Free tool
Where is your cash headed over the next 12 months?Do your nonprofit's reserves cover the year ahead?
Answer seven quick questions and get an instant cash outlook for your business or nonprofit: your tightest month, how long your cash lasts, and the sales level you need to break even.how your operating reserves compare with your target.
🔒 Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent.
Your numbers
More options: seasonality and a planned change
More options: board-designated reserve and a planned change
Your 12-month cash outlook
What this tells you
Want this built from your actual books?
This tool uses a handful of averages. A real forecast starts from your accounting system and updates every month, with plain-English notes on what changed and why, ready for your board.
- A free 15-minute conversation about your numbers
- No obligation and no sales pitch
Your numbers stay in your browser. Printing creates a PDF on your own device.
Why profitable businesses still run short of cash
Profit and cash are not the same thing. A business can be profitable on paper and still struggle to make payroll, usually for one of three reasons:
- Customers pay later than you pay your bills. With 30-day terms, about a month of sales is always sitting in receivables instead of the bank.
- Growth uses cash. More sales usually means more payroll, inventory and receivables before the extra money comes in.
- Seasonality. A strong year can still include a thin month or two, and that is when bills come due.
How to read your results
- Lowest month-end cash is the month to plan around: line up credit, delay a purchase or speed up collections before you get there.
- Runway is how many months your cash lasts at the pace you entered.
- Break-even sales is the monthly sales level that covers your fixed costs: fixed costs divided by your gross margin.
Common questions
How far ahead should a small business forecast cash?
A rolling 12-month forecast, updated every month, works for most small businesses. When cash is tight, add a week-by-week view of the next 13 weeks.
What is break-even sales?
The sales level where gross profit exactly covers fixed costs. For example, $32,000 of monthly fixed costs at a 40% gross margin needs $80,000 of monthly sales to break even.
How is this different from a forecast built from my books?
This tool uses a handful of averages. A real forecast starts from your accounting system, your receivables and payables, payroll calendar and debt schedule, and is updated every month as actual results come in.
Is my information saved?
No. The calculations run in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent unless you choose to email yourself the results.
What counts as an operating reserve?
Operating reserves are the unrestricted, available resources a nonprofit can use for general operations, usually cash and savings. Donor- and grant-restricted funds do not count, because they can only be spent on their restricted purposes. Buildings and equipment do not count either.
Reserves are usually measured in months of operating expenses: unrestricted cash divided by average monthly expenses. Three months means you could keep operating for about a quarter if revenue stopped.
How many months is enough?
Most guidance suggests 3 to 6 months of operating expenses. The right target depends on how predictable your revenue is and how quickly you could respond to a shortfall. Organizations that rely on reimbursement grants, one large event or year-end giving often need more. A written reserve policy approved by the board, covering the target, when reserves can be used and how they will be rebuilt, makes the target meaningful.
Why the tightest month matters
Annual reserves can look fine while one month gets dangerously thin: the fall before year-end gifts arrive, or the months when you have spent grant money and are waiting to be reimbursed. Knowing that month in advance lets the board plan a line of credit, timing of expenses or a draw on reserves before it becomes urgent.
Common questions
Do restricted funds count toward reserves?
No. Restricted funds can only be used for the purpose the donor or grantor specified, so they are not available for general operations.
Do board-designated reserves count?
Yes. Board-designated funds are still unrestricted, because the board can release them. Tracking day-to-day cash separately shows whether you would need to draw on the designated reserve.
What if we are below our target?
Most organizations rebuild reserves gradually: a modest budgeted surplus each year, unrestricted giving set aside for reserves, or a capital campaign component. The board's reserve policy should say how and by when.
Is my information saved?
No. The calculations run in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent unless you choose to email yourself the results.
How BAAS works with clients: Each month, the BAAS Advisory team analyzes your results and explains what changed and why. AI tools help us prepare the numbers and draft the notes faster.
Illustrative estimate only. Results are based solely on the figures you enter and simple assumptions (for businesses: steady margins, fixed costs paid monthly, customers paying on the timing you choose, today's receivables equal to your current monthly sales times your payment terms, no taxes, owner draws or financing beyond what you enter; for nonprofits: expenses spread evenly, revenue arriving on the pattern you choose, about two months of revenue waiting to be collected today if you rely on reimbursement grants, restricted funds set aside and spent only on their restricted purposes). This is not a forecast of your business, financial advice, or an attest service of any kind. Talk with us before making decisions based on these numbers.