The cash-flow forecast of a small business

Why cash differs from profit

• Customers pay after the invoice.
• VAT collected is paid over at the return deadlines.
• An investment is paid at once but depreciated over several years.
• Growth ties up receivables and stock.

The structure of the table

Operating

Customer receipts, supplier payments, salaries and contributions, net VAT, taxes.

Investing

Acquisitions and disposals of fixed assets.

Financing

Contributions, loans and repayments, dividends.

Tax and contributions

Without sufficient advance payments, the tax is increased: the rate of the increase is 6.75% for assessment years 2026 and 2027 (FPS Finance, “Advance payments” page). A small company is not subject to any increase for its first three financial years after incorporation (article 218 § 2 CIR 92, same source).

A company director is presumed to be self-employed: they come under the social status of the self-employed and join a social insurance fund, not the ONSS/RSZ, which concerns employees (INASTI, “Who is self-employed?”).

In Fiplan

Fiplan builds the month-by-month cash-flow table from the journal: customer and supplier payment terms, VAT, corporate tax and advance payments are computed flows, not lines to type in. Closing cash equals the balance of account 550000.