Template
Business Cash Flow Template
Profit on paper means nothing if your current account runs dry before the 7th. This cash flow template is built for Indian SMEs that live on timing — collections come late, supplier payments fall due, and GST has to be paid whether the customer has paid you or not. It separates operating, investing, and financing cash, sets aside money for tax outflows, and shows the closing balance for each month so you can see a squeeze coming weeks in advance. Use it to plan payments around realistic collections instead of bank-balance guesswork.
Free · Excel / Google Sheets compatible · no signup — see what’s inside below, then download.
What it does
The template gives you one rolling sheet that maps every rupee moving through the business by month. You record cash inflows (customer collections, advances, loan drawdowns) and outflows (supplier payments, salaries, rent, EMIs, GST and TDS deposits) in separate blocks, and it carries the closing balance of one month into the opening balance of the next. Because Indian businesses often book a sale but collect 30-60 days later, the sheet deliberately tracks cash movement rather than invoiced revenue, so the number at the bottom is what is actually available to spend. A forecast column lets you project the next two or three months and spot the week where outflows will exceed the balance.
Who it’s for
- Traders and distributors who buy on short credit but sell on longer credit.
- Small manufacturers juggling raw-material payments against delayed customer collections.
- Freelancers and consultants with lumpy project payments and quarterly advance tax.
- Shopkeepers and service businesses planning around festival-season demand swings.
Fields included
How to use it
- Enter the opening bank and cash balance for the first month at the top of the sheet.
- List all expected cash inflows for the month — customer collections, advances, loan drawdowns.
- List all cash outflows — supplier payments, salaries, rent, EMIs, GST and TDS deposits.
- Let the sheet compute net cash flow and the closing balance for the month.
- Carry the closing balance forward as next month’s opening balance.
- Add a forecast for the next two to three months using known dues and likely collections.
- Each week, update actuals against the forecast and reschedule payments before the balance turns negative.
Preview
| Line item | April (₹) | May (₹) | June (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | 3,80,000 | 4,10,000 | 4,20,000 |
| Cash inflows | 9,50,000 | 10,20,000 | 8,00,000 |
| Operating + statutory outflows | 8,90,000 | 9,70,000 | 10,15,000 |
| Net cash flow | +60,000 | +50,000 | −2,15,000 |
| Closing balance | 4,40,000 | 4,60,000 | 2,45,000 |
Free Excel / Google Sheets template — no signup required.
Download Excel template (.xlsx)Example workflow
Mehta Traders, a Pune hardware distributor, opens June with ₹4,20,000 in the current account. Expected collections are ₹11,00,000, but ₹3,00,000 of that is from a builder who usually pays 20 days late. Outflows for the month are supplier payments ₹7,50,000, salaries ₹1,40,000, rent ₹60,000, an EMI of ₹45,000, and a GST deposit of ₹85,000 due on the 20th. Booking only the ₹8,00,000 they realistically expect to collect, the forecast shows the balance dipping to about ₹40,000 around the 20th — too thin to cover the GST payment safely. Seeing this two weeks early, the owner pushes one non-urgent supplier payment of ₹1,50,000 to early July and chases the builder, keeping the closing balance at a comfortable ₹1,90,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to put this to work?
Download Excel template (.xlsx)