Small businesses often discover a cash shortage only when a supplier, salary or debit order is already due. A fixed weekly cash-flow checkpoint gives the owner time to see the gap before payment day.
Choose one hour on the same day each week and review the next four weeks rather than only the current bank balance.
Start with money already confirmed
List cleared cash first. Add customer payments only where an invoice has been sent and the expected payment date is credible. Keep uncertain sales in a separate line instead of treating them as available money.
Then record every known outgoing amount by its actual due date: wages, rent, suppliers, tax provisions, subscriptions, transport and loan repayments.
Flag the earliest gap
The useful number is not the total expected at month-end. It is the lowest projected balance between now and then. A business can finish the month in surplus and still miss a payment in the middle.
When the sheet shows a shortfall, the owner has time to follow up on overdue invoices, agree a realistic supplier arrangement or postpone spending that has not yet been committed.
Keep the record simple
A notebook, spreadsheet or accounting package can all work. Record the date, expected receipt or payment, amount, status and running balance. Update the status when money clears.
SARS requires businesses to retain supporting records for tax purposes. A weekly cash-flow sheet does not replace invoices, bank statements or formal accounting records, but it helps connect those records to the next payment decision.
The checkpoint works only when estimates are updated honestly. Remove income that is no longer likely, record unexpected costs and carry the closing balance into the following week.
