Use your data to forecast your days-of-cash runway

Goal: Anticipate your cash runway so you make informed decisions before you hit critical lows.

Dashboard Setup & Priority

Suggested Dashboard: Cash & Liquidity

Widgets:

Forecasted Days-of-Cash chart (projected runway over next 30–60 days)

Projected Inflows vs. Outflows timeline (daily or weekly)

Scenario Comparison table (best-case, base-case, worst-case runway)

Criticality: High-Impact — converts reactive firefighting into proactive planning

Cadence: Daily, first thing (≈ 5 minutes)

Core Principle

Forecasted Runway = (Current Cash + Scheduled Inflows) ÷ (Avg. Daily Disbursements + Scheduled Outflows)

Five-Minute Routine

Update Scheduled Cash Flows (≈ 1 min)

Pull in known upcoming inflows: customer payments, loan tranches, grants.

Pull in scheduled outflows: payroll, rent, loan payments, capital expenses.

Recalculate Forecasted Runway (≈ 1 min)

Compute adjusted avg. daily disbursements including scheduled outflows.

Runway = (Current Cash + Total Scheduled Inflows) ÷ Adjusted Daily Disbursements.

Review Projection Curve (≈ 1 min)

Inspect your Forecasted Days-of-Cash chart.

Note when runway crosses your custom buffer threshold.

Compare Scenarios (≈ 1 min)

Base-case: using conservative estimates.

Best-case: assumes early receipts or deferred payments.

Worst-case: assumes late receipts or additional costs.

Focus on where worst-case runway dips below your buffer.

Plan One Proactive Move (≈ 1 min)

Accelerate Key Receipts: Reach out to largest upcoming payers to confirm timing.

Delay Discretionary Outflow: Postpone a planned purchase or capital spend.

Line Up Financing: If worst-case runway < buffer, secure a short-term credit line or overdraft.

Control Limits & Key Metrics

Condition	Action Required
Forecasted runway (worst-case) < Buffer	Secure financing or accelerate receivables immediately
Base-case runway dips within 5 days of Buffer	Delay discretionary outflows; confirm inflow timing
Best-case runway improves > Buffer+10 days	Consider opportunistic investments (e.g., marketing push)

Track Daily:

Base-, best-, and worst-case forecasted runways

Scheduled inflows vs. outflows over next 30 days

Date when the worst-case runway crosses your buffer

Habit Formation

Daily Ritual: Allocate five minutes each morning to refresh your forecast and review the runway curve.

Weekly Deep-Dive: Every Monday, adjust assumptions—update sales forecasts or vendor term changes—and refine your scenarios.

Real-World Example

A distributor has $100 K current cash, $60 K in receivables due next two weeks, and $80 K in scheduled outflows. Base-case runway = (100 + 60) ÷ ((80 ÷ 14)+avg. spend) ≈ 18 days. Worst-case (assuming $20 K in inflows slip one week) drops to 14 days—below their 20-day buffer. They negotiate a one-week extension on rent, restoring runway to 21 days even in the downside scenario.

Embedding this five-minute forecasting routine turns your data into foresight—so you manage opportunities and risks, rather than scrambling to react.