Can the business afford this hire? Test it against a bad quarter
In short
A business can afford a hire if its cash stays above its floor even when sales dip. Test the hire's monthly cost on your weekly cash, then test it again with sales down 30 percent and costs up 5 percent, and compare the weeks of cash you are left with.
The test in two numbers
Take your weekly cash in and out and run it three times: as it is today, with the hire's monthly cost added, and with the hire in a bad quarter (sales down 30 percent, costs up 5 percent). Compare the weeks of cash. If the third number is still comfortable, the hire is safe against a bad quarter. If it is tight, the hire is affordable only while things go to plan.
A worked example
Example business The made-up business from the workbook, with 60,000 in the bank and a 50,000 floor.
Today
The dashboard says OK.
Hire at 5,000 a month
The business can afford the hire.
Bad quarter (sales down 30%, costs up 5%)
Without the hire, a bad quarter already makes it tight.
Hire in a bad quarter
It can afford the hire. It can't comfortably afford the hire and a bad quarter at the same time.
That does not mean "don't hire". It means decide now what you would do in the bad quarter: a later start date, a part-time start, building the buffer first, or chasing the 36,000 that customers owe.
What a hire really costs
Salary is only part of it. Add employer taxes and contributions, benefits, equipment, software seats and recruiting. The amounts depend on your country and your contract, so ask your accountant for the full monthly cost. As one dated reference point only: in the United States, employer costs for civilian workers averaged $49.46 per hour worked in June 2026, of which $33.85 was wages and salaries and $15.61 was benefit costs, about 32 percent of the total (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, published 9 September 2026). Your numbers will differ.
Try it yourself
The calculator below opens with the hire switched on. It assumes 5,000 a month starting in week 4. If your hire costs a different amount, add the full monthly cost to "cash out per week" instead: divide it by 4.33 and add it to the weekly figure.
Test this on 13 weeks with the free starter.
What are you deciding?
Tap any of these and watch the dashed line move. What each one assumes appears below the list.
Your numbers
Cash out per week should already include your fixed costs. Fixed costs only set the floor.
How this is calculated
Each week: balance = last week's balance + cash in - cash out. The chart shows 26 weeks.
Cash floor: two months of the monthly fixed costs you entered. Fixed costs are assumed to be inside "cash out per week" already; here they only set the floor.
Weeks of cash: the week the balance reaches zero, to one decimal. If it does not reach zero in 26 weeks, the pace of the last four weeks is carried forward. If cash is not falling, the gauge shows ∞ (and anything beyond a year is shown as 52+).
Weeks below the floor: how many of the 26 projected weeks end under the floor.
The decisions: Hire: 5,000 a month from week 4. Revenue drops 30%: cash in is 30% lower from week 1. Buy 20k inventory: one payment of 20,000 in week 2. Top client pays a month late: 45% of cash in for weeks 1 to 4 arrives in weeks 5 to 8. Collect 10 days faster: about 10 days of cash in arrives once, in week 1. Raise prices 15%: cash in is 15% higher from week 5 (invoices already sent keep the old price; no customers lost).
What this is not: a forecast of your business. It extends the numbers you type. The full workbook builds the 13 weeks line by line. Read the method.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. A planning tool, not advice.
Want this on your own numbers?Ask for a free 15-minute call
- Runs in your browser
- No signup
- 26 weeks, 6 decisions
- A workbook, not an AI agent.
What to decide before you sign
- A later start date, so the buffer is rebuilt first.
- A part-time start with a clear end.
- A smaller first step, such as a contractor for the first months.
- Chasing what customers already owe you.
Questions
What is a safe amount of cash before hiring?
There is no universal number. Set your own cash floor first (two months of fixed costs is a common start), then check that the hire keeps cash above it even in a bad quarter. See the cash floor answer for how to choose.
Should I hire if cash is tight?
Test it first. If the hire alone takes you under your floor, consider a later start date, a part-time start, or building the buffer first. If it is only the hire plus a bad quarter that breaches the floor, decide now what you would do in that quarter.
What if sales are lumpy?
Use a higher floor, and test the hire with the weakest quarter you can imagine. Weekly timing matters more for lumpy sales than for steady ones.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026. Read on 9 October 2026. Civilian workers, United States. A reference point, not a number for your business.
Related
Get the free 13-week starter
One 13-week tab. A standard .xlsx file, checked in Apple Numbers. Not yet checked in Excel or Google Sheets. It opens with an example business already filled in, so you can see the week its cash drops under the floor before you type a number. It shows your runway in weeks and the week your cash is lowest.
Download the starter (no email)- A 13-week cash line with the week your cash is lowest
- Your runway in weeks
- No account, no bank login
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