15 minutes, every Friday

The forecast stays useful when you keep it up. A small file makes the habit easier: a reminder in your calendar.

Calendar reminder

A 15-minute event every Friday at 16:00, in your own time zone, with the five steps in the event notes. Open the file and your calendar app asks where to add it.

Add to calendar .ics, 1 KB

In short

A 13-week forecast only helps while it is current. The Friday routine takes 15 minutes: type the real bank balance, log last week, read the flags, roll the weeks forward. The calendar file puts it in your week.

By CFO Brain · Last updated: 16 October 2026

What the 15 minutes look like

  1. Anchor to your ACTUAL bank balance: type it into DASHBOARD › Cash in bank. Never carry forward last week’s projection. This one habit keeps the forecast tied to what is really in the bank.
  2. VARIANCE LOG: type last week’s actual receipts and disbursements into its row.
  3. Read the pattern flags. A line that is consistently off in the SAME direction usually points to an assumption, not bad luck: look at the assumption.
  4. Roll the 13-WEEK tab forward: copy (don’t cut) the W2–W13 numbers, paste them one column to the left, type your new W13, and update the week-ending date. Cutting and pasting breaks formulas.
  5. VARIANCE LOG: copy the new week-1 forecast (shown at the top of the log) into the next empty row.

Word for word from the START HERE tab of the workbook.

Change the day

The event starts on a Friday. Friday is part of the weekend in Israel: move the event to the last day of your work week, or every Thursday. The routine is the same.

Questions

Does the calendar file need an account?

No. It is a plain calendar file. Open it and your calendar app asks where to add the event. Nothing is sent to us.

Do I need the workbook to follow the steps?

The steps use the tab names of the workbook. With another forecast, follow the same idea: type the real bank balance, compare last week's plan with what happened, and roll the weeks forward.

The workbookThe routine, tab by tab.ReadFree 13-week templateThe starter, step by step.ReadWhen will I get paid?Put each invoice in the right week.Read
Free, no time limit

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

Want the full system instead? See what is inside.

Get the starter and the Friday routine by email

First you'll get an email asking you to confirm your address. The starter arrives as soon as you click the link inside.

Not sure it fits? Ask.

A free 15-minute call is enough to find out, and you never need to buy anything.

Ask for a free 15-minute call