What is the lowest projected cash in a 13-week cash forecast?
Lowest projected cash is the smallest week-ending cash balance in a company's 13-week cash flow forecast. It's found by projecting receipts and payments week by week and taking the minimum ending balance. It shows the tightest point coming up, so a brand can act before that week arrives instead of discovering it in the bank account.
Formula
Minimum of the 13 week-ending cash balances in the 13-week cash forecast
Example
A hypothetical skincare brand starts with $600,000. Its forecast shows a $350,000 factory payment in week 5 and slower sales in weeks 6 and 7, so week-ending cash falls to $40,000 in week 7 before wholesale collections rebuild it. Lowest projected cash = $40,000. If a $100,000 purchase order deposit also moves into week 7, the low point becomes $40,000 − $100,000 = −$60,000.
How to read it
Higher is better, and anything below zero means the plan as written doesn't work without a change. The number is only as good as the forecast behind it: missing purchase orders, optimistic collection dates, or a stale sales plan make the low point look safer than it is. Watch which week the low lands in, not just the amount, because that tells you how much time you have.
What moves it
- Size and timing of inventory deposits and balance-on-shipment payments
- Expected collection dates from wholesale accounts and Amazon disbursements
- Payroll cycles, sales tax remittances, and quarterly tax payments
- Planned marketing spend for launches and peak season
- Debt service and line-of-credit draws or paydowns
What to do when it's flagged
- Identify the specific payments that create the low point and test moving or splitting them
- Arrange financing or a line-of-credit draw before the low week, not during it
- Accelerate collections from wholesale customers or tighten terms on new orders
- Reduce or reschedule discretionary spend in the weeks leading into the low point
How Inflection tracks it
Inflection's KPI Monitor flags this as Critical when projected cash falls below $0 at any point in the next 13 weeks and sets no Watch level by default; each client's thresholds are adjusted to their business, often with a minimum cash buffer above zero.
The figure comes from the published 13-week cash forecast, which is built from bank balances, QuickBooks payables and receivables, and planned purchases and spend.
Updated 2026-10-11. Example figures are hypothetical.