Your first cash-flow outlook
By the Harborview team · 7 min read
Healthy-looking companies run dry over timing, not losses. A thirteen-week outlook is the earliest alarm you can rig up — and it demands less grind than founders expect.
Anchor the certain, then the likely
Open with locked-in inflows and fixed outflows: wages, rent, loan servicing, tax dates. Then layer forecast receipts scaled by real payment habits — how buyers truly pay, not what the invoice claims.
Track three readings each week
Lowest projected balance, days of cash cover, and receivables older than 30 days. If any one slides the wrong way two weeks running, move: chase collections, pause optional outlay, or tap arranged credit early.
Refresh it every Friday
Projections stale fast. Spend fifteen minutes weekly — swap guesses for actuals, push the window onward, and verify the coming fortnight's big swings. Precision snowballs quickly.
Steer by it, don't just stare
Hires, stock buys, owner drawings — each major outflow should pass the outlook first. If the model dips under your floor, the verdict is wait or reshape, never wish.
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