YOUR NUMBERS. YOUR NEXT STEP.
The job makes money.
Can you afford to finish it?
Materials and wages go out now. The customer pays later. See the gap, plan your reserve, and know what you need before you take on the work.
Cash flow & runway
01 / PUT YOUR NUMBERS IN
Let’s see what the numbers say.
Sample numbers are already filled in. Change them to fit your business; the results update as you go.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The invoice and the money are two different things.
Think about a contractor who buys materials and pays the crew for three months, then bills when the project is finished. The job may make money in the end. That does not pay this month’s wages. This calculator separates sales billed, cash collected, monthly cash flow, and the cash balance you carry into the next month. Negative months carry forward, so you can see the funding gap before it becomes a problem.
02 / HOW TO USE IT
Start here. Change one number at a time.
01
Enter the cash available at the start and the minimum reserve you want to keep. Starting cash can be negative if you already have a funding gap.
02
Choose payment timing. Use manual monthly receipts for deposits, progress payments, payment at project end, or delays longer than one month.
03
Enter sales when you invoice them, and receipts when you expect to collect them. In manual mode, include old invoices in the receipts column; they are not added separately.
04
Enter cash paid out as positive amounts, including materials, labor, overhead, owner draws, taxes, debt payments, and equipment purchases.
05
Review negative net cash flow, the lowest balance, and the extra cash needed to keep your reserve. Try the contractor example to see costs going out before payment arrives.
AN EXAMPLE, NOT A PROMISE
A good job can create a cash problem.
−$30,000
LOWEST CASH BALANCE
$35,000
EXTRA CASH TO KEEP A $5,000 RESERVE
The sample project starts with $10,000, costs $40,000 over three months, and collects $60,000 in Month 4.
03 / WHAT THE RESULT MEANS
A number is useful when you know what to do with it.
Negative net cash flow means more money left than arrived that month. It does not necessarily mean the bank balance is below zero. Ending cash includes the balance carried from earlier months. In the contractor example, $10,000 of starting cash and $40,000 of costs produce a $30,000 funding gap before the $60,000 payment arrives in Month 4. You would need $35,000 more at the start to keep a $5,000 reserve. This is a month-end forecast; a bill due early in the month can create a shorter cash gap that it does not show.
Use this alongside pricing and break-even. A price can be profitable while the payment schedule still creates a cash problem.
THE NUMBERS WORK TOGETHER
One answer usually leads to the next question.
KEEP GOING
Pricing & profit margin
Start with the real cost of doing the work, including your own time. Then see what you need to charge for the margin you want.
KEEP GOING
Break-even & sales goals
Work out how many sales you need to cover your monthly costs and leave the profit you actually want. Then see what a price change could do.
KEEP GOING
Leads & marketing budget
Turn a new-customer revenue goal into a lead target and an estimated marketing budget. Then see what happens when you close more of those leads.
KEEP LEARNING
The calculator gives you a number.
The lessons help you use it.
Build the business, understand the money, then put your marketing to work.