Worked cases for Pampa, TX owners: a 13-week forecast that shows when a software renewal pushes an office below its cash floor, how supplier terms and customer deposits shrink a contractor's gap, and how to forecast payroll at a restaurant. All figures in the cases are invented.
13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: A Pampa, TX Accounting Office Planning for a Software Renewal
A 13-week forecast lists, week by week, the cash expected in, the cash going out and the balance left at the end of each week. Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services firms numbered 7 in Gray County, TX in 2023, and 5 of them had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns, NAICS 5412).
Illustration only, invented figures: a Pampa, TX accounting office starts with $5,400 in the bank, pays $7,400 of payroll every other week and $1,350 of other costs each week, and owes $6,480 for its annual tax software renewal in week 7. It keeps $3,000 as a floor and has a line of credit to draw on.
| Week | Cash in | Cash out | Line of credit | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,100 | $1,350 | - | $9,150 |
| 2 | $4,600 | $8,750 | - | $5,000 |
| 3 | $5,800 | $1,350 | - | $9,450 |
| 4 | $4,300 | $8,750 | - | $5,000 |
| 5 | $5,200 | $1,350 | - | $8,850 |
| 6 | $4,700 | $8,750 | - | $4,800 |
| 7 | $3,900 | $7,830 | draw $2,200 | $3,070 |
| 8 | $8,900 | $8,750 | - | $3,220 |
| 9 | $6,400 | $1,350 | pay down $2,200 | $6,070 |
| 10 | $7,600 | $8,750 | - | $4,920 |
| 11 | $5,900 | $1,350 | - | $9,470 |
| 12 | $5,300 | $8,750 | - | $6,020 |
| 13 | $5,200 | $1,350 | - | $9,870 |
In this invented forecast, without the line, the balance would fall to $870 in week 7, below the floor. A $2,200 draw in week 7 keeps the office above it, and client payments clear the line by week 9. Held about 14 days at an annual rate of 12.6%, that draw costs roughly $10.63 in simple interest.
How Can a Business Improve Cash Flow? A Gray County, TX Contractor's Materials Bill and Its Billing Dates
Illustration only, invented figures: a Gray County, TX siding and gutter contractor buys $18,420 of materials on net-30 supplier terms and bills the homeowner at completion, with payment on day 50. For 20 days the contractor has paid for goods the customer has not. If the siding contractor carries those 20 days on a line of credit at an annual rate of 12.35%, the simple interest is $124.65. Changing the dates, not the price, shrinks that invented figure:
- Net-45 terms from the supplier: the gap falls to 5 days and the line interest to $31.16
- A 30% deposit billed at signing: $5,526 comes in before the materials are bought, the draw shrinks to $12,894, and 20 days on the line cost $87.26
- Billing in stages on a longer job, so each stage pays for the materials of the next one
None of these changes needs a lender. A funding request makes sense for the gap left over after the terms are as good as the supplier and the customer will accept.
How to Prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for Payroll: Notes for a Pampa, TX Quick-Service Restaurant
Accommodation and food services employer establishments in Gray County, TX had 824 paid employees in the pay period including March 12, 2023 (County Business Patterns, NAICS 72). For a counter-service kitchen among them, a payroll forecast takes six steps:
- Mark every payday that falls inside the forecast window
- Average the card deposits by day of the week from recent processor statements
- Add the food and paper deliveries on the days they are paid
- Set a floor: the balance the account is not allowed to drop under
- Flag the days when a payroll and a delivery land together
- Size a line of credit, if any, to the largest shortfall on those days
Illustration only, invented figures: a Pampa, TX quick-service restaurant pays $9,350 every two weeks and $5,600 for a weekly food delivery, and its card deposits average $2,140 a day. A 30-day window holds 2 or 3 paydays and 4 or 5 deliveries, depending on the calendar, so cash out runs from $41,100 to $56,050 against about $64,200 of deposits. Even the heavier month leaves $8,150 for rent, utilities and everything else, which tells the owner how much room a line would have to cover.
Six Articles for Pampa, TX Stores, Contractors and a Cleaning Company
The articles each take one question and work it through for a Pampa, TX business:
- How Pampa, TX stores pay for a bulk order, register terminals and a delivery van
- How a Pampa, TX masonry contractor pays for brick, crew payroll and a mortar mixer before a job pays
- What a Pampa, TX business can use a working capital loan for
- How short-term business loans work for a Pampa, TX store or restaurant
- Vendor financing compared with an outside loan for a Pampa, TX owner
- How Pampa, TX cleaning and janitorial companies fund equipment and payroll
By Robinstead Commercial Capital · Updated
