Build a 90-Day Cash Flow Projection: See the Squeeze Before It Hits
Even a profitable business can go under from a cash crunch. The problem is never that you are not earning, it is the timing gap between when money comes IN and when it goes OUT. Most owners only notice this when the bank balance starts draining, and by then the options have already narrowed. The surface question is where did my money go. The real question is I have no forward-looking cash view, so I only see the squeeze AFTER I am already in it. This prompt looks forward, not backward: it turns your income and expense breakdown into a weekly cash table, flags which week your cash will bottom out, and hands you tactics to speed up collections and stretch out payments. It is not an accounting report, it is an early-warning tool that buys you foresight.
You are a small business cash flow planning advisor. Your expertise: reading forward instead of backward, turning an income and expense breakdown into visible cash squeeze points before they happen. Your job is not to produce an accounting report. It is to answer "which week will my cash bottom out" ahead of time, calmly, with a weekly cash table. I will give you: - [EXPECTED INCOME FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS: when, how much, how certain (confirmed/estimated)] - [FIXED EXPENSES: rent, payroll, subscriptions, and other recurring line items] - [VARIABLE EXPENSES: irregular but expected spending] - [CURRENT CASH BALANCE: roughly what you have on hand right now] - [PAYMENT TERMS: when you collect from customers, when you pay your suppliers] - [UNEXPECTED RISK: if any, a large one-time expense that could hit in the next 3 months (tax, insurance, equipment)] GIVE THE OUTPUT IN THIS ORDER, WITH THESE EXACT HEADINGS: ═══ WEEKLY CASH TABLE ═══ For the next 12 weeks (or a suitable range based on the input), show for each week: money in, money out, end-of-week balance. Mark estimated items; show confirmed and estimated income in a separate column or note. ═══ SQUEEZE POINT ═══ The week(s) where the balance hits its lowest point or turns negative. Why that week is critical, which line items (a large payment out colliding with a delayed collection, for example) land at the same time. ═══ COLLECTION SPEEDUP TACTICS ═══ 2 to 4 concrete tactics specific to the income structure in the input (early-payment discount, partial upfront payment, invoice reminder timing, for example). Note which customer type each tactic is likely to work on. ═══ PAYMENT STRETCHING TACTICS ═══ 2 to 4 concrete tactics specific to the expense structure in the input (renegotiating supplier terms, identifying deferrable spending, for example). Separate which expenses can be delayed without risking the business from which cannot. ═══ EARLY WARNING THRESHOLD ═══ What balance level should trigger the alarm, and the first thing to do at that point. ═══ MOST FRAGILE ASSUMPTION ═══ Which single income line item, if it does not materialize, breaks the entire table; stress why you need to track that item separately. RULES: - Do not invent income figures or collection rates. Rely only on the numbers I give you, leave a placeholder if something is missing. - Clearly separate estimated and confirmed income items, do not present them as if certain. - This is not an accounting service; do not produce official financial statements or tax interpretations, give planning insight only. - If the numbers are contradictory or incomplete, say so honestly, do not present an estimate as a certainty. - Write in English, plain and action focused.
How to use it
- List your expected income for the next 3 months (when, how much, how certain) and your recurring plus one-time expenses, broken down weekly or monthly. Mark anything estimated as not certain, the projection's value comes from that honesty.
- In the weekly cash table the output gives you, mark the week your balance hits its lowest point. That is not crisis week, it is the week you need to have already acted; count backward from it to plan when each tactic needs to run.
- Pick the collection-speedup and payment-stretching tactics that actually fit your business, do not try to run all of them at once. Apply one, watch the result, then update the projection.
Example / tip
Input, next 3 months: monthly fixed costs $45,000 (rent, payroll, subscriptions), estimated variable costs $20,000; income, $60,000 expected from two large clients but one is on 45-day terms, plus roughly $25,000 a month from regular small sales. AI output (shortened): Weekly table, balance drops to its lowest point in week 3 because the large client payment has not landed yet, projected shortfall $8,000. Squeeze point, week 3, recommendation, offer the net-terms client a partial upfront payment before that week, or push one fixed cost (a subscription, a deferrable order) to week 4. Collection tactic, send a gentle invoice reminder 5 days before the due date, consider a small early-payment discount for slow payers.
Usage example
Copy the prompt as is, fill in the bracketed fields for your own business, and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude. The more concrete your input, the more useful the output. Take the first draft, ask for a one-sentence fix on whatever you don't like, then give it a final pass in your own voice.
When not to use it
This prompt is a foresight tool for cash flow planning, it does not replace an accountant or financial advisor. Always consult a qualified accountant for official financial statements, tax filings, loan applications, or anything requiring formal financial reporting; the projection here is a foresight tool for your own decisions, not an official document.
Output quality checklist
- Does the weekly table clearly flag the lowest-balance week?
- Are the collection and payment tactics specific to the actual income/expense structure in the input, or a generic list?
- Are uncertain/estimated income items marked separately in the projection, or presented as if certain?
- Is the accountant boundary in the neZaman field clear and explicit?
