Cash flow comes first: a 13-week forecast shows when money runs short and by how much, which tells an Ames, IA owner whether a funding call is needed at all.
Building a 13-week cash flow forecast at a Story County, IA real estate office
A 13-week cash flow forecast is a table with one row per week: money expected in, money going out, and the balance left at the end of each week. Thirteen weeks is one quarter, long enough to catch a rent week that lands before a commission check, short enough to fill in from real bookings.
Illustration only, invented figures: a two-agent real estate office starts the quarter with $3,000 in the bank. Commission checks arrive only when deals close, in weeks 2, 8, 11 and 13. Rent of $1,850 and $410 of software and association dues fall in weeks 1, 5, 9 and 13, an assistant’s pay of $1,240 every other week, and $260 of marketing every week.
| Week | Cash in | Cash out | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | $0 | $2,520 | $480 |
| Week 2 | $6,400 | $1,500 | $5,380 |
| Week 3 | $0 | $260 | $5,120 |
| Week 4 | $0 | $1,500 | $3,620 |
| Week 5 | $0 | $2,520 | $1,100 |
| Week 6 | $0 | $1,500 | -$400 |
| Week 7 | $0 | $260 | -$660 |
| Week 8 | $8,200 | $1,500 | $6,040 |
| Week 9 | $0 | $2,520 | $3,520 |
| Week 10 | $0 | $1,500 | $2,020 |
| Week 11 | $5,100 | $260 | $6,860 |
| Week 12 | $0 | $1,500 | $5,360 |
| Week 13 | $7,300 | $2,520 | $10,140 |
In this invented quarter the office ends up $7,140 ahead, yet the balance drops below zero in weeks 6 and 7, bottoming out at -$660 in week 7. The quarter is profitable; the problem is the order of the payments.
How Ames, IA real estate offices can improve cash flow before borrowing
A forecast like the one above shows the gap before it happens, which leaves time to fix some of it without borrowing. In the invented example, moving the $780 of marketing planned for weeks 5 to 7 into week 8, after the next closing, keeps the balance above zero all quarter: the thinnest week now ends at $120. The quarter’s total spending does not change.
- List every pending deal with its expected closing week, and move a deal one week later if the date is not firm.
- Put fixed bills (rent, dues, payroll) on the calendar first, then fit the spending that can move around them.
- Collect property management or referral fees on a set day each month instead of when someone remembers.
- Keep a cash cushion at least as large as the deepest dip in the forecast.
- When a dip remains, size it: a line of credit for a short gap and a term loan for growth are two different requests.
If the gap is still there after those changes, a line of credit can be drawn for the short weeks and paid down when the commission arrives. Call (515) 272-7071 with the forecast in hand.
How to prepare a cash flow forecast for an Ames, IA coffee shop
A coffee shop forecast works the same way, with more rows of small numbers. Card sales arrive every day; the costs come in clusters.
- Start from the point-of-sale history: average sales for each weekday over the last few months, not one strong week.
- Add the deposit lag: card sales can reach the bank a day or more after the sale, depending on the processor.
- Enter the bean, milk and cup orders on the days the supplier bills them.
- Put payroll on its real dates, every week or every other week, with any payroll taxes on the same line.
- Add rent, insurance, the equipment payment and the card processor’s fees on their due dates.
- Find the smallest week-end balance in the 13 weeks, and the week it falls in.
A shop thinking about a new espresso machine can add the monthly payment to the forecast before signing anything; the payment calculator gives the figure to enter.
Articles for Ames, IA real estate offices and auto repair shops
The articles each take one Ames, IA business type and one money question: kitchen equipment and payroll for restaurants, furniture and payroll funding for child day care providers, mower and trailer financing for landscapers, salon funding options, leasing or buying shop equipment, and the documents a business loan request can call for.
Real estate offices and auto repair shops come up in two of them, because both pay steady bills while their own income arrives in lumps: the documents article lists the commission statements a real estate office can bring and the fleet accounts a repair shop bills monthly, and the lease-or-buy article prices a shop’s tire equipment. For the products themselves, start with the funding types page.
By Halehaven Loans · Updated
