Plan the cash you can use, in the week it arrives
Start with cash available before week 1. Leave out restricted funds, platform balances that have not reached your bank, and unused credit limits. Enter each expected net marketplace or payment-provider deposit in its bank-arrival week. A sale, invoice or pending payout is not yet spendable cash.
Use any consecutive 13 weeks. Week 1 starts on the date you choose in your own records; the planner does not calculate business days, holidays or provider schedules. Combine channels only after converting them to the same USD basis outside this tool.
How to enter your weekly plan
- Net payouts: bank deposits after deductions already taken by the platform. Do not subtract those fees, refunds, withheld tax or reserve holds a second time.
- Other receipts: separate customer payments, confirmed funding or released cash not included in net payouts. Count a loan draw only when the funds arrive. Do not count a reserve release twice.
- Inventory payments: supplier deposits, balance payments, freight or duties paid that week. Use the cash payment date, not the date goods sell or enter COGS.
- Advertising and operating payments: cash paid for ads, fulfillment, wages, rent, software and similar bills. Allocate each payment to one field.
- Other payments: separate tax remittances, refunds, debt payments or owner draws. Include them only if they have not already reduced another entered amount.
All input amounts are positive or zero. A negative payout or provider debit belongs in other payments as a positive cash outflow. Money accepts cents up to $1,000,000 per field. Enter 0 for a week with no movement; a blank field stays incomplete.
Test a payout delay or a new inventory payment
The scenario uses the same weekly plan. Payout percentage changes only net payouts: 80% means 20% less deposited cash. Each adjusted payout is rounded to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounded up. It does not change other receipts, advertising, taxes or supplier payments. Change those baseline inputs if the scenario also changes costs.
Delay shifts every adjusted net payout by the selected number of whole weeks. It does not add receipts from before week 1. If you have an existing receipt that should stay on its original date, enter it once under other receipts and remove it from net payouts. Money shifted past week 13 is shown separately and excluded from the ending balance. It has been deferred in this model, not declared lost.
An extra inventory payment affects only the scenario, once in the chosen week. It assumes no extra sales or later receipts from that order. To test a different payment date, change the week and compare the cash low point. This is a scenario comparison, not approval to place an order.
Read the lowest cash balance and buffer gap
Formula
Closing cash = Opening cash + Receipts − Payments
Buffer gap = Buffer − Lowest balance, minimum zero
Weekly closing cash is opening cash plus receipts minus payments. Each closing balance becomes the next week’s opening cash. The lowest balance includes the starting position before week 1. The first week below buffer identifies the first modeled shortfall; a balance equal to the buffer is not below it.
Your cash buffer is a threshold you choose. It is not another expense or a platform reserve. The buffer gap equals the buffer minus the lowest modeled balance, with a minimum of zero. It shows how much additional opening cash would be needed to keep all modeled balances at that threshold if every other assumption stays fixed. The planner does not add that money or assess financing availability.
Negative balances remain visible as a cash shortfall. A positive weekly closing balance does not prove you can pay a bill earlier that week. Check daily due dates around your low point. Unentered bills, unexpected holds and changes after week 13 can change the result.
Example: one delayed payout changes the low point
The example starts with $10,000 and a $5,000 cash buffer. Each week has $5,000 of net payouts, $500 of advertising and $3,500 of operating payments. Inventory payments are $8,000 in week 3 and $6,000 in week 8.
The baseline ends week 13 at $9,000. Its lowest closing cash is $4,000 in week 8, a $1,000 gap below the chosen buffer. A one-week payout delay changes the low point to −$1,000 in week 8 and the ending cash to $4,000. Another $5,000 sits beyond week 13. The scenario’s buffer gap is $6,000. These are entered examples, not typical seller results.
| Result | Baseline | One-week delay |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cash | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Cash buffer | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Lowest closing cash | $4,000 (week 8) | −$1,000 (week 8) |
| Ending cash, week 13 | $9,000 | $4,000 |
| Payouts beyond week 13 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Buffer gap | $1,000 | $6,000 |
Questions sellers ask
Which date should I use for an inventory payment?
Use the cash payment date, not the date the goods sell or enter COGS. Enter supplier deposits, balance payments, freight, or duties in the week you pay them.
What is the cash buffer?
It is a threshold you choose. It is not another expense or a platform reserve. The buffer gap is the buffer minus the lowest modeled balance, with a minimum of zero.
What happens to payouts delayed past week 13?
They are shown separately and excluded from the ending balance. The model has deferred them, not declared them lost. No receipts from before week 1 are added.
Does this calculate profit or tax?
No. The planner does not calculate profit, tax liability, inventory value, or an accounting cash-flow statement. A loan draw brings in cash without being sales revenue, and an inventory payment uses cash before the goods may become an expense.
Cash flow, profit and actual payouts answer different questions
An inventory payment uses cash before the goods may become an expense. A loan draw brings in cash without being sales revenue. This planner therefore does not calculate profit, tax liability, inventory value or an accounting cash-flow statement. Use the COGS calculator for period inventory cost and the landed-cost calculator for shipment costs.
To investigate a deposit that has already arrived, use the payout mismatch checker. Review Taxomate’s supported accounting workflows when you need to record actual marketplace activity. This manual planner does not connect to your accounts or forecast receipts for you.
Before planning a new inventory payment, use the reorder point calculator to review unit demand, lead time and your stock position.
Method and source guidance
Wall Street Prep’s 13-week model guide describes weekly receipts and disbursements and a minimum-cash threshold. BDC’s cash flow planning guidance offers a 13-week planning horizon.
Shopify’s payout-timing guide explains that settlement, bank processing and reserves affect availability. Use your own provider’s current schedule to prepare the baseline; the scenario delay is an assumption, not a provider quote. Sources reviewed October 14, 2026.
Download the CSV to retain the inputs, both weekly plans and the scenario assumptions. The planner code does not send or save your entries. Refreshing the page restores the example. Existing site privacy choices still apply. Explore all seller tools and templates.