The jobs sold. The money arrives two weeks later.
A campaign can leave money after its specified costs and still require cash before customers pay. Put the receipts and bills on the same calendar.
TL;DR
- Put actual expected payment dates next to campaign bills and job-dependent cash costs. An accepted quote is not a bank receipt.
- Calculate the lowest cumulative balance during the plan, not only the amount left at the end.
- Check a delayed-payment case. The invented example ends with the same $1,200 but needs $800 more temporary funding when one receipt moves a week later.
- Add the rest of your business commitments before approving spend. This four-week example is not a complete cash forecast or financing recommendation.
The ad report looks encouraging. Customers have accepted work and the specified job and marketing costs leave money overall. Your supplier still needs paying before those customers settle their balances.
A campaign decision needs two views: what the work leaves after its costs, and when the cash moves. A positive answer to the first can coexist with a difficult answer to the second.
Put the bills and receipts into weeks
Here is an original invented example. It uses a separate incremental cash plan starting at zero to expose the additional funding required. Negative values represent that requirement; they do not mean a bank has agreed to let you overdraw.
The work brings in $4,800 across four weeks. Job-dependent cash payments total $2,400. The complete marketing cash outflow specified for this example is $1,200, with $600 in week one and $200 in each later week. These amounts are teaching inputs, not Lonta prices.
| Cash movement | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Four-week total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer receipts | $0 | $0 | $2,400 | $2,400 | $4,800 |
| Marketing payments | $600 | $200 | $200 | $200 | $1,200 |
| Job-dependent payments | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 | $2,400 |
| Weekly net movement | −$1,200 | −$800 | +$1,600 | +$1,600 | +$1,200 |
| Cumulative movement from zero | −$1,200 | −$2,000 | −$400 | +$1,200 | — |
At the end, receipts exceed the listed payments by $1,200. During the plan, the lowest week-end position is −$2,000. You need to identify how that gap will be covered before treating the campaign as affordable.
Weekly totals can conceal an even lower balance within a week. If the supplier is paid Monday and the customer pays Friday, review those dates rather than assuming the net weekly amount is sufficient.
Move one receipt and recalculate
Now move the first $2,400 customer receipt from week three to week four. The customer still pays the full amount within the four weeks. Costs and total receipts are unchanged.
| Cash movement after the delay | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer receipts | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4,800 |
| Total listed payments | $1,200 | $800 | $800 | $800 |
| Weekly net movement | −$1,200 | −$800 | −$800 | +$4,000 |
| Cumulative movement from zero | −$1,200 | −$2,000 | −$2,800 | +$1,200 |
The final amount remains +$1,200, while the peak week-end funding need rises to $2,800. The payment delay adds $800 to that need without changing the final total.
An overall return calculation would miss this change. Your office can investigate it with payment terms, expected completion dates, supplier due dates and actual collection records. It does not require an agency to promise more leads.
Replace the teaching inputs with records you can find again
For customer receipts, record when you reasonably expect money to be available, with an invoice or job reference. Keep a deposit separate from the final balance. A proposed estimate, accepted work and completed work can each precede collection.
For costs, use the expected cash date rather than the service date alone. Include media payments, agency fees, setup charges and other campaign costs that apply to this decision. Then add the cash costs of doing the work. Avoid counting a card payment twice when its underlying charge is already included in your cash schedule.
The marketing-invoice reconciliation distinguishes period costs from payments. The first-20-inquiries guide keeps sold, completed and paid stages separate.
| Planning field | Your entry |
|---|---|
| Review date and time horizon | Dates covered by this plan |
| Starting available business cash | Verified balance, adjusted for amounts already committed |
| Expected receipts | Amount, expected available date and local evidence reference |
| Committed payments | Amount, due date and reference |
| Uncertain amounts or dates | What is unknown, who will check it and by when |
| Lowest projected balance | Calculated across the chosen dates |
| Delayed-receipt case | The specific delay and resulting lowest balance |
This table is a starting structure, not a substitute for your full books. Payroll, rent, taxes, debt payments, existing jobs and other obligations also use the same business cash.
Give uncertainty its own row
A customer saying they intend to proceed is weaker evidence than an accepted scope with documented payment terms. Even a due date is not a guarantee of collection. Label that uncertainty instead of making the spreadsheet look precise by choosing a convenient date.
Choose a delay worth testing in your own context: a completion date moves, an invoice needs correction, or a balance arrives after the supplier's bill. State the change and calculate it. Do not present the delayed scenario as a probability forecast when you have not estimated its probability.
Compare the plan with actual movements at the next review. Correct the timing assumptions before increasing spend. The SBA forecasting article supports this use of forecasts as a plan-to-actual management tool; our tables and calculations are separate original examples.
Decide what the cash plan permits
If the lower balance is uncomfortable, identify the actual constraint before changing advertising. You might have a payment-timing question, a job-cost problem or more work than you can deliver. Each needs its own decision.
Do not solve the worksheet by silently assuming a new credit line, customer deposit or longer supplier term. Record any agreed change explicitly and check its effect. This article does not recommend borrowing or changing customer payment requirements.
Use a stated review point and spending limit while uncertainty remains. Our marketing-test rules help separate a financial boundary from evidence about whether the campaign works.
What this doesn't cover
The example omits fixed overhead, taxes, financing costs, bad debts and the rest of the business. It uses week-end positions, which can miss shortfalls within a week. It does not prove incremental advertising sales or predict collection. A positive final cash movement here is not company profit, and no universal minimum cash buffer is proposed.
Questions owners ask
Can I use sold-job revenue in the receipt row?
Only when you have assigned its expected cash timing and documented what supports that expectation. Keep the sales stage and cash receipt separate so a delayed payment remains visible.
Does unused credit count as available cash?
Keep it separate from the bank balance and verify the actual terms and availability. Do not assume a funding source exists merely because the plan needs one.
How far ahead should the plan run?
Cover the obligations and receipts relevant to the decision. Four weeks is only the length of this example. Longer jobs or payment terms require a longer view and an appropriate review frequency.
Sources and method
- SBA: Why Bother with Financial Forecasts?, Tim Berry, read October 16, 2026, provides the general planning and actual-results context.
- All weekly amounts, the delayed receipt and both funding-gap calculations are invented teaching examples, not client observations.
Lonta AI provides managed advertising. A strategy conversation should include what the shop can fund and deliver, alongside the work it wants to win. You can use this cash check with your existing agency and bookkeeper before increasing a campaign.