Learning CenterStage 2 · ControlGuide 12 of 22
Cash 101 · Weekly meeting guide
Cash Flow & Weekly Cash Meeting
Pay in priority order, every week.
Cash flow is decided one week at a time. The first half of this guide shows how to work out what you can actually spend this week and who gets paid first. The second half is the 60-minute weekly cash meeting that puts it into practice.
Where each $1 of available cash goes this week
Example week · $125,000 availableAfter must-pays · 53.6¢ left to protect and decide
- Priority 1 · Must-pay 46.4¢
- Priority 2 · Critical 17.6¢
- Cushion held 20.0¢
- Priority 3 · You decide 16.0¢
Cash flow at a glance, step by step
Beginning Cash
What is really in the bank Wednesday morning. Not what QuickBooks says.
Online banking balance, less checks written that haven't cleared
$40,000Chase, 8 a.m. Wednesday
Expected Deposits
Only money you are confident lands in the bank in the next 7 days.
Invoices due from reliable payers, dated promises, Jobber payouts in transit
$85,000late, no promise = $0
Cash Available
The most you can spend this week. Every decision starts here.
Beginning Cash + Expected Deposits
$125,000$40,000 + $85,000
Must-Pay
Miss these and the business stops or the bank calls. Paid first, every week.
Payroll + payroll taxes, truck & equipment notes, rent, insurance
$58,00046.4% of available
Critical to Operate
Keeps crews working and customers served. Paid second.
Maintenance subs, fuel, dump fees, rentals on active jobs, card minimums
$22,00017.6% of available
Cash Cushion
Held back for a slow payer or a broken truck. Not spent.
A floor the owner sets once and leaves alone
$25,00020.0% of available
Available for Priority 3
What is left to decide on together in the meeting.
Design-build subs, past-due vendors, marketing, owner draws
$20,000$125,000 − $58,000 − $22,000 − $25,000
Cushion Test
After approving payments, is ending cash still at or above the cushion?
Ending Cash ≥ Cushion → OK to release
$25,000ending cash · passes
Try it with your own week
Starts with the example weekThis week's cash, in priority order
Enter Wednesday morning's numbers to see what is left for Priority 3 and whether the cushion holds.
- Must-pay
- Critical
- Cushion
- Priority 3
The weekly cash meeting: a 60-minute agenda
Same order every week · leave with an approved payment list- Cash Today 5 MINReal bank balance. What cleared since last week.
- Plan vs. Actual 5 MINDeposits and payments vs. last week's plan. Why the gaps?
- Must-Pays & Payroll 10 MINFriday payroll, auto-drafts, card minimums. Confirm funded.
- Collections 15 MINTop open invoices. Who calls whom. Set this week's expected deposits.
- Who Gets Paid 20 MINWork down the priority list until cash available runs out.
- Read It Back 5 MINApproved list, who releases payments, action items & owners.
Forecasting deposits: what counts?
- COUNT ITInvoice due this week from a customer who always pays on time
- COUNT ITA promise with a date and amount, from a named person
- COUNT ITJobber / card payouts already collected, in transit to the bank
- HALFSlow-but-steady payers: count half, move the rest to next week
- ZEROLate invoices with no promise, disputes, “check's in the mail”
- ZERONew-job deposits until the money is actually in hand
- GRADE ITEvery Wednesday, compare forecast to actual. Missed? Count less next time.
Who gets paid, and when
- 1Must-pay, first. Payroll and payroll taxes, then secured notes, rent and insurance. Never skipped.
- 2Critical, second. Whatever keeps this week's crews and jobs running. Call before you are late, not after.
- 3Decide together. Pay design-build subs as their job's money comes in. Oldest past-due vendors with active work next.
- Pause while tight. Owner distributions and marketing wait until the cushion is rebuilt.
- Can't pay in full? Small, regular payments on a set schedule beat silence. Put any plan in writing.
Meeting rules
- One owner approves every payment; nothing is paid outside the meeting
- Use the bank balance, never the QuickBooks balance
- Promise vendors only what the plan supports
- Every late invoice over $5,000 gets a named caller and a date
- Roll the 4-week plan forward one week, every week
- Same day, same time, same packet. Decisions in 60 minutes.
Red flags: stop and call your CFO
- Priority 1 + 2 don't fit inside cash available
- Ending cash below the cushion two weeks in a row
- A payroll tax deposit is late or skipped
- Deposits miss the forecast by more than 20%
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