Free tool
12-month cash flow planner
By Umair Nawaz, founder of Lirevon Updated How we test tools
See your cash month by month for the next year. Pick a seasonal shape for revenue, add payroll, fixed costs, loans, insurance, a tax set-aside and your owner draw. You get your lowest cash month, the months below your safety buffer and plain next steps. Every number is an estimate you can change.
Related: Cash flow, Working capital, Fixed cost, For owner-operators, Our offers.
1. Where you start
2. Revenue by month
Each slider is that calendar month compared with an average month (100 = average).
3. Money going out
Cash flow estimate
Lowest ending cash
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Months below buffer
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Cash after 12 months
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Revenue, 12 months
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Tax set aside
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Estimate only, built from the numbers entered. Not a forecast, not tax or financial advice.
Ending cash by month
Ending cash Safety buffer Below buffer Below $0
What to do next
Month by month
Estimates from your numbers. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
| Month | Revenue | Payroll | Job costs | Fixed + loans | Insurance | Tax set-aside | Owner draw | Net | Ending cash |
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How the math works
- Monthly revenue = yearly revenue × that month's share of the shape. You can type over any month.
- Payroll = your fixed monthly amount, or revenue × payroll %.
- Job costs = revenue × job cost %.
- Profit before tax = revenue − payroll − job costs − fixed costs − loan payments − insurance due that month.
- Tax set-aside = profit before tax × tax %, only in months with a profit.
- Net cash = profit before tax − tax set-aside − owner draw.
- Ending cash = last month's ending cash (or today's cash for month 1) + net cash.
- Months below buffer = months where ending cash is less than your safety buffer.
Loan payments are treated as cash out in full. Your books may split them into interest and principal. The tool assumes customers pay in the month you do the work.
Questions about cash flow
What is a cash flow plan for a tree service?
It is a month-by-month list of the money you expect to come in and go out over the next year. It shows the cash left at the end of each month. For a tree company it shows when the slow months will squeeze you, so you can plan for them before they arrive.
Why do I run short of cash when the business is profitable?
Profit counts what you earned. Cash counts what is in the bank. Loan payments, a big insurance bill, money put aside for taxes and your own draw all take cash out, even in a profitable year. Slow winter months and customers who pay late make it worse.
How do I pick the seasonal shape?
Use your own past bank deposits or invoices by month if you have them. The shapes here are only examples to get you started. Pick the closest one, then type your real numbers into the monthly boxes or move the custom sliders.
Should I enter payroll as a percent or a fixed amount?
If you cut crew hours when work slows, a percent of revenue is closer to real life. If you keep your core crew paid all year, use a fixed monthly amount. Fixed payroll is the safer way to test a slow winter.
How big should my safety buffer be?
There is no single right number. One way to start is one to two months of fixed costs and payroll. Pick a number that would let you make payroll if a big job paid late or a truck broke down.
Is the tax set-aside my real tax bill?
No. It is a rough cash reserve, a percent of each month's profit that you move out of reach. Your real tax depends on your business type, deductions and state. Ask your tax preparer for your actual amounts. This tool does not give tax advice.
How do I get through the slow months?
Build a reserve during your strong months, before the dip. Book work early: ask happy customers for Google reviews while the season is busy, and remind past customers about winter pruning, deadwood checks and storm prep before things go quiet. Also check big bills, like insurance, so they do not land in your weakest month.
What counts as fixed monthly costs?
Costs that stay about the same whether you work or not: shop or yard rent, phones, software, office help, accounting, marketing you pay every month and base fuel for the office truck. Loan payments and insurance have their own boxes here, so do not count them twice.
What are job costs as a percent of revenue?
Costs that rise and fall with the work you do: dump and disposal fees, job fuel, chipper and saw parts, rentals. Look at last year's books, add those costs up and divide by revenue. Use that percent here.
Can I download the plan?
Yes. Use Download CSV to get the month-by-month table as a file you can open in a spreadsheet, or Print plan to print the summary, chart and table.
Is anything I type sent to Lirevon?
No. The math runs in your browser. Your numbers are only kept in this browser on this device so the form is filled in next time. Clear your browser data to remove them.
Fill the slow months
Plan the dip. Then catch every call.
Lirevon sets up missed-call text-back, an AI receptionist, follow-ups and review requests for tree companies, so the calls that do come in during a slow month turn into booked jobs.