12-Month Cash Flow Forecast Spreadsheet | Small Business Runway Projection (Google Sheets, Excel)

Description

Cash Flow Forecast — Will you run out of cash? This 12-month forecast tracks the cash coming in and going out, carries your balance month to month, and shows your lowest month – your danger month – before it arrives.

What’s inside your Cash Flow Forecast

Editable in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Change one month’s numbers and the whole runway updates.

What It Does

• Dashboard: your lowest cash balance and the exact month it happens, your ending cash after 12 months, how many months you stay cash-positive, and a chart of the whole balance curve
• Cash In: money you expect to collect each month, by source – fill in your own forecast
• Cash Out: money going out each month, by category – payroll, rent, materials, marketing, taxes and more
• Forecast: your opening cash, cash in, cash out, net and closing balance for every month, carried forward
• How to Use: why timing beats profit, and how to read your runway

Calculates

• Running cash balance, carried month to month
• Lowest cash balance – and the month it happens
• Ending cash after 12 months (cross-checked two ways)
• Total cash in, total cash out, and cash-positive month count

The number that matters isn’t year-end – it’s the lowest point. Starting with $30,000, growing revenue and steady costs, the example dips to just $6,500 in month 5 before recovering to $53,400. The danger is that dip – and the forecast finds it, so you can raise, cut or collect faster before it hits.

Profit is not cash: you can be profitable and still run dry if the money comes in later than it goes out. This forecast tracks the TIMING of cash – which is what actually keeps the doors open.

Who it’s for

Startups watching their runway, small business owners planning for the slow season, freelancers and agencies with lumpy client payments, and anyone raising or lending who needs a clear 12-month cash picture.

Explore more in our Small-Business Bookkeeping collection, or open it in Google Sheets.

Using this 12 month cash flow forecast

This 12 month cash flow forecast is for startups watching their runway, small business owners planning for the slow season, freelancers and agencies with lumpy client payments, and anyone raising or lending who needs a clear 12-month cash picture.

You enter your own numbers: the money you expect to collect each month by source, and the money going out each month by category — payroll, rent, materials, marketing, taxes and more. Change one month’s figures and the whole runway updates automatically.

You get a dashboard showing your lowest cash balance and the exact month it happens, your ending cash after 12 months, how many months you stay cash-positive, and a chart of the whole balance curve. The forecast carries your opening cash, cash in, cash out, net and closing balance forward for every month. It is editable in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.

Frequently asked questions

How is it delivered?
Instant download in Google Sheets, Excel & PDF — available right after checkout, with lifetime access.

Is it ready to use?
Yes — the formulas are built in. Enter your own numbers and it calculates automatically.

Is this a 12 month cash flow forecast template?
Yes. It is an editable spreadsheet for Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel where you enter your own cash in and cash out, and it projects your running balance across all 12 months.

How will it show if I’m going to run out of cash?

How will it show if I’m going to run out of cash?
It carries your balance month to month and finds your lowest cash balance and the exact month it happens, so you can see your danger month before it arrives and raise, cut or collect faster.

Does a profitable business still need this forecast?
Yes. Profit is not cash — you can be profitable and still run dry if the money comes in later than it goes out. This forecast tracks the timing of cash, which is what actually keeps the doors open.