Cash flow & budgeting
What came in, what went out, and what next month looks like if nothing changes. For owners and households who want the lowest point of the coming weeks named before they arrive at it.
Wondering whether a month covers its costs? The free break-even calculator shows the sales you need to cover fixed costs, before you open a spreadsheet.
The templates side by side
Every one works in Excel and Google Sheets. "You type into" counts the tabs where your numbers go; "calculated for you" counts the tabs that need no typing at all, and "set up once" the tabs you fill in at the start.
| Template | Tabs | You type into | Calculated for you | Set up once | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Bookkeeping (Income/Expense) | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | $4.79 |
| 1099 / Schedule C Self-Employed Tax Spreadsheet | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | $3.80 |
| S-Corp Reasonable Salary & Distribution Optimizer (US) | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | $8.69 |
| Mileage Tracker | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | $2.81 |
| Business Budget Spreadsheet | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | $3.29 |
| Profit & Loss Statement Generator | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | $3.80 |
| Pricing Calculator | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | $4.49 |
| Inventory Tracker | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | $2.69 |
| Employee Timesheet | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | $3.29 |
| Invoice Tracker & Generator | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | $2.99 |
| Cash Flow Spreadsheet | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | $3.29 |
| Employee Attendance and PTO Tracker | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | $3.29 |
| Client Tracker & CRM | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | $5.69 |
| Business Expense Tracker | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | $1.79 |
| Product Profit Tracker | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | $2.69 |
Which template do I need?
Cash flow and budgeting answer different questions and want different files. Thirteen weeks of money in and money out tells you whether Friday works. Twelve months across your revenue and cost drivers tells you whether the year does.
Both files together is the cheaper way to buy them if you need both, which most owners do once they have been surprised by a payroll week.
On the household side, a monthly budget with bills and sinking funds and a version that budgets to your payday cover the same two questions at home.
Why profit and cash disagree
A business can be profitable and still short of cash, because the two are counted at different times. A sale you invoice in March and get paid for in May is March profit and May cash. Stock you buy in bulk is cash gone now and profit only as it sells. A yearly insurance bill is one month's cash and a twelfth of each month's cost.
A 13-week forecast deals with this by starting from the money actually in the bank and listing what will come in and go out each week. The first week that ends below zero is the one to act on, while there is still time to chase an invoice or move a payment.
Not sure where your break-even sits? The free break-even calculator gives you the monthly sales figure to plan around.