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What are a payment calendar and a cash gap?
A payment calendar is a day-by-day cash forecast: each date lists expected receipts and mandatory payments, with the resulting balance next to them. The cash flow statement answers “what happened”; the calendar answers “what will happen in the coming weeks”.
A cash gap is a period when the forecast balance falls below zero (or below your chosen minimum buffer): payments are due but the money has not arrived yet. The business may be perfectly profitable at that time. The cause is almost always a difference in dates between payments out and money in. For why cash differs from profit, see cash flow, P&L and balance sheet.
How to build a payment calendar in 5 steps
Record the opening balance
Add up the balances of all accounts and the till today. This is your starting point and it must match bank statements.
Add mandatory payments with dates
Salaries, rent, taxes, supplier payments, loans and leasing, utilities, subscriptions. Start with the ones that cannot be postponed.
Add expected receipts conservatively
Base dates on how customers actually behave, not on contract terms. If a client usually pays five days late, enter the date with that delay.
Calculate the balance at the end of each day
Day-end balance = previous balance + receipts − payments. This is the same rule as in a cash flow statement, applied to future dates.
Mark gaps and set a buffer
Find days with a negative balance and define a minimum level you prefer not to go below, for example one week of mandatory payments.
Example: two weeks and one cash gap
Opening balance EUR 8,000 at the start of day 1. The numbers are invented for illustration.
| Day | Event | Receipt | Payment | Balance at end of day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supplier payment | — | 3,500 | 4,500 |
| 3 | Rent | — | 2,000 | 2,500 |
| 5 | Payment from customer A | 1,500 | — | 4,000 |
| 8 | Salaries | — | 6,000 | −2,000 |
| 10 | Payment from customer B | 5,000 | — | 3,000 |
| 12 | Tax payment | — | 1,200 | 1,800 |
How do you read the example and find the gap?
Check: 8,000 − 3,500 = 4,500; − 2,000 = 2,500; + 1,500 = 4,000; − 6,000 = −2,000; + 5,000 = 3,000; − 1,200 = 1,800.
On day 8 the balance drops to −2,000 and stays there on day 9, until customer B pays on day 10. So the gap lasts 2 days and the minimum balance is −2,000 on day 8. Salaries fall on a day when the money has not arrived, although over the 12 days receipts (6,500) plus the opening 8,000 comfortably cover payments (12,700), leaving 1,800.
A calendar reveals three things a monthly report hides: when the gap starts, how many days it lasts and how deep the minimum is. These three numbers decide whether a small fix is enough or a bigger one is needed.
What should you do if the calendar shows a gap?
Start with the cheapest and fastest options. These are general practices, not legal or financial advice: terms depend on your contracts and local rules, so agree details with counterparties and qualified advisers.
- Speed up receipts: remind customers of open invoices, invoice earlier, ask for a prepayment or staged payments, and consider a small discount for quick payment if it makes economic sense.
- Move payments: agree a different schedule or instalments with a supplier, split a large payment into parts, shift a payment date that can move.
- Ask for a deferral: request extra days from the landlord or supplier in advance, not after the due date has passed.
- Short-term financing: an overdraft or credit line can cover a short gap but has a cost and conditions. Calculate what covering those days would cost.
- Cut or postpone discretionary spending: marketing experiments, advance purchases, equipment not needed this month.
- Owner contribution as a last resort, recorded as a separate category.
In the example above it is enough for customer B to pay two days earlier or for salaries to move to day 10: the gap disappears without a loan.
Weekly payment calendar checklist
- Reconcile the opening balance with bank statements for every account and the till.
- Enter all new invoices to pay and their payment dates.
- Mark completed payments and move overdue ones to realistic new dates.
- Update expected receipts: who has paid, who is late.
- Look at the next 2–4 weeks and find days with a negative balance.
- For each gap, write down the decision and the person responsible.
- Check large payments ahead: taxes, loans, salaries, purchases.
- Compare last week’s forecast with actuals and adjust your assumptions about customer payment times.
How Financist handles it
In Financist the payment calendar shows receipts, payments and the end-of-day balance day by day for a month or any period. Past days show actuals, future days show open plans and unpaid commitments on their dates, and the balance is rolled forward from real cash on accounts. Unpaid plans that are already overdue are listed separately, and periods with a negative balance are flagged as cash gaps with a start date, duration and minimum balance. The calendar can be filtered by account and legal entity, and the report exports to CSV. An estimate of how many months your cash will last comes from Business Health. More on the payment calendar; for what actually happened, see the cash flow report.
Frequently asked questions
How is a payment calendar different from a cash flow statement?
A cash flow statement totals actual receipts and payments for a period, so it looks backwards. A payment calendar spreads future payments over days and shows the forecast balance. They complement each other: the statement shows where money goes, the calendar shows whether it will last through the coming weeks.
How far ahead should a payment calendar look?
For a small business 4–13 weeks is usually enough. Detail the next 2–4 weeks day by day and plan the rest more roughly. The less predictable your receipts, the shorter the horizon and the more frequent the updates: weekly, sometimes daily.
How do I forecast receipts if customers pay inconsistently?
Use actual payment dates of previous invoices and each customer’s average delay instead of contract terms. For large amounts build a cautious scenario: what happens if the biggest customer pays a week late. That shows whether you have a safety margin.
What cash buffer should I keep?
There is no universal number. A practical rule is a minimum balance of at least several days to a week of mandatory payments, depending on how unstable your income is. Set your own level and treat days below it as a risk before the balance turns negative.
Does a payment calendar replace an overdraft or credit line?
No, but it helps you decide whether extra financing is needed, for how long and how much. When you see a gap weeks ahead, you can first speed up receipts or agree new dates, and borrow only for a short period and deliberately. Agree financing terms with your bank.