Compare cash actions and their costs
See this course’s project requirements
A rolling business cash plan with receipt timing, invoice follow-up, a base forecast, stress test, action comparison and actuals update.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- A four-week cash-receipts schedule.
- A receivables status and follow-up log. A checked rolling forecast with its lowest cash point.
- A late-payment scenario with a quantified cash gap.
- A comparison of two cash responses and their conditions.
- A complete four-week rolling cash handoff with actuals and assumptions.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Calculations reconcile to the supplied records, with units and dates labeled.
- Assumptions and missing information are visible, including the changed scenario.
- The recommendation follows the evidence and explains an important limitation.
- The six lesson outputs form a usable handoff that another learner can check.
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The idea in everyday life
Reset to Patch’s base forecast. Week 3 closes at $200 against a $400 target. Option A: move a $300 optional equipment purchase from Week 3 to Week 4 by agreement. Option B: receive a $600 Week 4 invoice in Week 3 with a 2% early-payment discount. Consider each separately.
A timing response may preserve cash while reducing margin or changing commitments. Show both effects.
Compare cash actions and their costs — worked practice
A timing response may preserve cash while reducing margin or changing commitments. Show both effects.
Reset to Patch’s base forecast. Week 3 closes at $200 against a $400 target. Option A: move a $300 optional equipment purchase from Week 3 to Week 4 by agreement. Option B: receive a $600 Week 4 invoice in Week 3 with a 2% early-payment discount. Consider each separately.
1. Test deferral
Add $300 to Week 3 cash and subtract it in Week 4.
You should see: Option A Week 3 cash $500; Week 4 remains $1000.
An agreed delay changes timing, not total cost.
2. Test discount
Calculate 2% of $600 and net collection.
You should see: Discount $12; early receipt $588.
Faster cash has a cost.
3. Reforecast B
Add $588 in Week 3 and remove $600 in Week 4.
You should see: Option B Week 3 cash $788; Week 4 cash $988.
The discount reduces total cash by $12.
4. Recommend
Select A if deferral is agreed and equipment is unnecessary that week.
You should see: A meets the target without a discount; document the dependency.
Do not delay mandatory bills without agreement.
What to finish
A comparison of two cash responses and their conditions.
Watch for this
Treating early-payment discounts as costless.
How can I tell I understand it?
Explain your calculation or classification and reproduce the changed case without copying the worked result.
Quick knowledge check
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Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
The Cash Budget
From Edspira. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
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Sources and further reading
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected FDIC/SBA PDF hosted by Indiana, especially pages 6, 8–12 and glossary. Used cash timing concepts only; historical sample rates are not used.
Access: Public 20-page PDF; dated 2016, used for stable concepts rather than current rules.
Reuse: Link to the original. Free reading does not imply permission to reproduce the page; lessons and fixtures here are original.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected finance section on receivables, payables and available cash.
Access: Public page inspected without a sign-in; linked services may have separate requirements.
Reuse: Link to the original. Free reading does not imply permission to reproduce the page; lessons and fixtures here are original.
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