Cash flow forecast template
Plan the months ahead by estimating the money you expect to come in and go out, and the bank balance left at the end of each month. A month that dips shows up before it arrives.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
A cash flow forecast estimates the cash a business expects to receive and pay over the coming months. business.gov.au describes it as estimating your sales and costs for future periods, and presents it as a way to check whether income will cover costs before a shortfall arrives. This template sets the months side by side so you can follow the bank balance from one month to the next.
Its lines follow the order business.gov.au uses for a cash flow statement: an opening balance, the money coming in and its total, the money going out and its total, the net cash for the month, and a closing balance. Each month's closing balance becomes the next month's opening balance. business.gov.au also says estimated figures should be labelled and explained, which is what the notes column is for.
It is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. Amounts go in the month the money is expected to move, not the month a sale is made or a bill arrives. That timing matters: a budget plans the year's income and costs on the same basis as your profit and loss statement, while the forecast follows when the cash itself moves.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Item | First month (AUD) | Second month (AUD) | Third month (AUD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | 8,000.00 | 8,550.00 | 7,070.00 | Bank balance on the first day, then the previous month's closing balance |
| Cash sales | 4,200.00 | 3,800.00 | 5,100.00 | Same months last year, adjusted for current trading |
| Payments from customers | 11,000.00 | 11,200.00 | 12,900.00 | Invoices due, placed in the month customers usually pay |
| Total money in | 15,200.00 | 15,000.00 | 18,000.00 | Cash sales plus payments from customers |
| Payments to suppliers | 5,900.00 | 6,400.00 | 6,800.00 | Bills falling due under each supplier's payment terms |
| Wages | 4,800.00 | 4,800.00 | 5,200.00 | Current wages, with extra hours planned in the third month |
| Rent | 2,400.00 | 2,400.00 | 2,400.00 | Amount set by the lease, paid monthly |
| Other running costs | 650.00 | 1,980.00 | 700.00 | Utilities, phone and insurance; the second month includes a yearly licence renewal |
| Loan repayments | 900.00 | 900.00 | 900.00 | Lender's repayment schedule |
| Total money out | 14,650.00 | 16,480.00 | 16,000.00 | Sum of the money out lines |
| Net cash for the month | 550.00 | (1,480.00) | 2,000.00 | Total money in less total money out; brackets mean more goes out than comes in |
| Closing balance | 8,550.00 | 7,070.00 | 9,070.00 | Opening balance plus net cash for the month |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Item: The forecast line: the opening balance, each kind of money in or out, and the totals worked out from them.
- First month (AUD): The amounts expected in the first month, starting from the current bank balance.
- Second month (AUD): The amounts expected in the second month, starting from the first month's closing balance.
- Third month (AUD): The amounts expected in the third month; copy this column to forecast further ahead.
- Notes: How each figure was estimated or worked out, so anyone reading the forecast can tell an estimate from a calculation.
How to use it
- Download the CSV file, open it in a spreadsheet program and rename the month columns to the months you are planning for, copying the last one for each extra month.
- Enter the bank balance on the first day of the first month as its opening balance. business.gov.au says each later month opens with the closing balance of the month before.
- Replace the example lines with your own money in and money out, and place each amount in the month you expect it to be paid. business.gov.au suggests working from previous years, seasonal trends, regular sources of income and your major costs.
- Include every payment that uses cash, not only running costs, such as loan repayments, equipment purchases and money paid to the owners.
- Work out the totals, the net cash and the closing balance for each month, and use the notes column to record how each estimate was made.
- When a month closes, swap its estimates for the amounts that actually went through the bank account and revisit the months ahead. business.gov.au puts the forecast on a shorter cycle than the budget, refreshed monthly or quarterly.
Related terms
Sources
- Set up a cash flow statement
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 22 May 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Create a budget
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 16 October 2026, released 14 November 2025. Checked 16 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
Related guides
How to do a cash flow forecast
How to build a cash flow forecast for a small business, month by month: what you need, how to estimate money in and out, and how to keep it current.
How to manage your business cash flow
Practical ways to keep cash flowing in a small business: track it each month, forecast ahead, get paid sooner and plan for the costs you know are coming.
How to make a business budget
What a business budget is, what to gather before you start, how to build one month by month and how to check it against your actual results.