Profit tells you whether the year worked. Cash tells you whether you get to the end of it. SMT Accounting builds 12-month cash-flow forecasts, profit and loss budgets, break-even and scenario models, and the financial sections of business plans, then keeps them honest with monthly management reports from your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file.
On this page
When you need a cash-flow forecast
- A lender or landlord asks for one. Business loan, overdraft, equipment finance or a new commercial lease. business.gov.au's guide to applying for a business loan lists a business plan and, for newer businesses, a cash-flow forecast among the things to prepare. See finance documents.
- A grant application wants a budget and a projection for the funded period.
- You are buying a business and need to test the vendor's figures against your own assumptions before you sign.
- Your business is seasonal. Orchards, packing sheds, contractors, hospitality and tourism all earn in a few months and spend in twelve. A forecast shows the low point and when it arrives.
- You are deciding whether to hire or buy equipment, and want to see the effect on cash before, not after, the commitment.
- Tax and super are landing in lumps. Quarterly BAS, PAYG instalments and Payday Super all fall on dates. A forecast puts them on the calendar beside your receipts. See tax planning.
What is in the pack
12-month cash-flow
Month-by-month receipts and payments including GST, tax instalments, super, loan repayments and capital purchases, with opening and closing cash and the lowest point flagged.
P&L budget
Sales, cost of sales, gross margin and overheads by month, built from your actual history and adjusted for known changes.
Break-even
The sales level at which the business covers its costs, in dollars and in units, hours or jobs where that is more useful to you.
Scenarios
Base, slower and faster cases, or a specific what-if: a new employee, a new vehicle, a price rise, a lost customer.
Assumptions page
Every input written down with its source: last year's actuals, signed contracts, quotes, award rates. The reader can see how each number was built.
Summary
A one-page narrative in plain English for the lender, landlord or partner who will not read the spreadsheet.
Monthly management reporting
A forecast only works if someone compares it with what actually happened. Our monthly reporting takes your reconciled bookkeeping file and turns it into a short pack:
- Profit and loss versus budget, with the variances that matter explained.
- Aged receivables and payables: who owes you, how old it is, and what you owe.
- Gross margin by month and, where the file supports it, by product line, job type or site.
- Cash runway: cash in the bank, committed outgoings, and how many weeks that covers at current burn.
- Tax and super set aside against the amounts falling due, so BAS day is not a surprise.
The pack is delivered with a short call or voice note if you want one, and the forecast is re-based each quarter with the BAS.
Business plan financial sections
We do not write your marketing section, but we do write the parts a reader will test: the start-up or expansion costs, the funding required and where it comes from, the three-year profit and loss projection, the first-year cash-flow by month, the break-even point and the assumptions behind all of it. If you are using a template from business.gov.au or a lender, we fit the figures to its format.
How it works
- Scope call. Who the forecast is for, what decision it supports and what format the reader wants. First call is free.
- History. We pull two or three years of actuals from your accounting file or lodged financials and identify the seasonal pattern.
- Assumptions. A working session with you to agree prices, volumes, wages, capital purchases and timing. We challenge the optimistic ones.
- Build and review. We model it, you review a draft, we adjust, and you receive the final pack in spreadsheet and PDF form.
- Keep it live. Optional quarterly re-base or monthly management reporting.
What we need from you
- Access to your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, or the last two years' financial statements.
- Current loan schedules, lease and hire-purchase agreements.
- Known commitments: quotes for equipment, employment offers, lease renewals, price changes.
- The lender's, landlord's or grant body's template or checklist if there is one.
If the books are not reconciled we will quote to bring them up to date first; a forecast built on messy history is only as good as the history.
Fees
A fixed fee quoted before we start: one price for a forecast and budget pack, another for business plan financials, and a monthly price for management reporting that depends on the size of the file and whether we also do the bookkeeping. See our fees page.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a cash-flow forecast and a budget?
A budget sets out the profit and loss you expect: sales, costs and the margin between them. A cash-flow forecast tracks when money actually moves, including GST, loan repayments, equipment purchases, tax instalments and the gap between invoicing and being paid. A business can be profitable on the budget and still run out of cash, which is why we prepare both.
Will a lender accept a forecast you prepare?
Lenders and landlords regularly ask for a cash-flow forecast and business plan as part of an application, and business.gov.au lists both among the things to prepare. We prepare the forecast with a clear assumptions page so the reader can see how each figure was arrived at. Whether and how a lender uses it is the lender's decision; we cannot and do not promise an outcome.
How often should the forecast be updated?
A forecast is a living document. For most clients we refresh it quarterly alongside the BAS, and monthly where we also prepare management reports. A forecast that is a year old is a historical document, not a planning tool.
Is this financial advice?
No. Forecasting, budgeting and management reporting are accounting services that organise and present your own business figures. We do not hold an Australian financial services licence or credit licence and do not recommend financial products, loans, investments or lenders. Where you need that kind of advice we will say so and you should see an appropriately licensed adviser.
Sources
- business.gov.au, Apply for a business loan (business plan and cash-flow forecast): https://business.gov.au/finance/funding/apply-for-a-business-loan
- ATO, Due dates for lodging and paying your BAS: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/business-activity-statements-bas/due-dates-for-lodging-and-paying-your-bas
- ATO, PAYG instalments (generally due 28 days after each quarter): https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/payg-instalments
- ATO, About Payday Super: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/about-payday-super
- ASIC, Do you need a credit licence?: https://www.asic.gov.au/for-finance-professionals/credit-licensees/do-you-need-a-credit-licence/