Cash Flow Forecast Calculator

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Warning

Product support for ToolBox CS ended on October 31, 2022.

Help & How-To Center content for ToolBox CS may be outdated and is used at your own risk.

The Cash Flow Forecast calculator enables you to forecast your client's cash flow on a daily basis. Using this calculator will help you keep a positive balance in a checking account. It can also be used to manage other accounts that are measured in dollars, such as savings accounts.

First, you establish a forecast by entering in the future dates, expected payments, and deposits. Then, as the days pass, you enter the actual balance and the calculator updates the projected balances. Entering the actual balance is a quick way to bring the forecast up to date rather than entering all of the actual transactions.

If you want to create a forecast for a period other than daily, simply make an entry on the last day of the period. For example, if you want a quarterly cash flow forecast, enter the following information:

Beginning Balance: $50,000

Date Description Payment Deposit
3/31/2017 First quarter cash flow $150,000 $210,000
6/30/2017 Second quarter cash flow $144,000 $130,000
9/30/2017 Third quarter cash flow $220,000 $300,000

Example

Your client wants to make a large equipment purchase but does not know how large the down payment should be. Given the interest rate on the financing, you have determined that the down payment should be as large as possible without jeopardizing liquidity. Using the Cash Flow Forecast calculator, enter the client's current cash balance along with projected deposits and payments. The resulting report will be a projected cash balance as it changes over time.

Then, simulate different down payment amounts by adjusting the beginning balance. The answer to your client's question is found with the largest down payment amount that also produces an account balance projection that is acceptable.

Note: To insert an entry between two existing rows in the Cash Flow Forecast table, simply add the row at the bottom of the table and the application will sort the table based first on date, then by deposits, followed by payments.

Working in the input grid

  • To insert a row, right-click in the row BEFORE which you want the new row to appear, and choose Insert Row. You can also insert an entry between two existing rows in the table by adding the row at the bottom of the table. The application will sort it based on date.
  • To delete a row, right-click in the row you want to delete and choose Delete Row.

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