A profitable pharmacy can still run short of cash. Stock is paid for before it sells, card settlements may arrive later, and a supplier payment can land in the same week as rent and payroll.
A rolling pharmacy cash-flow forecast makes those timing differences visible. Thirteen weeks is a useful working horizon for this template, not a mandatory standard or an industry benchmark.
Start with spendable cash
Use money actually available in bank accounts and the till, after separating amounts already committed or held for another purpose. Do not count inventory, an uncollected customer balance or an unapproved supplier credit as available cash.
Build one column per week. Your rows are opening cash, cash receipts, supplier payments, payroll, rent, operating costs, taxes or other liabilities, owner withdrawals and closing cash. Ask your accountant which categories and obligations apply to your business.
The arithmetic is straightforward:
Closing cash = opening cash + actual expected cash receipts − cash payments.
Carry each week's closing cash into the next week's opening balance. A sale booked today does not belong in today's receipts if settlement is expected next week.
Make a small worked forecast
Here is a hypothetical example in currency units:
| Week | Opening | Receipts | Suppliers | Other outflows | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50,000 | 70,000 | 60,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 |
| 2 | 35,000 | 68,000 | 75,000 | 20,000 | 8,000 |
| 3 | 8,000 | 72,000 | 65,000 | 28,000 | −13,000 |
Week three is the problem, even though the pharmacy is collecting money every week. The forecast creates time to check purchase timing, settlements and supplier arrangements before the balance turns negative.
Do not solve the gap by silently postponing obligations in the spreadsheet. Record only agreed changes, with the new date and evidence. Essential stock availability and appropriate supply remain important when reviewing purchases.
Use a base case and a downside case
In the base case, use recent receipts and known commitments. In a downside case, test lower receipts, delayed settlement or a larger necessary purchase. Label each assumption explicitly.
Keep tax and supplier commitments visible rather than treating them as optional just because cash is tight. When the downside case fails, identify the size and date of the gap. Discuss realistic options with the supplier, owner or qualified adviser early.
The SBA's business-finance guidance provides general background on financial records and cash projections; it is not a source for pharmacy-specific profit or local tax assumptions.
Update every week
Replace last week's forecast with actual receipts and payments. Record the variance and the cause: sales lower than expected, a payment brought forward, or a settlement date misunderstood.
A usable forecast has an owner, an update day and evidence behind the larger payments. It also distinguishes confirmed supplier invoices from tentative purchases. Keep unapproved scenarios separate from the operating plan.
For a software implementation, model invoice dates, due dates and settlement dates independently. Revenue charts alone cannot produce a trustworthy cash forecast. A “paid” status should reconcile with payment evidence, not just a button click.
RunMyPharmacy's reporting workflow and purchase-order records are relevant inputs to review. Keep the forecast in this worksheet unless you have separately verified an equivalent product feature.
Disclosure: written for the RunMyPharmacy team with AI drafting assistance and an editorial check of examples, links and product claims. We build the linked product. Examples are hypothetical; worksheets and illustrative software-design advice are not guarantees of product automation.
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