We’ve got the ultimate cash flow forecast template for you … because we know managing personal and business finances can feel like juggling multiple priorities.
Some months, the cash flows easily, and you feel in control. while other months are tight, making it difficult to make ends meet. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, know that you’re not alone.
Addressing cash flow issues is critical for maintaining financial stability. The good news? You don’t need to stress over complicated spreadsheets or expensive software. With just 10 minutes a week, you can stay on top of both business and personal finances—and gain confidence in your cash flow management.
In this blog post, based on Jamie Trull’s system, we’ll break down her practical strategy for managing cash flow and show you how to forecast like a pro using Jamie’s Deluxe Cash Flow Forecast Template.
➡️ Ready to simplify your finances? Grab Jamie’s cash flow template here!
What is Cash Flow Management?
Definition and Importance
Cash flow management is the process of monitoring, analyzing, and optimizing the inflows and outflows of cash within a business. It’s a crucial aspect of financial management that ensures a company has enough liquidity to meet its obligations, invest in growth opportunities, and build financial reserves.
Effective cash flow management helps businesses maintain a healthy cash flow, which is essential for their growth, survival, and long-term success. By keeping a close eye on cash movements, businesses can avoid financial shortfalls, make informed decisions, and stay agile in a competitive market.
Why Cash Flow Management is Different for Business Owners
Jamie Trull, CPA and financial coach, explains that cash flow forecasting isn’t just about profitability—it’s about the timing of money coming in and going out. Accurate cash flow projections are essential for managing this timing effectively.
Even profitable businesses can run into trouble if they don’t have enough cash available when expenses are due.
For small business owners and freelancers, this variability makes traditional budgeting models less effective. Without a clear way to forecast cash flow, it becomes difficult to know how much to pay yourself or put aside for savings and future goals.
Many business owners turn to cash flow software, but these tools can be costly. On average, subscription costs range between $199 and $1,479 per month, which is often out of reach for small businesses. That’s why Jamie created her Deluxe Cash Flow Forecast Template—an affordable, spreadsheet-based tool for forecasting cash flows seamlessly across both business and personal finances.
Understanding Cash Flow
Types of Cash Flow
To effectively manage cash flow, it’s important to understand the different types of cash flows that a business encounters. There are three main types:
- Operating Cash Flow: This is the cash generated from a company’s core business operations, such as sales and production. It reflects the day-to-day activities that keep the business running and is a key indicator of a company’s financial health.
- Investing Cash Flow: This includes cash flows from investments, such as purchasing or selling assets like equipment, property, or securities. Investing cash flow provides insights into a company’s growth strategies and long-term investments.
- Financing Cash Flow: This involves cash flows from financing activities, such as borrowing or repaying loans, issuing stock, or paying dividends. Financing cash flow shows how a company funds its operations and growth through external sources.
Understanding these types of cash flows helps businesses make better financial decisions and maintain a balanced cash flow.
Jamie Trull’s Money Management System
Jamie’s system includes two key parts:
- Business Cash Flow Forecasting
- Personal Financial Planning
This integrated approach ensures you manage both your business and personal cash flow in alignment. Below, we walk through the components of her system and how you can start using it.
1. Cash Flow Forecasting for Business
To get the most out of Jamie’s template, start with business cash flow forecasting. Jamie recommends weekly tracking, which offers a good balance between day-to-day details and monthly predictability.
Forecasting helps in preparing for future cash flow needs, ensuring businesses can effectively manage upcoming expenses and maintain liquidity.
Step-by-Step: How to Create A Cash Flow Projection
- Set Your Starting Cash Balance
Begin by entering the current balance from your bank account along with the starting date. If today is January 1st, input that date and the corresponding account balance. - Record Cash Receipts and Outflows
Input your expected future cash flows (like customer payments) and outgoing expenses (such as payroll, rent, or credit card payments) for each week. Focus on the actual cash movement—when money enters or leaves your account—not just when expenses are incurred. - Plan for Irregular Expenses
If you have expenses that don’t happen every month—such as insurance premiums or software renewals—make notes in the spreadsheet so you don’t forget them. This provides clarity on when large expenses will hit your account.
2. Adjust and Monitor Cash Flow Regularly
Jamie emphasizes that forecasting isn’t about perfection—it’s about staying ahead of potential shortfalls. You won’t always predict every income or expense perfectly, but the goal is to avoid financial surprises. Negative cash flow, where outgoing cash exceeds incoming cash, can pose significant challenges for businesses, potentially leading to unsustainable financial situations if not managed properly.
Tips for Staying on Top of Cash Flow
- Compare Actuals vs. Forecasts Weekly
Each week, compare your bank account balance with what you predicted. This allows you to make any necessary adjustments quickly. - Adjust Forecasts as Needed
If unexpected expenses pop up or income changes, update your cash flow template to keep it accurate. Regular monitoring gives you the insight to make timely decisions.
3. Aligning Business and Personal Finances
One of the toughest challenges for business owners is deciding how much to pay themselves. With Jamie’s template, you can strategically plan owner draws without disrupting your business cash flow.
For example, if your forecast shows a strong cash position in the second week of January, that’s a good time to pay yourself. However, if a larger draw would lead to a cash shortfall, reduce the amount or postpone it until your finances can handle it comfortably. Achieving positive cash flow is crucial for both business and personal financial stability, as it allows for reinvestment in growth, effective management of day-to-day expenses, and navigating financial challenges.
Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable
Effectively Manage Accounts Payable
Managing accounts payable is a critical component of cash flow management. It involves optimizing the payment of invoices to suppliers and vendors, ensuring that payments are made on time, and taking advantage of early payment discounts. Effective accounts payable management can help businesses maintain a healthy cash flow, reduce the risk of late payment fees, and improve supplier relationships. By implementing a robust accounts payable process, businesses can ensure that they are making the most of their cash resources and minimizing the risk of cash flow disruptions.
To manage accounts payable effectively:
- Schedule Payments Strategically: Pay invoices on time to avoid late fees but consider the timing to optimize cash flow.
- Take Advantage of Discounts: If suppliers offer early payment discounts, take advantage of them to save money.
- Maintain Good Relationships: Communicate with suppliers to negotiate better terms and ensure a steady supply chain.
By focusing on these strategies, businesses can ensure that their cash outflows are managed efficiently, contributing to a healthier overall cash flow.
How to Use Jamie’s Cash Flow Template
Jamie’s template includes multiple tabs to track both business and personal cash flows at different frequencies—daily, weekly, or monthly.
Tracking cash inflows is crucial for accurate cash flow forecasting, helping businesses anticipate their financial needs and maintain a positive balance for operational continuity and long-term growth.
Tips for Using the Template Effectively
- Choose the Right Frequency
Daily tracking might feel overwhelming, while monthly tracking might not provide enough visibility. Jamie recommends weekly tracking as the sweet spot for most small business owners. - Enter Your Starting Balance
At the beginning of each week, input the starting bank balance to ensure your forecast reflects reality. - Track Transactions and Forecasts
Input your expected revenue and expenses for the week. You can also automate recurring payments like payroll or credit card payments to streamline the process. - Monitor Personal Cash Flow
Use the personal tab to track your income (like owner draws) and personal expenses. This ensures your personal finances are aligned with your business cash flow.
Bonus: Automating Cash Flow Management with Relay
Jamie also recommends using Relay Financial, a business banking platform that allows you to automate money management. Automation contributes to proper cash flow management by ensuring a balance between cash sufficiency and operational needs, which is crucial for meeting short-term liabilities and sustaining operations.
Relay enables you to set up multiple accounts or buckets for taxes, savings, owner pay, and operating expenses, helping you stay organized without manually moving money between accounts.
➡️ Get $50 free when you open a Relay account through Jamie’s link: jamietrull.com/relay and deposit your first $100.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple and Stay Consistent
Managing cash flow doesn’t have to be time-consuming. By spending just 10 minutes a week using Jamie’s template, you can avoid cash flow surprises and make smarter financial decisions—both in business and personal life.
➡️ Ready to simplify your finances?
Download Jamie’s Deluxe Cash Flow Forecast Template now!
Remember, forecasting is about control, not perfection. Use tools like Relay to automate where possible, and make sure to check in weekly to stay on track.
Watch the Full Video
For a more detailed walkthrough of Jamie’s system, watch the full video here:
Video Transcript: CPA EXPLAINS: How I manage my money on a monthly basis (in 10 Minutes or less)
The Struggle of Managing Finances
If you’ve ever felt like your finances are a juggling act, this video is for you. Maybe some months you feel flush with cash, and other months you’re struggling to make ends meet, and really you’re not sure what you need to do to stay on top of it.
What if I told you that you could stay on top of your business and personal finances and have a better line of sight on what’s coming with just 10 minutes a week?
Well, today I’m going to be showing you my actual money management system that keeps me on top of things and keeps it stress-free.
Meet Jamie Trull: CPA and Financial Literacy Coach
Hi everyone. My name is Jamie Trull, your favorite CPA and financial literacy coach. And on this channel, you’ll find tons of resources to help you stay informed, organized, and profitable in your business finances.
So please like and subscribe now, and make sure to stick around until the end of this video, because I’m going to be sharing with you some of my top tips for automating your finances to make this process even easier.
Why Traditional Budgeting Fails for Business Owners
A few years ago, when I worked one-on-one with business owners, one of the things I noticed was that managing cash flow on both the business and personal side was really difficult.
It was hard to have a line of sight as to what was coming, how much they could afford to pay themselves, and how much they could put into their personal savings. That’s because the nature of business or being self-employed is that we probably have some variability in terms of what we make. We probably don’t have a regular paycheck that we can fully depend on.
So that’s why traditional budgeting methodologies don’t typically work well for small business owners.
Searching for a Cash Flow Solution: Trial and Error
When I was working with these clients, I spent a lot of time scouring the World Wide Web to find a good process, a system, or a software that could help actually forecast cash flow ups and downs.
I even tried several of them, and I’ll be honest—they were all kind of “meh.” The accuracy was all over the place, and honestly, it was expensive to implement.
When I Googled the cost of cash flow software, it looks like it’s still expensive today. The average cost, according to the AI overview, is between $199 and $1,479 per month.
Obviously, that’s pretty cost-prohibitive for most small businesses. We’re talking thousands of dollars a month for a program that may or may not actually be effective in forecasting out your cash flows.
Creating My Own Solution: A Cash Flow Forecast Spreadsheet
What I quickly realized when I was looking into this is that there has to be a better way.
So I developed my own spreadsheet that I used with my customers and that I also use myself to track the cash flow coming into my business. I also created a version for my personal life because, as a business owner, your personal and business finances are often inextricably linked. Understanding free cash flow, which is the cash generated after accounting for capital expenditures, is crucial for making strategic business decisions and maximizing investor value.
In this video, I’ll give you a peek behind the curtain and show you a full tutorial of the worksheet that I use.
How You Can Use This Template
If you’re a spreadsheet person, you can create something really similar based on what I did. Or, if you want to save time, you can go ahead and purchase mine.
It costs significantly less than just one month of those expensive software tools, and the best part—you only have to pay for it once. If you’re interested, go to jamietrull.com/cashflow to check it out.
Structuring Your Cash Flow: Business and Personal
I’m going to walk you through how to use this template for both your business and personal life. Your business will drive how much you have to work with on the personal side, so it’s important to get both organized.
When you open the template, you’ll see several different tabs. Thankfully, you don’t need to use all of them! In fact, I highly suggest that you don’t.
You’ll notice tabs labeled:
- Daily Business
- Daily Personal
- Weekly Business
- Weekly Personal
- Monthly Business
- Monthly Personal
Choosing the Right Tracking Frequency
If you’re wondering how to decide which one to use, it really comes down to the number of transactions. How much cash is coming in and going out? How likely are you to run into a cash shortfall?
In this video, I’ll walk through the weekly cash flow tab because I think it offers a good balance for most business owners. Daily tracking might feel like overkill, while monthly tracking may not give you enough visibility to catch issues before they happen.
Getting Started with the Template
To get started, enter the starting week at the top of the template. You’ll see I’ve entered January 1, 2025, but you can start with whatever date works for you.
Next, input your beginning balance—the amount of money currently sitting in your bank account.
Forecasting Cash Receipts and Expenses
The next step is to enter the cash receipts (income) and cash outflows (expenses) you expect to make for the week. This isn’t about a profit-and-loss statement or accounting—it’s strictly about cash flow.
Be sure to align the timing correctly. If most of your payments are made by credit card, you’ll only record the payment when it’s actually made, not when the expense is incurred.
Planning for Irregular Expenses
For predictable but irregular expenses—like insurance payments every six months or quarterly tax payments—be sure to make notes in the spreadsheet. That way, you won’t forget about them.
Calculating Ending Cash Position
After entering your income and expenses, scroll down to the ending cash position section of the template. This is where you’ll see if you have any cash shortfalls coming up.
Green means good—you’ve got cash. But if you see a red number, it’s a sign that you need to adjust your spending.
Deciding When to Take Owner Draw
One of the most valuable aspects of this template is that it shows you when you can pay yourself. If your cash forecast shows a healthy balance in the second week of the month, that’s the perfect time to take an owner’s draw.
However, if taking a draw creates a cash shortfall in a later week, it’s better to reduce the amount or postpone the draw until your finances are more stable.
Aligning Business and Personal Cash Flow
Once you’ve figured out your business cash flow, move over to the personal tab and input your expected owner draws as income. This way, your personal expenses are aligned with the income from your business.
Bonus: Automating with Relay
In addition to manual cash flow tracking, I recommend using Relay Financial, a business banking platform that allows you to automate money management.
Relay lets you set up multiple accounts or “buckets” for taxes, owner pay, savings, and operational expenses—so your cash is always going where it needs to, without any manual transfers.
➡️ Get $50 free when you open a Relay account through my link: jamietrull.com/relay and make your first $100 deposit.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple
In summary, managing your cash flow doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. With 10 minutes a week, you can stay on top of your finances and avoid those stressful “I can’t make payroll” moments.
Ready to simplify your finances? Grab my Deluxe Cash Flow Forecast Template at jamietrull.com/cashflow and start making better financial decisions today.
