13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Builder
CFOs, finance managers, and business owners use this prompt to build a 13-week cash flow forecast when managing tight liquidity, preparing for a fundraise, or stress-testing the business against a downturn scenario. It is particularly valuable for businesses with lumpy revenue collections or uneven payment cycles.
Prompts
You are a treasury analyst and FP&A advisor helping [BUSINESS TYPE] build a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast. The goal is to create a structured, actionable liquidity model that surfaces potential shortfalls before they become crises. All figures are in [CURRENCY]. Use the following inputs to build the forecast: - Starting cash balance (Week 1): [STARTING CASH] - Expected collections by week (accounts receivable, direct sales, subscriptions): [WEEKLY COLLECTIONS] - Weekly payroll and contractor costs: [PAYROLL] - Vendor and supplier payments by week: [VENDOR PAYMENTS] - Loan and debt service obligations: [LOAN OBLIGATIONS] - Other recurring outflows (rent, utilities, insurance, taxes): [OTHER OUTFLOWS] - One-time expected inflows or outflows (e.g., asset sale, capex, tax payment): [ONE-TIME ITEMS] - Minimum cash reserve threshold: [MINIMUM CASH THRESHOLD] Deliver the following outputs: 1. **Weekly Cash Flow Table** Produce a 13-week table with columns: Week, Opening Cash, Total Inflows, Total Outflows, Net Cash Flow, Ending Cash Balance, and a Status flag (OK / ALERT / CRITICAL) based on whether the ending balance falls below [MINIMUM CASH THRESHOLD]. 2. **Alert Summary** List every week where Ending Cash is below the minimum threshold. For each alert week, state the projected shortfall amount and how many weeks remain to act. 3. **Key Assumptions** List the three most sensitive assumptions in this forecast — the inputs whose change would most quickly trigger an ALERT status. For each, state what change would cause the first threshold breach. 4. **Recommended Actions** Suggest four concrete actions the business should consider to improve the cash position over the forecast window. Prioritize actions by feasibility and speed of impact (immediate, within 4 weeks, within 13 weeks). Present the table first, then the alert summary, assumptions, and recommendations. Keep language direct and suitable for a CFO or business owner briefing.
Prompt Variables
Replace each placeholder with your specific information:
[BUSINESS TYPE][CURRENCY][STARTING CASH][WEEKLY COLLECTIONS][PAYROLL][VENDOR PAYMENTS][LOAN OBLIGATIONS][OTHER OUTFLOWS][ONE-TIME ITEMS][MINIMUM CASH THRESHOLD]What You'll Get
A 13-week table with opening balance, inflows, outflows, net cash flow, ending balance, and status flags; an alert summary identifying shortfall weeks and amounts; a sensitivity breakdown of the three most impactful assumptions; and four prioritized cash improvement actions.
💡 Pro Tip
Update this forecast every Monday morning with actual last-week numbers — the rolling nature of the 13-week model means your visibility window stays constant and alerts surface 6–8 weeks before a crisis, giving you time to act rather than react.
Compatible AI Tools
Claude
Best for building the complete narrative forecast with alert flags and written recommendations. Paste weekly inputs as a structured list or table. Claude surfaces the sensitivity logic and drafts CFO-ready commentary.
ChatGPT
Use Code Interpreter to auto-calculate ending balances across all 13 weeks and automatically flag ALERT and CRITICAL rows. Upload a CSV of weekly inflows and outflows for cleanest results.
Microsoft Copilot
Ideal when your cash flow inputs already exist in Excel. Copilot can extend an existing weekly template, recalculate ending balances, and annotate alert weeks with plain-English commentary.
Gemini
Useful for Google Workspace finance teams. Reference your weekly cash data from Google Sheets and ask Gemini to generate the 13-week table and alert summary directly within the document.