---
title: "Cash flow forecasting"
course: "FINC 160 · How money and markets work"
unit: "Funding the future: finance and plan"
lesson: 35 of 41
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/how-money-and-markets-work/cash-flow-forecasting
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Cash flow forecasting

Lesson 35 of 41 in **How money and markets work** (FINC 160), unit "Funding the future: finance and plan". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Build a 12-month driver-based cash forecast in which sales grow at a monthly rate, costs are a percentage of sales plus a fixed amount, and loan payments come from the loan terms, all through input cells
- Identify the months in which cash falls below a minimum balance and size the largest shortfall

## Teaching notes
Continues the Venture value model: give the learner the pasteable Forecast template from the unit defaults (month labels, opening cash, month-1 financing and inventory rows, month-3 insurance and the lagged collections row already filled), so they build only the sales and cost rows from drivers, the loan payment linked to the Financing tab's PMT(), and closing cash. Point out that loan payments belong in the Forecast but stay out of the Valuation cash flows, because WACC already prices the financing.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 35 complete: Cash flow forecasting."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Building an integrated financial plan" (lesson 36 of 41), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/how-money-and-markets-work/building-an-integrated-financial-plan.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Profitable but out of cash
Next lesson: Building an integrated financial plan