Template
SME Working Capital Dashboard
Working capital is where most growing Indian SMEs quietly run out of room — sales rise, but cash gets stuck in receivables and stock faster than profit comes in. This dashboard pulls the three levers onto one screen: how long customers take to pay, how long you hold stock, and how long you take to pay suppliers. It computes your cash conversion cycle — the number of days your own money is tied up — and tracks it month over month. Use it to see whether growth is funding itself or draining your account, and to know which lever to pull when cash gets tight.
Free · Excel / Google Sheets compatible · no signup — see what’s inside below, then download.
What it does
The template is a single summary view that turns scattered receivables, payables, and inventory data into the few numbers that actually govern your cash. It pulls in total receivables and computes days-sales-outstanding, total inventory and days-on-hand, and total payables and days-payable-outstanding, then combines them into the cash conversion cycle — receivable days plus inventory days minus payable days — which is the real number of days your cash is locked up before it returns. A current-ratio and net-working-capital line shows whether short-term assets comfortably cover short-term dues. By tracking these monthly, the dashboard tells you whether each month’s growth is being financed by your suppliers and customers or by silently eating into your own cash, and flags the single lever — collections, stock, or supplier terms — with the most room to free money.
Who it’s for
- Growing SMEs whose sales are rising faster than their cash balance.
- Traders and manufacturers carrying significant receivables and inventory at once.
- Owners preparing for a bank cash-credit or working-capital loan review.
- Agribusinesses and distributors wanting one view of cash locked across the cycle.
Fields included
How to use it
- Pull in total receivables, inventory, and payables from your detailed trackers each month.
- Enter monthly sales and cost of goods sold so the day-metrics can be computed.
- Let the dashboard calculate DSO (receivable days), inventory days, and DPO (payable days).
- Read the cash conversion cycle — receivable days plus inventory days minus payable days.
- Check the current ratio and net working capital to confirm short-term cover.
- Compare this month against last to see whether the cash cycle is lengthening or tightening.
- Act on the worst lever — chase collections, clear slow stock, or renegotiate supplier terms.
Preview
| Metric | Last month | This month | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivable days (DSO) | 55 | 48 | Improving |
| Inventory days | 50 | 44 | Improving |
| Payable days (DPO) | 30 | 38 | Improving |
| Cash conversion cycle | 75 days | 54 days | ↓ 21 days |
| Net working capital (₹) | 46,00,000 | 41,00,000 | Freed cash |
Free Excel / Google Sheets template — no signup required.
Download Excel template (.xlsx)Example workflow
Sai Enterprises, a Coimbatore electricals distributor, turns over ₹60,00,000 a month but feels permanently short of cash. The dashboard reveals why: receivables run at 55 days (DSO), inventory sits 50 days on hand, and suppliers are paid in 30 days (DPO) — a cash conversion cycle of 75 days, meaning roughly two and a half months of sales value is locked up before cash returns. Net working capital is positive but financed largely by an overdraft. The owner attacks the two biggest levers: tightening collections to bring DSO to 42 days and clearing slow stock to cut inventory to 38 days, while negotiating one key supplier to 45-day terms. The cycle drops from 75 to about 35 days over a quarter, freeing close to ₹80,00,000 of cash and cutting the overdraft — without adding a single new customer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to put this to work?
Download Excel template (.xlsx)