Guide
Build a 13-week cash flow forecast from Tally data
Profit tells you whether the business makes money. A 13-week cash forecast tells you whether you can pay salaries on the 1st of next month. Most of what you need is already in TallyPrime.
Short answer: Start with today’s cash and bank balances from TallyPrime, add customer receipts by due date (moved later by how late each customer really pays), subtract supplier payments by due date, then add salaries, rent, tax dates and loan instalments week by week for 13 weeks. Compare each week’s closing cash, plus any undrawn limit, with a minimum you set, and roll the plan forward every week.
Why 13 weeks
Thirteen weeks is one quarter, broken into weeks. It is long enough to see a shortfall coming and short enough to be specific. Weekly columns catch what a monthly plan hides: salaries in week 1, GST in week 3, a large supplier bill in week 4.
Build it step by step
- Opening cash. Take the closing balance of every cash and bank ledger in TallyPrime as on today. List overdraft and cash credit accounts separately, with their sanctioned limits.
- Receipts. From bill-wise receivables, list each open sales bill by its due date. Move each one later by the delay that customer usually takes; a customer who pays 20 days late will do so again. Leave out bills you do not expect to collect.
- Payments to suppliers. From bill-wise payables, list each open purchase bill by its due date, or by the date you actually plan to pay.
- Fixed costs. Add salaries, rent, electricity, professional fees and other regular payments in the week they fall.
- Taxes. Add GST, TDS and advance tax in their due weeks. GST for monthly filers has long been due by the 20th of the next month, and TDS deposits by the 7th; check the dates under the current rules for your business.
- Loans. Add instalments and interest by date, and any loan you expect to draw or repay.
- Closing cash. For each week, closing cash = opening cash + receipts − payments. Add undrawn limits to see what is available.
- Minimum line. Set the lowest cash you are comfortable holding, such as one month of salaries and rent. Mark every week that falls below it.
Where the figures come from in TallyPrime
| Line | Source in TallyPrime |
|---|---|
| Opening cash | Cash and bank ledger balances |
| Receipts | Bill-wise receivables with due dates |
| Supplier payments | Bill-wise payables with due dates |
| Fixed costs | The last few months of expense ledgers |
| Taxes | GST and TDS ledgers for the current period |
| Loans | Loan ledgers, with terms from the sanction letter |
All of this depends on bill-wise details. If receipts and payments are entered On Account, due dates are lost and the forecast becomes a guess.
Roll it every week
A forecast made once is out of date by Friday. Each week, replace last week’s forecast with what actually happened, add a new week 13 at the end, and look at the gap. If customers keep paying later than planned, widen their delay. Comparing plan with actual is what makes the next forecast better.
Doing it in a spreadsheet
You can build this in Excel from TallyPrime exports: one sheet for receivables, one for payables, one for fixed costs and a weekly summary. The work is in refreshing it. Each week you export again, paste, and check that nothing has shifted. Keep the layout fixed so the weekly update takes minutes, not an afternoon.
The same plan in TallyNexa
TallyNexa builds the 13-week plan from your TallyPrime books as they sync, so it is current without exports.
- It takes bills due in and out from your bill-wise receivables and payables, with cash and bank balances and undrawn limits.
- A loan register lists your loans; terms are read from the books, or typed in where Tally does not hold them.
- For past weeks it shows what was due against what actually moved, so you can see how far plans and reality drift.
- You can download the plan to Excel with formulas for your bank or your CA.
You still make the judgement calls: which bills will really be paid on time, which payments can wait. The plan gives you a current starting point every Monday.
When a week falls short
Seeing a shortfall eight weeks out gives you choices you do not have in week one. Chase the largest overdue customers first, agree later dates with a few suppliers, move a planned purchase, or speak to your bank about the limit while there is still time.
Questions people ask
How do I make a cash flow forecast from Tally?
Start from cash and bank balances, add customer receipts and subtract supplier payments by due date from bill-wise outstandings, add fixed costs, taxes and loan instalments week by week, and roll it every week.
Tally se cash flow forecast kaise banaye?
Export bill-wise receivables, payables and bank balances from TallyPrime into a weekly sheet for 13 weeks, or let TallyNexa build the 13-week plan from the synced books.
Does TallyPrime have a cash flow report?
Yes. TallyPrime’s cash flow report shows past inflows and outflows by period. A forward 13-week plan is built from bill-wise due dates, as described here.
What minimum cash should a business keep?
A common rule is at least one month of fixed costs such as salaries and rent. Set it to suit your business and mark any week that falls below it.