Construction Cash Flow Forecasting

See cash gaps in your building business weeks before they happen, while there's still time to act

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  • 20+ years connecting business systems
  • Works with Xero, MYOB and the systems you already use
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Construction cash flow forecasting dashboard showing projected cash position across multiple projects

Profit Isn't Cash

You can be profitable on paper and still scramble to make payroll. Clients take weeks to pay progress claims, subcontractors want paying sooner, suppliers want money before they deliver, and retention money sits out of reach for months.

Every month you check the bank balance and wonder if there's enough. Supplier payments get delayed to cover wages, new projects get put off because you're not sure you can fund the early costs, and decisions are made on gut feel.

The reality: Plenty of builders with full order books still go under, because the cash arrives too late to cover what is going out. Construction regularly tops ASIC's company insolvency statistics, and cash flow timing is a common thread.

What the Forecast Shows

Everything that moves cash in and out of a building business, in one forecast

📊

Project-Level Cash Flow

See the cash position of each job and of the business as a whole: which projects bring cash in, which are draining it, and the gap between paying costs and collecting money on each job.

📅

Progress Claim Scheduling

See when each progress claim will go in, when the client is likely to approve it, and when the money will actually arrive based on how they have paid before.

🔒

Retention Tracking

Track retention held on every project, with release dates tied to practical completion, so you can see how much is tied up and when it will come back.

👷

Subcontractor Payment Forecasting

See what you owe subbies on each job and across the business, and line their payments up with what clients pay you, so you are not paying out long before you get paid.

🔮

Scenario Modelling

Ask “what if” questions: what if the $800K claim is disputed, we win that new tender, or material costs rise 10%? See how each one would affect your cash.

⚠️

Early Warning Alerts

Get an alert when your forecast balance drops below the level you set, weeks before it happens, so there is time to arrange an overdraft, bring claims forward or change payment schedules.

Could You Answer These Questions Today?

Illustration: A Builder With 5 Active Projects

Contract Value

$8.7M

Claims Outstanding

$2.3M

Retention Held

$385K

Subbies Due (30d)

$1.1M

Wages (30d)

$280K

Materials On Order

$420K
Questions the forecast answers:
  • When will the $2.3M in outstanding claims actually turn into cash?
  • Can we cover $1.1M in subbie payments next month if two claims are late?
  • Which project is using cash fastest compared with what it has claimed?
  • What is the lowest our bank balance will get in the next 8 weeks?
  • Should we delay the new project start or arrange bridging finance?

Without a forecast, answering these takes hours in a spreadsheet. With one, the answers are on a dashboard updated daily from your accounting and construction data.

Six Cash Flow Killers in Construction

Common cash flow problems and how forecasting helps with each one

Numbers a Month Behind

WIP and the forecast are rebuilt at month-end close, so decisions are made on figures that are already weeks old
Solution: A forecast refreshed weekly from live job costs, the claim schedule and WIP

Late Progress Claims

Claiming monthly instead of at each milestone delays payment for work already done
Solution: A prompt to claim as soon as a milestone is reached

Slow Client Payments

Clients often take well beyond contract terms to pay progress claims
Solution: Forecasts based on when each client actually pays

Front-Loaded Costs

Materials are paid for weeks before you can claim for that work
Solution: Time purchasing around your claim schedule

Retention Building Up

$50K-$150K tied up in retention for every $1M of contract value
Solution: Retention releases tracked and included in your cash forecast

Variation Delays

Variation work done but not claimed for weeks or months
Solution: Approved variations tracked so they are claimed straight away

Seasonal Slowdowns

The December-January shutdown brings overheads but no progress claims
Solution: Plan for the slow period and build cash reserves ahead of it

Where Forecast Data Comes From

We connect to the systems you already use, so nobody has to enter anything new

Xero

Invoices, bills, bank balances, payment history, aged receivables

MYOB

The same accounting data as Xero, including how each client pays

Procore

Committed costs, budget forecasts, variations and progress claim schedules

Buildxact

Project budgets, purchase orders and progress claim amounts

Simpro

Job costs, quotes, purchase orders and work in progress

Bank Feeds

Your actual bank balance and transactions, to check against the forecast

Related Services

Cash Flow Forecasting Solutions

Cash flow forecasting for any type of business

Construction Financial Visibility

See the money across all your projects in one place

Unified Business Dashboard

All your construction data on one dashboard

Frequently Asked Questions

Because the timing is harder than in most businesses. Materials are paid for up front, progress claims are paid weeks after they go in (within limits set by security of payment law), and clients do not always pay on time, retention can be held for 12+ months, and several projects are at different stages at once. A profitable builder can still go under simply because cash arrives too late. A forecast shows the gaps weeks or months ahead, while there is time to arrange bridging finance or change payment schedules.

We connect to Xero or MYOB and your construction software and pull in committed costs, upcoming subcontractor payments, progress claim dates, retention releases and overheads. The forecast sets the cash coming in from claims and client payments against the cash going out to suppliers, staff and subbies, and shows your expected bank balance 4-12 weeks ahead.

Yes. The forecast uses each client’s payment history to work out when they will actually pay, so if a client usually pays 15 days late, it allows for that. You can also test scenarios, such as “What if the $450K progress claim on Project B is disputed and paid 30 days late?”

Retention, typically 5-10% of each progress claim, ties up a lot of cash. On a $3M project with 5% retention, $150,000 is held back until practical completion. We track retention on each project, estimate when it will be released and include it in your overall cash position. Many builders underestimate how much cash is tied up in retention across all their projects.

Access to Xero or MYOB, your construction software if you have one, and your project schedules. We can build a useful forecast from Xero or MYOB alone; adding claim schedules, committed costs and subcontractor payment terms from your construction software makes it much more accurate.

It depends on the quality of your data, and the next few weeks are always more reliable than further out. The forecast improves as it picks up your payment patterns, seasonal swings and how each client pays. The point is not perfect accuracy but early warning: knowing a gap is coming weeks ahead, even roughly, gives you time to act.

See Cash Gaps Before They Happen

Start with a free initial chat about how you track cash flow today and what you need to see coming, so you know, rather than guess, whether you can cover next month's bills.

Book a free initial chatContact Us

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