Restaurant Cash Flow Forecast: 12 Months Ahead
Profit is an opinion, cash is a fact. Most restaurants that close were not unprofitable — they simply ran out of money at the wrong moment. This planner puts your revenue, your costs and above all your payment terms twelve months ahead: you see the lowest point of your year, the buffer you need, your break-even per month, and what is left of your bank balance when things go wrong. Everything runs in your browser — no install, no account.
How does the cash flow planner work?
- 1
Describe your business
Your revenue lines with their VAT rate and purchase cost, your wage bill, your fixed costs and your season. Fill it in once, the rest calculates itself.
- 2
Get your payment terms right
When do you pay your suppliers, when do you hand over the VAT, in which month does the holiday pay leave? That is exactly where the gap between profit and cash comes from.
- 3
Look at your lowest point
You get your balance month by month, your break-even and a stress test. Print the liquidity plan and take it to your bank or your accountant.
Built for restaurant owners
You know when it gets tight
February is dead, the fourth-quarter VAT has to be paid in January and the holiday pay leaves in June. Those three together are the real danger — this planner lines them up before they ambush you.
Profit does not tell you if you can pay
Repaying a loan is not a cost, but the money is gone all the same. VAT was never yours. The planner shows exactly where the gap between your result and your bank balance comes from.
A conversation with your bank that adds up
The best time to ask for a credit line is before you need it. Print the plan with your twelve months, your break-even and your stress test, and you walk in with figures instead of a feeling.
Frequently asked questions
Is this cash flow planner free?
Yes, completely free and with no account or install. You fill in your figures and print or export your plan straight from your browser.
What is the difference between profit and cash flow?
Profit is what is left of your revenue after your costs, over a period. Cash flow is what actually moves through your bank account. The difference is timing, plus movements that are not costs at all: VAT you hand over months later, suppliers you only pay after 30 days, holiday pay that leaves in a single month, your loan repayment and what you draw for yourself. A business can be perfectly profitable and still run out of money.
How much of a buffer does a restaurant need?
A common rule of thumb is three months of fixed costs, but that is an average and you do not run an average business. This planner works it out from your own figures: it finds the lowest point of your year and tells you how much has to be added so you never go below zero — once for your normal plan, and once under the stress test.
Why is VAT in my cash flow and not in my result?
Because VAT is never yours. You collect it from your guest and hand it over, monthly or quarterly. Between those two moments there is money in your account that you will lose again — one of the most underestimated causes of a shortfall in January and April.
What is the difference between break-even result and break-even cash?
Break-even result is the revenue at which your costs are covered. Break-even cash adds your loan repayment and your own drawings: money that leaves your account without being a cost. That second figure is the revenue you truly need, and it is often thousands of euros a month higher.
Is my data stored anywhere?
Everything stays in your own browser (localStorage); nothing is uploaded. Your plan is still there when you reopen the tool, and the backup button creates a file you can keep, send to your accountant or open on another computer.