The Weekly Cash Review That Finds Trouble Before Payroll Does

There were times at Suja when we had less than $100,000 in the bank. We had built a substantial business, with real distribution and real customers, and we still had to watch the cash that closely.

My CFO, Todd Fisher, and I lived inside weekly cash projections. What was coming in? What had to go out? What decision did we need to make now?

I don't tell you that because I'm proud we got so close to the edge. I tell you because I want you to build the habit before you're forced to. It's a very different conversation when you've got time to act.

Your monthly P&L can say the business is improving while your bank balance says you need to make a decision by Friday.

Both can be accurate. Sales, inventory, and payment timing move through the business differently. A profitable order can still require cash you haven't collected yet.

Running out of cash belongs on the fatal-flaw list for a reason. You can work through a lot of mistakes while you still have cash and choices. Here's how I'd set up the weekly review so the next problem has a chance of showing up on your spreadsheet before it shows up in your bank account.

Build a rolling 13-week view

Use one column per week. Begin with unrestricted cash available to the business, then add expected receipts and subtract expected payments. The closing balance becomes the next week's opening balance.

I like a rolling 13-week view for this exercise because it makes you connect near-term commitments with collection dates. Keep your longer-term model too. A big obligation four months away doesn't disappear because it sits outside this particular spreadsheet.

The SBA's guidance on business performance indicators recommends tracking cash balances and expected receipts and payments to spot shortages and inform inventory decisions. A weekly view applies that principle at a more detailed operating rhythm.

Build the forecast from the people and documents closest to the cash:

Accounts receivable aging and realistic customer collection dates.
Approved purchase orders and supplier payment terms.
Payroll, taxes, debt service, rent, and other fixed obligations.
Planned production, packaging, freight, and marketing commitments.
Expected deductions, refunds, or disputed balances.

Keep financing that has not closed separate from cash you can actually use.

This matters. When you're raising money, a good investor meeting can change your mood for the whole week. It doesn't change the bank balance. Show the financing scenario separately, and keep a clear view of what happens if the close slips. Your team needs that version too.

Schedule receipts when you expect to collect them

Invoice terms are a starting point. Review actual payment behavior, open disputes, and anything that could delay collection.

Suppose a customer invoice is $80,000, but $15,000 is under dispute. An illustrative working forecast might separate the $65,000 expected collection from the uncertain balance rather than assuming the full invoice lands on its due date. The right treatment depends on the evidence your finance team has.

Make the assumption visible. Someone should own the next collection action and update the expected date when new information arrives. I'd much rather hear “we don't have a confirmed date yet” than see a reassuring number that nobody has checked.

Show the cash consequence of each commitment

Consider a simplified week with $150,000 of opening cash and $40,000 of receipts. You owe $80,000 for production, $35,000 for payroll, and $20,000 for other payments. The projected closing balance is $55,000.

Now move the $40,000 receipt to the following week. The closing balance falls to $15,000 even though the order, the invoice, and the reported sale still exist.

This example is why timing deserves its own review. Compare the lowest weekly balance against a business-specific minimum cash threshold set with your finance lead. That threshold should reflect your obligations and uncertainty, not a number copied from another brand.

Run a meeting that produces decisions

Keep the weekly discussion focused:

What did actual receipts and payments do versus last week's forecast?
Which assumptions changed, and why?
What is the lowest projected cash balance now?
Which action will improve it, who owns that action, and by when?

Actions might include resolving a deduction, collecting an overdue invoice, resizing a production order, or negotiating a payment schedule before it becomes a crisis. Discuss changes with counterparties rather than quietly assuming a bill can slide.

Follow each action through the full forecast. If you move a payment two weeks out, look at what else lands in that week. You may have bought useful time, or you may have created a bigger problem next to payroll. And if an account keeps consuming cash because the economics don't work, we need to deal with that account too.

Measure forecast misses without making people hide them

Track why the forecast changed: collection timing, deductions, purchase orders, unplanned spending, or a faulty sales assumption. The goal is better information and earlier decisions.

Roll the forecast forward every week. Give finance an owner for the model and each operating lead responsibility for their inputs. A beautiful spreadsheet that goes untouched for a month will miss the purpose of the exercise.

Try this with Babu: “Help me structure a weekly 13-week cash review for my CPG business. Ask about receipts, committed payments, production plans, and my minimum cash threshold. Help me identify the assumptions my finance team should validate.”

I know this work doesn't give you much to post about. Nobody congratulates you for finding a collections problem three weeks early. But those are the decisions that give you room to keep building. Todd and I needed that visibility. You do too.

Try Babu free for 10 days if you want help organizing the review, and download the workshop companion here. Pick a time with your finance lead this week. Bring the bank balance, the receivables, and the commitments. Start there.