You did the work and sent the invoices, and the bank balance still keeps sinking. Put in your own numbers to see when the money actually arrives, the month cash runs lowest, and what to change first. Free, and no signup needed.
Is this you?
If two or more sound familiar, you probably have a cash gap: the time between earning money and having it in the bank.
These boxes are filled in with an example business, not a real one. Replace each number with your own.
| Month | Money in | Money out | Lowest point | Month end |
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A planning check built only from the numbers you enter. It assumes steady sales and outgoings, so treat it as a guide, not a forecast, and not financial advice.
Profit and cash are measured at different moments. Your sales figure counts money the day you earn it. Your bank only counts it the day the client pays. In between sit three delays, and each one is yours to shorten:
Meanwhile rent, wages and suppliers are due on fixed dates. So a business can be profitable on paper and short of cash in practice. Growth makes it worse, which surprises people: every extra sale adds to the pile of money you are waiting for, while the costs of doing that work go out straight away.
A cash gap rarely sinks a business in one go. It costs in smaller ways that add up: overdraft or card interest to cover the weeks you wait, late fees on your own bills, paying yourself last, turning down a job because you cannot fund the materials, and the stress of checking the balance before every decision. The late payment cost calculator puts a yearly figure on the waiting.
It follows your money day by day for the next 90 days. Work is spread evenly through each month. Each day's work turns into cash after your full delay, and the money clients already owe you arrives evenly over that same delay. Outgoings leave on the dates you chose.
Days to get paid = invoicing delay + payment terms + days late Money waiting in unpaid invoices at any time = monthly sales / 30 x days to get paid Days of outgoings covered = cash today / (monthly outgoings / 30)The lowest cash point is the lowest the balance reaches on any day in those three months, and the month it falls in is the one to plan for.
Every day an invoice waits in your drafts is a day added to the gap. Make sending it part of finishing the job.
Terms are a choice, not a law of nature. Start new clients and new projects on shorter terms, and write the due date as a date.
On larger jobs, or where you buy materials up front, a deposit means part of the money arrives before you spend anything.
A short reminder a few days before payment is due, and another on the day, catches the invoice while it is still on the client's desk.
The gap closes through habits more than one big fix: invoice on completion, put clear terms and a due date on every invoice, ask for deposits on big jobs, and look at who owes you once a week. A spreadsheet and a calendar reminder are enough to start. If you would rather the invoices and reminders went out without you having to remember, Billbooks can send them on a schedule.
Put a number on the interest and the chasing time, and on what cutting lateness by two weeks would free up.
Work out the cost of late paymentFree · No signup
Want the exact date each invoice falls due? The invoice due date calculator works it out from your terms. Watching how many months your cash lasts at the current rate of spending? Try the burn rate calculator.
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