Forecast cash-flow plan:
the method + free Excel template

What is a forecast cash-flow plan?

A forecast cash-flow plan projects, month by month, your inflows (money coming in) and your outflows (money going out), so you know your available cash balance ahead of time. Its purpose: to spot low points before they happen, and make the right calls (chase a customer, push back a purchase, negotiate a payment term).

Cash-flow plan ≠ budget

This is the most common confusion. A budget works in income and expenses (at the invoice date). A cash-flow plan works in actual flows (when the money moves).

	Budget	Cash-flow plan
Logic	Income / expenses	Inflows / outflows
Timing	Invoice date	Actual payment date
Question	Am I profitable?	Do I have enough cash, and when?

Example: an invoice issued in January but paid in March counts in January in the budget, but in March in the cash-flow plan.

The 5-step method

1. List your line items. On the inflow side: customer sales, grants, capital contributions, tax credits. On the outflow side: supplier purchases, salaries, payroll taxes, rent, VAT, taxes, loans.
2. Start from the real opening balance. The actual balance of your bank accounts on day 1. Everything flows from there.
3. Place each flow in the right month. At the expected inflow/outflow date, not the invoice date. That is what makes all the difference.
4. Compute the net flow and carry the balance forward. Net flow = inflows − outflows. Closing balance = opening balance + net flow. One month's closing balance becomes the next month's opening balance.
5. Update and simulate. Refresh it every week, and test scenarios ("what if this customer pays late?", "what if I hire?").

The free Excel template

Our template applies exactly this method: 12 columns (one month each), inflow / outflow sections, and the formulas already built in - totals, net flow and balance carried from month to month. You only enter your amounts.

⬇️ Download the Excel template

The limits of Excel (and when to go automatic)

A spreadsheet is perfect for understanding and getting started. But day to day, it quickly shows its limits:

• Time-consuming manual re-keying for every new invoice or payment.
• Errors in formulas, multiple versions, files that drift apart.
• No link to your accounting → the file is out of date the next day.
• Inflow dates are estimated by guesswork.
• No alert when a low point is coming.

Automate your cash-flow plan with Dafodoo

Dafodoo connects to your Odoo and turns your invoices, payments and subscriptions into a cash-flow plan that is always up to date: reliable inflow dates, low point and alerts, simulation scenarios, revenue tracking. The same work as the Excel template - but with no re-keying, and never out of date.

Try Dafodoo for free