Training-provider cash flow
See whether money arrives before it has to go out, across a delivery period. Profitability and survivability are different questions.
For RTO business managers, independent trainers, anyone funding delivery before payment
How to use this calculator
Start with the worked example below. Replace the figures in Your numbers with your own inputs, then select Recalculate. Read the assumptions and limitations before using the estimate in your planning. Save report downloads the last calculated results and inputs.
Lowest cash balance
-$36,000.00
The lowest month-end balance is in month 2. A profitable period can still run out of money partway through.
- Closing cash balance
- $4,000.00
- Where you end up after the modelled months.
- Total cash in
- $264,000.00
- Actually received, not invoiced: the difference is the collection lag.
- Total invoiced
- $360,000.00
- Revenue invoiced during the period, whether received yet or not.
- Total cash out
- $300,000.00
- Staff and fixed costs across the period.
- Monthly cash out
- $50,000.00
- What leaves the account every month whether or not anyone has paid you.
- Collection lag
- 2
- Whole 30-day months, rounded up. Only the deferred share waits for this lag.
- Months of cover at opening
- 0.8
- How long your opening cash alone would cover costs with no receipts at all.
| Month | Opening balance | Invoiced | Upfront receipts | Delayed receipts | Cash received | Cash out | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $0.00 | $12,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $2,000.00 |
| 2 | $2,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $0.00 | $12,000.00 | $50,000.00 | -$36,000.00 |
| 3 | -$36,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $48,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $50,000.00 | -$26,000.00 |
| 4 | -$26,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $48,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $50,000.00 | -$16,000.00 |
| 5 | -$16,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $48,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $50,000.00 | -$6,000.00 |
| 6 | -$6,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $12,000.00 | $48,000.00 | $60,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $4,000.00 |
This is an estimate to support your professional judgement, not a determination. Our tools draft. You validate.
Saves the last calculated inputs, results and assumptions to your device. Recalculate after changing inputs.
Your numbers
Fees and funding you expect to INVOICE each month, excluding GST.
From invoice to money in the account. Employer and government payers are usually slower than individuals.
Percentage received before or at the start of delivery, which does not wait for the collection period.
Wages, on-costs and superannuation. Paid on time regardless of whether you have been paid.
Premises, insurance, software, registration and audit costs.
What you could actually spend right now.
How far ahead to look.
Percentage change per month. Negative for a declining period.
How this is worked out
Each month: invoiced = revenue × (1 + growth)^(month−1). Cash received = upfront share that month, plus deferred invoices from the collection lag in whole months, rounded up from collection days ÷ 30. Cash out = staff + fixed. Balance carries forward.
What it assumes
- Costs are paid in the month they are incurred, in full.
- Collection days apply evenly to everything not paid upfront.
- There are no opening receivables. Opening cash is money already available, not unpaid invoices from before this period.
- Months are treated as 30 days. Collection delays are rounded up to whole months, so 45 days means receipts two months after invoicing.
- The lowest balance is the lowest opening or month-end balance. Payments within a month can create a lower daily balance.
What it does NOT account for
- GST timing, which for a quarterly BAS can be the largest single cash movement in a month.
- Bad debt. Everything invoiced is assumed to be collected eventually.
- Capital purchases, loan repayments and tax instalments.
- Seasonality within the year: intakes are rarely evenly spread.
- Any finance facility you could draw on to cover a trough.
What to do next
- Look at the LOWEST balance, not the closing one. A business that is profitable over six months can still fail in month three.
- If the trough is negative, test a shorter collection period before testing a bigger overdraft. Getting paid faster is usually cheaper than borrowing.
- Raising the upfront percentage moves cash forward without changing revenue at all. It is the fastest lever here.
- Re-run with revenue 20% lower. Cash-flow plans built on the expected case are the ones that surprise people.
Sources
- Cash-flow model: Simple monthly receipts-and-payments model with a collection lag. Stated in full above so a member can reproduce it in a spreadsheet. (reviewed 2026-08-27)
- Collection days: Entered as an input. Government and employer payment terms vary by contract and are frequently longer than the stated terms. (reviewed 2026-08-27)