Cash forecasting
How a job-by-job and company cash forecast is planned to be projected from contracts, schedules of values, commitments, payment terms and retainage, instead of rebuilt in a spreadsheet each month.
This is on the roadmap and not built yet.
A job can be profitable and still drain cash for months. You pay labor weekly and suppliers on terms, but you bill monthly in arrears, wait 30 to 60 days or more to be paid, and the owner holds retainage until the end. Profit tells you what a job will earn. A cash forecast tells you when. This page explains how we plan to project cash from the records already on each job.
What a job’s cash curve is made of
| Flow | Comes from | Timing driven by |
|---|---|---|
| Cash out: subs | Commitments, sub pay apps | Your payment terms, pay-when-paid clauses, sub retainage |
| Cash out: suppliers | POs, invoices | Supplier terms |
| Cash out: labor | Labor forecast by cost code | Payroll frequency |
| Cash out: equipment, GCs | Budget and forecast by cost code | Usage, rental terms |
| Cash in: progress billing | Remaining SOV by period | Billing cutoff, owner payment terms |
| Cash in: change orders | Approved and pending changes | When they reach the SOV |
| Cash in: retainage | Retainage receivable | Substantial and final completion |
How the forecast is built
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Remaining cost, by period
Each cost code’s cost to complete is spread over the remaining schedule. Committed cost follows the commitment’s own schedule of values; uncommitted cost follows the budget curve or the PM’s forecast.
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When cost is paid
Each cost type gets payment timing: payroll weekly, suppliers on their terms, subs on your payment cycle with their retainage withheld. Pay-when-paid commitments are tied to when you’re paid.
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Remaining billing, by period
The unbilled schedule of values, plus approved changes not yet billed, spread over the same periods. Pending changes can be included or excluded.
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When billing is collected
The owner’s payment history on this job (or the contract terms, if there’s no history yet) sets the lag. Retainage is held and released at the milestones on the contract.
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Roll up
Jobs sum to a company forecast, with overhead, debt service and other non-job flows added from accounting. You see weekly and monthly views, and the peak cash need.
Views
Cumulative cash by week or month, the peak and when it happens, retainage outstanding, and the biggest inflows and outflows ahead. Each number links to the commitment, SOV line or pay app behind it.
All jobs stacked, with overhead and debt service. Shows weeks where the forecast dips toward your line of credit, and which jobs drive the dip.
Change one assumption and compare: the owner pays 30 days later, a large change order is approved or not, a job’s schedule slips a month, retainage is reduced at 50% complete.
Keeping it honest
A forecast is only as good as its inputs. Because they live on the job record, the forecast will update when they do:
- A new commitment replaces budgeted cost with a committed schedule.
- An approved change order adds cost and, once it reaches the SOV, billing.
- A pay app approval moves amounts from forecast to actual receivables.
- A payment received updates the owner’s actual payment lag.
- A cost to complete revision reshapes the remaining cost curve.
Forecast vs actual is tracked by period, so you can see whether the forecast is getting better or drifting.
Agents
Reporting and Risk agents that flag low-cash weeks and slipping collections are Planned. See Planned agents.
Related: Dashboards and reports, Pay apps, SOV and retainage, Closeout and retainage release. Glossary: pay-when-paid, retainage, backlog.
Keep exploring
Related across os.construction
- DocsJob cost and WIPReview job cost forecasts, then compute, approve and post the WIP schedule.
- DocsPay apps, SOV and retainageHow progress billing works with a schedule of values, AIA G702/G703 and retainage, worked through Pay App
- BlogRetainage, lien waivers and pay apps on one recordA pay app, the retainage it withholds and the lien waivers that release it are one transaction. Most contractors track them in three places. Here's how each piece works and why they belong together.
- GlossaryRetainage ReleaseBilling and paying out the retainage held on a contract, usually at substantial or final completion, once the contractual conditions are met.
- GlossaryRetainage receivableRetainage the owner has withheld from your pay applications: billed and earned, but not collectible until release.
- BlogThe 3-way match, explained for construction APThe textbook 3-way match is a purchase order, a receiving report and an invoice. Construction AP needs a version that works for subcontracts, progress billing, retainage and lien waivers. Here's what to match, and where it breaks.
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