Each article takes one funding decision for a Lewiston, Idaho business. The cash flow forecast notes on this page show how to find the size and timing of a gap before choosing a product.
A 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast for Supplier Payments, Sketched for a Lewiston, ID Landscaping Crew
A 13-week forecast lists the cash expected in and out each week for about three months, so a gap shows up before it happens. Illustration only, invented figures: a Lewiston landscaping crew starts with $6,200 in the bank, pays $1,150 to suppliers every week, runs a $4,100 payroll in odd-numbered weeks and has a $4,800 bulk mulch and soil order due in week 6.
| Week | Cash in | Cash out | Balance at week end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,400 | $5,250 | $3,350 |
| 2 | $4,300 | $1,150 | $6,500 |
| 3 | $2,100 | $5,250 | $3,350 |
| 4 | $4,500 | $1,150 | $6,700 |
| 5 | $2,300 | $5,250 | $3,750 |
| 6 | $3,900 | $5,950 | $1,700 |
| 7 | $3,800 | $5,250 | $250 |
| 8 | $4,900 | $1,150 | $4,000 |
| 9 | $3,800 | $5,250 | $2,550 |
| 10 | $4,700 | $1,150 | $6,100 |
| 11 | $2,800 | $5,250 | $3,650 |
| 12 | $4,500 | $1,150 | $7,000 |
| 13 | $3,100 | $5,250 | $4,850 |
In this invented forecast the balance never drops below zero, but it falls to $250 in week 7: the bulk order goes out in week 6 and a payroll follows straight after. If the owner wants at least $2,500 in the account at all times, only weeks 6 and 7 fall under that cushion, and the deepest shortfall is $2,250. A gap that small and that short suits a credit line draw better than a term loan. By week 13 the balance is back at $4,850.
Weighing a Tax Bill: How Can a Business Improve Cash Flow? Notes for Lewiston, ID Landscaping Crews
A large bill that arrives once, such as a tax payment, is simpler to handle when cash comes in sooner and goes out later. Before borrowing for it, a crew owner can look at the levers inside the business:
- Bill on completion instead of at month end, so payment arrives a few weeks sooner.
- Ask for a deposit on larger one-time jobs before buying materials for them.
- Offer card or online payment on invoices so customers can pay the day they receive them.
- Ask regular suppliers for invoice terms instead of payment at pickup.
- Sell or trade in a machine the crew no longer uses.
- Set aside part of each week's deposits in a separate account for the bill.
Whatever the levers do not cover is the real funding need, and its size decides the product: a short working capital loan, or a credit line draw paid down over a few months. How the bill is figured is a question for the owner's tax preparer.
How to Prepare a Cash Flow Forecast, Tested on Payroll at a Nez Perce County, ID Landscaping Crew
- Start from the bank balance today, not from profit on paper.
- List the cash expected in each week: contract payments, invoices due, card deposits.
- List every payroll on its real payday; a crew paid every two weeks has a payroll in every other week of the forecast.
- Add the fixed weekly costs: supplier payments, fuel, insurance installments, loan or lease payments.
- Add the one-time items in the week they fall due: a bulk materials order, a repair, a tax payment.
- Subtract week by week and mark the smallest balance and the week it lands in.
Testing the forecast on payroll is useful because payroll cannot slide. If the week with the smallest balance is a payroll week, the gap has a fixed date, and that date is what to give a funding partner along with the amount. Rerun the forecast each week with actual figures, so the next gap shows up early.
Planning for Practice Software in Lewiston, Idaho? Topics the Articles Take On
Not every article is about a crew. A therapy or chiropractic office weighing a practice software renewal faces the same question as a shop buying a lift: pay at once, spread the cost, or draw on a line. The articles on this blog take one of these decisions at a time:
- Revolving credit for service businesses: when a credit line fits and how draws and paydowns work.
- A concession trailer beside a diner: kitchen equipment and working capital for an operating restaurant.
- Two-post lifts and diagnostics: equipment choices for a repair shop.
- Zero-turn mowers, trimmers and trailers: equipment for a landscaping crew.
- Revenue-based funding compared with a merchant cash advance, the site's only revenue-based option.
- Why two loan offers for the same amount can cost different totals.
For a renewal or any single purchase, the payment calculator shows what a level payment would be for a chosen amount, rate and term.
By Keelmead Lending · Updated
