Cash Flow Forecasting for Seasonal Montana Businesses
Construction, tourism, ranching, and outdoor recreation businesses in Montana concentrate revenue in a few months and burn cash the rest of the year. A cash flow forecast is not optional.
Why 13 weeks
13 weeks is a full quarter — long enough to see major cash swings, short enough to be accurate.
Update weekly: drop the oldest week, add a new week 13 weeks out.
This is the same tool bank lenders and turnaround consultants use. It works.
The structure
Row 1: beginning cash balance.
Rows 2-N: cash inflows (customer collections by week, expected deposits, loans, owner contributions).
Rows N+1-M: cash outflows (payroll, A/P by vendor, rent, taxes, loan payments, owner draws).
Row M+1: net cash change for the week.
Row M+2: ending cash balance (= next week's beginning).
Building it accurately
Inflows: schedule based on invoiced work and typical collection lag, not wishful thinking. If clients typically pay in 45 days, put the collection 45 days after the invoice date.
Payroll: exact — you know your payroll dates and amounts.
A/P: pull from your open bill aging in QuickBooks, then extend for future known bills.
Loan payments: exact.
Estimated taxes: exact quarterly amounts.
What to do with the forecast
Identify weeks where cash goes below a threshold you're comfortable with.
Accelerate collections (customer follow-ups, deposits on new work).
Delay non-critical payments (with vendor communication).
Draw on your line of credit before you need to, not when you're desperate.
Delay owner draws in tight weeks.
Seasonal-specific advice for Montana
Build a cash reserve during peak season equal to 3–4 months of fixed overhead for the off season.
Line of credit during off-season is normal and healthy — draw it down responsibly and pay it back in peak season.
Delay major equipment purchases until peak-season cash is confirmed.
A quick disclaimer
This article is general information for Montana small business owners, not tax, legal, or accounting advice for your specific situation. Rules change, and how they apply depends on facts we don't know about you. Before acting on anything you read here, talk to a qualified professional. If you're a Montana business owner and want a real conversation about your books, payroll, or tax, that's what Marlow Accounting is here for — call 406-290-1214 or schedule a discovery call.