Year End Cash Forecasting in Excel

If your business uses Excel spreadsheets for year-end essentials like cash forecasting effective design is critical. Often cash is forecast for the upcoming year during an annual planning for capital investments, operating day to day and taking advantage of tax incentives. Accurate cash forecasting allows leadership to focus forward; directing cash to achieving the vision. And, like regular trips to the gym for a focused workout, efficient and effective cash spending is optimized when cash forecasts are up to date and visible to leadership throughout the year. If cash requirements are calculated each Monday for the upcoming week use IF statements to pick up and total the cash outlays required. Include a display of the total cash required for the next two weeks and a total for the month. It’s critical to check formulas that can derail accuracy. Increase accurate calculations by choosing a date format for date values. Use the same date format consistently. Using date format allows Excel to make accurate date calculations, filter column data by date and correctly evaluate conditional statements using dates. The payoff to the business is clear vision of the data for making today’s decision.

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