Gather the records and confirm upcoming commitments
Have five things ready: available bank cash at the start of the period; open customer invoices and expected collection dates; payroll dates and amounts; supplier and subcontractor payments; and overhead, tax, debt and other commitments. Ask the owner or project manager about planned purchases and changes that are not yet in the books. Keep a dated source sheet beside the forecast so another person can follow each weekly total. BondSBA accepts the totals; it does not check these records or fetch them from accounting software.
Start with available cash, not the bank statement alone
Use the cash you can actually spend at the start of week 1. Identify restricted balances and pending payments before selecting the opening figure. Enter a minimum cash reserve that reflects your own operating needs; the tool does not prescribe a reserve. Do not count an unapproved credit facility as available cash.
Put receipts in the week you expect to collect them
Separate the invoice date, approval date and expected collection date. A billed job is not cash in the bank. Include retainage only when you reasonably expect it to be released and paid. For large receipts, record the invoice or pay-application reference, expected collection week, reason for that date and who can confirm it in your source sheet. Check approval or missing-document issues before using a contractual due date as the expected receipt date.
Example: separate a progress payment from retainage
Suppose a fictional $40,000 billing includes $4,000 of retainage. If you expect the other $36,000 in week 3, enter $36,000 in week 3 receipts. Add the retained $4,000 only in the week you reasonably expect to collect it. If that falls outside the forecast, keep it on your source sheet outside the 13-week totals. Do not also enter the full $40,000 as a receipt. This illustrates cash timing only; the contract and accounting records determine how the billing and retainage are recorded.
Capture the payments that cannot disappear from the model
List labor, materials and subcontractor payments as direct costs. Include overhead, taxes, debt service, insurance and owner draws in other outflows. Reconcile the totals to the source records and count each payment once. A useful forecast is complete enough to expose a problem, not merely tidy enough to look reassuring.
A simple worked example
Suppose opening cash is $50,000. In week 1, expected receipts are $20,000, direct costs are $30,000 and other outflows are $5,000. Ending cash is $35,000. If the receipt moves to week 2, week 1 ends at $15,000. With a $20,000 minimum reserve, the delayed case creates a $5,000 reserve gap. These are fictional planning figures, not a recommended reserve or loan amount.
Run a stress scenario before committing more cash
BondSBA can move all planned receipts zero to four weeks later and increase direct costs by a selected percentage. Other outflows stay unchanged. Receipts pushed beyond the 13-week window are shown as deferred, not lost. The result tells you which timing assumptions need attention; it does not decide whether another contract is affordable or whether a lender will provide funding.
Review WIP alongside the cash plan
Job progress, billing and collection measure different things. Use the WIP check to review estimated margin and billing position, then use expected collections in the cash forecast. An underbilling is not automatically an overdue receivable. Reconcile the job data with your accountant before treating it as an accounting result.
Run a short weekly cash review
Answer three questions with the owner or person making payment decisions: What cash moved differently from last week’s plan? Which receipt or payment creates the next reserve gap? Who will confirm the assumption or decide the next action, and by when? Bring the cash low, the week it occurs and the largest timing uncertainty to the discussion. Keep the agreed action in your source sheet; producing a report alone does not resolve a shortfall.
Update the forecast after the review
Compare the previous forecast with actual receipts and payments before replacing assumptions. Save the old JSON backup if you need a record, then start the next period with actual available cash and recheck the 13 weekly totals. For example, a receipt moved from week 2 to week 3 is a timing change, not automatically lost revenue. BondSBA does not automatically roll the forecast, store period comparisons or reconcile your accounting system.
Understand the limits
Positive week-end cash can hide a shortfall before payroll earlier in the week. Review daily timing when the margin is narrow. The model does not calculate interest, credit availability, tax obligations or bond capacity. Keep supporting records and use the result as an input to a professional conversation.