# 13-Week Cash Forecast Narrative

Wraps your 13-week cash forecast in a narrative the owner can act on: where the low point is, why, and what to do. Use it whenever you deliver or refresh a rolling forecast.

## Prompt

## Context
You are drafting the narrative that accompanies a 13-week cash flow forecast built by an accountant. The client runs a [BUSINESS TYPE]. The spreadsheet holds the numbers; this narrative holds the decisions. The owner reads it in five minutes and should know exactly what to do and when.

## Task
Write the forecast narrative. Cover:
1. Starting cash and the shape of the next 13 weeks in two sentences.
2. The low point: which week, how low, and the specific items that collide to cause it.
3. Whether the low point breaches the client's minimum cash floor of [MINIMUM CASH FLOOR], and by how much.
4. Two or three concrete moves to fix or soften the low point, in order of preference. Consider these known upcoming items: [KNOWN UPCOMING ITEMS].
5. The assumptions that matter most — what has to stay true for this forecast to hold.

Forecast data, current cash balance [CASH BALANCE]:
[FORECAST DATA]

## Standards
- 250 to 350 words. Bold sub-heads, short paragraphs.
- Name weeks by number and calendar date both.
- Every recommended move names who acts and by when.
- Do not invent inflows. If the forecast shows a gap with no fix in the data, say so plainly.
- State that figures come from the accountant's forecast model and the week-by-week numbers should be confirmed in the spreadsheet before acting.
If the forecast data has weeks missing or rows that do not sum, ask before writing.

## Variables

- [BUSINESS TYPE]
- [MINIMUM CASH FLOOR]
- [KNOWN UPCOMING ITEMS]
- [CASH BALANCE]
- [FORECAST DATA]

## Input checklist

- [ ] Your completed 13-week forecast — this prompt narrates a model, it does not build one
- [ ] Confirmed current bank balance, not the GL cash account if they differ
- [ ] The client's minimum cash floor (or set one now — payroll plus one month of fixed costs is a common start)
- [ ] Known one-time items in the window: tax deposits, insurance premiums, equipment purchases, loan maturities
- [ ] Anonymize customer and vendor names, or confirm your AI tool is approved under your firm's confidentiality policy

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Trace the stated low point back to your spreadsheet — confirm week number, date, and dollar figure match the model exactly
- [ ] Recompute the floor breach amount yourself; AI arithmetic is unreliable
- [ ] Confirm every recommended move is feasible — payment terms, dealer quote windows, and credit availability are facts the AI cannot know
- [ ] Check that no inflow appears in the narrative that is not in your model
- [ ] Verify the assumptions paragraph matches what your model assumes, not what the AI guessed
- [ ] Confirm the narrative tells the client to verify figures against the spreadsheet before acting

## Sample output

Sample output — AI-generated from sample inputs:

**Where cash stands**
You start with $31,400 in the operating account. Over the next 13 weeks the forecast shows cash falling to a low of $9,800 in week 7 (the week of July 27), then recovering to about $27,000 by week 13.

**Why week 7 gets tight**
Three things land together: the quarterly insurance premium ($4,200), first payroll for the new apprentice, and the Denton Office Park job not paying until week 9 under its 45-day terms. None is a problem alone. Together they pull cash $2,200 under your $12,000 floor for about two weeks.

**What to do**
1. Ask Denton for a 50% progress payment by week 5 (Jim calls their PM by July 10). That alone keeps you above the floor.
2. If Denton declines, push the truck down payment from week 6 to week 10. The dealer quote holds through August.

**What this forecast assumes**
Service calls continue at the 8-week average of $6,100 per week. If July slows the way it did last year, the week-7 low gets deeper. We re-run this every Friday.

These figures come from the forecast model. Confirm the week-7 numbers in the spreadsheet before acting on either option.

## Customization notes

For seasonal clients, extend Context with last year's same-quarter pattern so the assumptions section addresses seasonality. Retail and inventory businesses should add a purchasing-commitments variable. If the client has a line of credit, add its availability and covenant terms to the known items — draw recommendations change everything.

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From The Accountant & Bookkeeper Advisory Library — vetslearn.com/libraries/accountant