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Guide

13-week liquidity planning: a guide with a free Excel template

The 13-week liquidity plan is the standard when it comes to short-term solvency: a quarter of outlook, week by week, based on real cash flows. Banks ask for it, restructuring advisors assume it — and in well-run companies it lets finance leaders know every week whether the cash is enough.

What is a 13-week liquidity plan?

A 13-week liquidity plan sets the expected cash in and out against the available balance for each of the next 13 weeks. The result is a closing balance per week — and, over 13 weeks, a curve where you can read off the lowest point of your liquidity.

Free Excel template

13-week grid with low-point alert — ready to use.

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Why exactly 13 weeks?

13 weeks is a quarter — a horizon that fits reporting rhythms as well as interest and tax dates. Weekly granularity reveals what monthly planning hides: if wages go out on the 15th but the big customer payment only arrives on the 28th, the monthly balance shows an unremarkable surplus — yet the week in between can still be below zero.

Structure of the table

Each row is an item, each column a calendar week. Opening balance plus cash in minus cash out gives the closing balance — which is also the opening balance of the following week.

Item (€)Wk 31Wk 32Wk 33
Opening balance610.000380.000180.000
+ Cash in190.000220.000460.000
− Cash out420.000420.000300.000
= Closing balance380.000180.000340.000

The low point in week 32 is the value to watch: if it drops below your minimum reserve, you need a plan — and thanks to the two months of lead time, you still have options.

Prefer it automatic instead of in Excel?

LiquidityLens builds the 13-week outlook automatically from your real numbers — rolling, live, with a low-point alert.

See the Liquidity Control Sprint

Frequently asked questions

Direct or indirect method?
The 13-week plan almost always uses the direct method: concrete expected cash receipts and payments, not a derivation from the P&L. It is more precise for the short horizon.
How often do I update the plan?
Weekly: the past week drops off and a new one is added at the end — so the horizon stays constant at 13 weeks (rolling roll-forward).
Is Excel enough or do I need a tool?
To get started, Excel is enough — use our free template. Once multiple banks, entities and weekly upkeep come into play, a tool like LiquidityLens saves the manual effort and keeps the outlook up to date automatically.