The template does two calculations: how many months of cash you have left at your recent rate of spending, and how close your sales are to the VAT registration threshold.
The formulas are live, so the runway row updates when you change a number.
A cashflow template that works out your runway.
A 12-month spreadsheet with live formulas. The closing balance carries from month to month, and a runway row shows how many months of cash you have left.
A free 12-month cashflow and budget template for UK startups. Type into the blue cells and it works out your net movement, closing balance, runway in months and how close you are to the £90,000 VAT registration threshold. You can open it in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
What the template calculates
- Runway, in months. The closing balance divided by the average amount your cash fell by over the last three months, recalculated every month. It reads “cash positive” when more cash came in than went out over those months, and OUT OF CASH when the balance reaches zero or below.
- A balance that carries forward. Month two opens where month one closed, through to month twelve. A common error in home-made forecasts is starting each month from the same opening balance, which can make a year that runs out of cash look fine.
- A VAT threshold check. Your sales totalled against the £90,000 registration threshold. If you pass the threshold without registering, you owe VAT from the date you should have been registered, including on sales where you did not charge it.
How to use the template each month
- 1Type your opening balance into month 1 only
The other eleven months carry forward from it automatically.
- 2Fill in what you expect to receive and pay
Enter each amount in the month the money moves. If you invoice in March on thirty-day terms, the cash arrives in April, or in May if the client pays late.
- 3Read the runway row
The runway row sits at the top of the sheet. With less than six months of cash, decide what to change. With less than three months, the main options left are cutting costs and collecting money you are owed.
- 4Update it monthly, replacing forecast with actual
Replace forecast figures with actual figures as each month closes, so the runway reflects what has happened.
- 5Test it against late payment
Move every customer receipt back a month and check whether you still have enough cash.
What the template does not cover
It shows cash and does not show profit. A business can be profitable and still run out of cash to pay its bills.
It assumes your customers pay when you say they will. Many pay late, and the government estimates that late payment causes 38 business closures a day. Add a month of delay to every receipt line and check whether the year still works.
A forecast for a lender, an investor or a Start Up Loan assessor needs more detail than this template holds. We build those as a separate piece of work.
Common questions
What is in the template?
A 12-month cashflow with money in, money out, net movement and a closing balance that carries from each month into the next. A runway row shows how many months of cash you have left at your recent rate of spending, and a VAT row totals your sales against the £90,000 registration threshold. You type into the blue cells and the other cells calculate.
Does it work in Google Sheets and Numbers?
Yes. It is an .xlsx file, so Excel opens it directly, and Google Sheets and Numbers import it with the formulas intact. If a formula looks wrong after importing, check the locale in your spreadsheet settings, which can change the commas in formulas to semicolons.
What is the difference between cashflow and profit?
Profit is what you earned in a period. Cashflow is the money that went into and out of the bank. A profitable business can run out of cash if customers pay after ninety days while staff are paid monthly. The template records cash in the month it moves, so it shows whether you will have the money to pay your bills.
How often should I update it?
Once a month, replacing forecast figures with actual figures as each month closes. It takes about twenty minutes. If you would rather not do it yourself, management accounts cover the same ground.
What should I do if the runway row looks bad?
Look at the number of months left. With less than six months, decide now whether to cut costs, chase money you are owed, raise investment or change your prices, because each option gets harder as the runway shortens. With less than three months, the main options left are cutting costs and collecting money you are owed.
