Forecasting the amount of cash that your business has will be integral in making plans for expansion, hiring, and purchasing. Additionally, predicting cash flow and knowing more about finances can keep your business from folding. Among the top five reasons that startups fail, the second is running out of cash, accounting for 29% of failures. The fifth reason is problems with pricing, causing 18% of startups to fold. Using accurate cash forecasting may help to prevent these issues. However, you must first know the basics of creating a way to predict your cash flow.
What Is Cash Forecasting?
To start with cash forecasting, you need to have a record of previous cash inflow. This information will guide you in creating a prediction for future amounts of incoming cash that you will use to create your financial forecast.
What makes cash flow forecasting crucial is that you pay more attention to when you have assets available for spending. In some instances, you may have sales, but the cash does not arrive in your company’s account for several days or weeks after the sale. Therefore, you will need to use the time that your account gets money from sales in it to create your cash flow forecasting.
Why Your Company Needs to Incorporate Cash Forecasting into Your Planning
Your company’s cash forecasting helps you to know when you have money and how long the delay between sales and getting funds lasts. When you make a sale, it could take some time for the order to process through your accounts receivable before you have money that you can use for growing your business.
Differences Between Budgeting and Cash Forecasting
While cash flow forecasting may sound like budgeting, the two are distinctly different. Cash flow forecasting predicts incoming money for your business. Budgets use the money that you predict you will have to plan to spend. The two planning tools are vital to any well-rounded financial plan that forecasts incoming and outgoing funds.
How to Get Help for Cash Forecasting
Setting up a financial forecast can feel overwhelming, especially for busy business owners, CEOs and CFOs. However, the ability to create more accurate budgets and to avoid overspending and loss will make up for the effort you put toward cash forecasting. We have a custom, yet simple, forecasting model that could help you right away. Contact us at Astero Group if you need help with your company’s forecasting, reporting, planning, budgeting, or other financial services.