documents and five CSV sheets free, or open the template in River and send it your bank history.

  2. Set your floor and starting cash

    Record the minimum balance you must hold, and open week 1 with the cash actually in the bank.

  3. Place receipts and payments

    Put each open invoice and bill in the week it will really clear, or let River place them from your history.

  4. Lock, explain and roll weekly

    Each week, enter actuals, explain each miss over your threshold as timing or structural, add a new week 13 and update the memo.

What's in the template

One quarter, worked all the way throughThe Variance Ledger, the 13-Week Model, Forecast Accuracy, and the filed report behind the design.
13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template
RiverVariance Ledger

Variance Ledger

Halcourt Supply Co., an illustrative fastener distributor. Four weeks locked in January.

WeekLineVarianceCauseClassReversesReversed?
16 JanNational accounts(240,000)Centrelane moved its payable run from the 14th to the 21stTiming23 JanYes
16 JanProfessional fees(12,000)The advisory firm did not invoice in JanuaryTiming30 JanNo
30 JanProfessional feesreclassThe retainer ended on 31 December, so no invoice was ever comingStructuraln/anew row
30 JanCore collections(42,100)The 31 to 60 day bucket went 38 to 44 to 47 days, and 61 to 90 grew 118,400Structuraln/an/a
23 JanPayroll2,900Warehouse shift premium effective 5 January, never added to the assumptionStructuraln/an/a
23 JanFreight3,200Two expedited shipments covering the 3/8 hex stockoutTiming13 FebPending
16 JanInventory(4,800)13,500 of week 1 reversing in, against an 8,700 mill surcharge on PO-2304Structuraln/an/a
23 JanOther operating2,900Cannot explain: nine expense codes, nothing above 600openn/an/a

Payroll is 1.2% and clears no floor. Two consecutive adverse runs pulled it, and six runs remain in the horizon, so the line nobody would flag is worth 17,400.

River13-Week Model

13-Week Model

Weekly summary. Forward weeks start from the actual close, not from the plan.

WeekStateOpeningReceiptsPaymentsDebtEndingHeadroom
W1 09 JanLocked520,000480,540696,6000303,94053,940
W2 16 JanLocked303,940496,200407,10031,400361,640111,640
W3 23 JanLocked361,640753,750708,1400407,250157,250
W4 30 JanLocked407,250593,300449,7000550,850300,850
W5 06 FebForecast550,850503,500694,9000359,450109,450
W6 13 FebForecast359,450791,500437,20031,400682,350432,350
W7 20 FebForecast682,350516,500711,3300487,520237,520
W8 27 FebForecast487,520647,500554,0000581,020331,020
W9 06 MarForecast581,020510,500918,9000172,620(77,380)
W10 13 MarForecast172,620804,500423,20031,400522,520272,520
W11 20 MarForecast522,520523,500718,8400327,18077,180
W12 27 MarForecast327,180656,500474,0000509,680259,680
W13 03 AprForecast509,680517,500640,9000386,280136,280

Week 9 carries payroll, the second pre-build tranche, the annual insurance renewal and the rent, in a week with no national account receipt. Payroll clears. The 250,000 covenant does not.

RiverForecast Accuracy

Forecast Accuracy

Every closed week scored twice, because one of those scores is about the model and the other one is not.

WeekForecast endingActual endingErrorError %Ex reversed timingEx timing %
09 Jan334,500303,940(30,560)6.2%(2,360)0.5%
16 Jan607,840361,640(246,200)32.4%(19,700)2.6%
23 Jan166,640407,250240,61047.5%6100.1%
30 Jan578,750550,850(27,900)4.4%(27,900)4.4%
Rolling 422.6%1.9%

Error is measured against forecast receipts, and the forecast is rebased on the prior week's actual close, so nothing here is compounded drift. Week 3 forecast an ending balance 83,360 under the covenant and closed 157,250 over it, and all of that swing is one payment seven days late.

RiverA filed one

Where the design comes from

Ernst & Young Inc. as Monitor, Fifteenth Report in the AbitibiBowater proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, filed with the SEC on 8 September 2009. Receipts variance table, US$000.

ReceiptsPara.ActualForecastVarianceVariance %
A/R Collections26(i)131,992176,096(44,104)(25%)
Intercompany A/R Settlement26(i)27,861027,861N/A
Total A/R Collections159,853176,096(16,243)(9%)
Collections on Behalf of Joint Ventures26(ii)39713,276(12,879)(97%)
A/R Collections - Affiliates26(iii)18,158018,158N/A
Intercompany A/P Settlement26(iv)11,539011,539N/A
Other Inflows26(v)19,41912,3097,11058%
Total Receipts209,366201,6807,6864%

The Para. column resolves, and this is what it resolves to

RefLineThe Monitor's own words
26(i)A/R Collections"This variance is primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable aging."
39(i)Restructuring Costs"This variance is primarily due to timing and is expected to reverse as various professional service firms submit their invoices for payment."
28(iii)Utility Payments"Due to the agreement the ACI Group has with its various power suppliers, it is required to pay a certain fixed amount on a weekly basis."

Two of those are timing and one is a collection cycle deteriorating, and the grid alone cannot tell you which is which. The Para. column is the Variance Ledger's Cause and Class, seventeen years early.

  • 13-Week Model sheetThe weekly grid: opening cash, receipts, payments, financing, ending cash and headroom over your minimum balance.
  • Receipts Detail sheetOne row per open invoice, placed by its customer group's real days to pay, with a confidence level.
  • Disbursements Detail sheetEvery open bill and order, marked committed or discretionary, with stated and observed terms and the notice to move it.
  • Variance Ledger sheetEach closed week's misses by line, with the cause, the timing or structural class and the reversal week.
  • Forecast Accuracy sheetEach closed week's forecast error, measured with and without timing misses that later reversed.
  • Forecast AssumptionsEvery rule behind the forward weeks, where it came from and when it last changed.
  • Timing or StructuralA short guide to classing each miss, with worked examples and what counts as a cause.
  • Weekly Cash MemoThe weekly report in a fixed order: position, misses, changed assumptions, the payroll test and decisions due.
  • Cash Coverage NoteWritten when a week falls short: every line that could move, its notice period and the decision date.

Common questions

What is a 13-week cash flow forecast?

A 13-week cash flow forecast is a weekly projection of the cash coming in and going out over the next quarter, starting from your actual bank balance. Each week ends with a cash balance you can compare with the minimum you must hold. Finance teams roll it forward every week, and lenders may ask to see one when cash gets tight.

Why use 13 weeks instead of a monthly forecast?

Weekly columns catch the squeeze a monthly total hides, such as payroll, rent and a large supplier bill landing in the same week before a big customer pays. Thirteen weeks is a quarter, about as far ahead as known invoices, bills and payroll dates reach. Beyond that, a monthly forecast built on sales assumptions is the better tool.

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

Update it every week, on the same day. Enter last week's actual receipts and payments, explain the misses, fix any assumption that proved wrong, and add a new week at the end. If updates slip for a month, the forecast stops matching the bank, and people stop trusting it.

What is the difference between a timing and a structural variance?

A timing variance is cash that still comes in or goes out, just in a different week, so you can name the week it should reverse. A structural variance comes from a wrong assumption, such as customers paying slower than you modeled, so the forward weeks need changing. If a timing call never reverses, reclassify it as structural.

Who needs a 13-week cash flow forecast?

Any business where one bad week could miss a payroll, a loan payment or a covenant test. That includes companies with thin cash, big seasonal swings, lumpy customer payments or a lender watching closely. Businesses with plenty of cash use one too, to time large purchases and spot slow payers early.

Is this 13-week cash flow forecast template free?

Yes. The four Word documents and five CSV sheets download free, with no signup. They come filled in for a made-up fastener distributor's quarter, so you can see how each file works before you clear it. Edit with AI opens the same template in River.

What does Edit with AI do?

Edit with AI opens the template in a free River workspace. Send your bank history, both agings and your payroll calendar, and River measures how quickly your customers and vendors have actually paid. It then places every open item in its likely week and names the first week below your minimum balance, which it asks you for rather than guessing.

Sources

  1. Association for Financial Professionals. “10 Best Practices in Cash Forecasting.” financialprofessionals.org (opens in a new tab)

  2. IRS. “Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide.” irs.gov (opens in a new tab)

  3. Purple Innovation. “First Amendment to Credit Agreement and Limited Waiver.” sec.gov (opens in a new tab)

  4. Ernst & Young. “Fifteenth Report of the Monitor.” sec.gov (opens in a new tab)

Written by

Chandler Supple

Co-founder & CEO, River

Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.

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Reviewed by

Brian Joseff, Co-founder, River

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