13-Week Cash-Flow Planner
Forecast near-term money in and out, week by week.
Who it is for: UK self-employed tradespeople and small trade contractors.
What you get: Weekly net position, running balance, lowest week and warning weeks.
How this calculation works
This tool runs in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Below are the assumptions used.
- Weeks are simple totals: put invoices in the week you realistically expect payment, not the week you sent them.
- Warning weeks are those where the balance falls below the buffer you set.
Hypothetical worked examples
To help you understand the outputs, here are illustrative examples generated using the same logic.
Illustrative example 1: A sole trader working 30 billable hours per week with £18,000 in annual overheads needs to recover £11.54 per hour before any profit is added. If they want a £35,000 target owner pay before personal tax, the true hourly rate rises to around £28–£32 based on the inputs entered.
Illustrative example 2: A small team with a van, premises and two employees requires a higher day rate to cover shared operational costs. The calculator shows the break-even point clearly so the business owner can set a rate that covers all costs before profit is considered.
Disclosed partner offer
The account or card most trades use for this
A referral reward is not a recommendation. Check the terms and decide on the numbers you have just worked out.
Business bank account
TideFree Tide business account with invoicing and payment links — plus up to £200 with code REFER200, subject to the qualifying steps and Tide's live terms.
£200 free cash when you open a Tide business account with code REFER200
T&Cs apply. £75 free when you complete transactions of £100 within 30 days, and another £125 free when you deposit at least £5,000 in a Tide Instant Saver within 7 days. Affiliate link.
Where this fits
Paperwork that goes with it
Thirteen weeks of money in and out, with the categories that actually appear in a trade business.
Trades Cash-Flow Template