Blog · Territory, capacity and quota planning
Lay out a farm business's seasonal receipts, operating payments and financing by month. Use the worked cash budget, spreadsheet formulas and reconciliation checks to compare the approved seasonal plan with actual cash movements.
A farm cash flow budget template schedules a farm business's seasonal receipts, payments and financing by month. It shows the cash needed before crop settlements arrive and the balances remaining after scheduled repayments. Build it from the farm's own contracts, bills, payroll dates and financing schedule, then preserve the approved version for comparison with actual movements.
Use one column per month and enough supporting rows to identify why money moves. Keep separate schedules for crop settlements, livestock sales if relevant, custom work, operating purchases, equipment and financing. A crop's production month is not automatically its cash receipt month.
The IRS Farmer's Tax Guide, Publication 225, explains that records help identify receipt sources and the purpose and timing of expenses. Those same records are useful inputs to this management budget. The cash schedule here is for business planning; it does not determine tax treatment.
| Supporting schedule | Fields to retain | Cash budget link |
|---|---|---|
| Crop receipts | Crop, buyer, contract, settlement date, net amount | Crop cash receipts |
| Other operating receipts | Business activity, customer, payment date, amount | Other cash receipts |
| Operating payments | Supplier, input or service, payment date, amount | Operating cash payments |
| Equipment | Asset, approved payment date, cash amount | Equipment cash payments |
| Financing | Facility, opening principal, draw, repayment, interest date | Financing section |
| Actual movements | Bank reference, settlement date, category, amount | Actual-versus-budget comparison |
Net settlement amounts need care. If a buyer deducts charges from crop proceeds, choose either net receipts or gross receipts with matching deductions. Document the choice and use it consistently so the budget and bank reconciliation remain comparable.
For the general approval structure, see the cash budget template.
Consider an incorporated Kansas grain farm with $45,000 opening available cash. Management sets a $20,000 minimum balance. This four-month excerpt covers spring payments through a large crop settlement in July; a full workbook should continue through the rest of the business's planning period.
The example starts with no borrowing under the illustrated seasonal facility. Assume required draws are available and approved, and cash above the minimum is applied to that facility's outstanding principal. Interest payments are explicit schedule inputs, not a calculated rate.
All amounts are USD, with no rounding.
| Budget line (USD) | April | May | June | July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening cash | 45,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Crop settlement receipts | 10,000 | 15,000 | 35,000 | 175,000 |
| Custom-work receipts | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Total receipts | 15,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 180,000 |
| Operating payments | 70,000 | 60,000 | 40,000 | 35,000 |
| Equipment payments | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest payments | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Total payments | 71,000 | 76,000 | 41,000 | 36,000 |
| Cash before financing | −11,000 | −36,000 | 19,000 | 164,000 |
| Seasonal borrowing | 31,000 | 56,000 | 1,000 | 0 |
| Principal repayments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88,000 |
| Closing cash | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 76,000 |
| Closing seasonal borrowing | 31,000 | 87,000 | 88,000 | 0 |
April's cash before financing is 45,000 + 15,000 − 71,000 = −$11,000. Reaching the $20,000 floor requires a $31,000 draw. May's additional $56,000 and June's $1,000 raise the illustrated peak borrowing to $88,000.
July has 20,000 + 180,000 − 36,000 = $164,000 before financing. Repaying $88,000 leaves $76,000 cash. This is a computed funding requirement and repayment illustration, rather than a recommendation about facility terms.
For a compact summary, place month in A, opening cash in B, crop receipts in C, other receipts in D, operating payments in E, equipment in F and interest in G. Use H for cash before financing, I for opening seasonal borrowing, J for required draw, K for principal repayment, L for closing cash and M for closing borrowing. Put the approved minimum balance in P1.
H2=B2+SUM(C2:D2)-SUM(E2:G2)
J2=MAX(0,$P$1-H2)
K2=MIN(I2,MAX(0,H2-$P$1))
L2=H2+J2-K2
M2=I2+J2-K2
B3=L2
I3=M2
These formulas assume discretionary repayment of available surplus. Replace that assumption with the approved repayment schedule when required, and check whether each calculated draw fits available funding. The OpenStax financial-budget guide explains how cash collections, payments and financing connect in the overall budget.
The four months contain $255,000 receipts and $224,000 payments. Draws total 31,000 + 56,000 + 1,000 = $88,000, exactly matched by the July repayment. The period check is:
45,000 + 255,000 − 224,000 + 88,000 − 88,000 = 76,000 closing cash
Also check that each month's opening cash equals the previous closing cash and that debt rolls forward independently. Do not add monthly opening balances together as though they were separate cash receipts.
Now change one input: delay $90,000 of July crop settlement receipts until August. Custom-work receipts, opening balances and payments stay unchanged.
| July timing comparison (USD) | Approved budget | Receipt delayed |
|---|---|---|
| Opening cash | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Crop settlement receipts | 175,000 | 85,000 |
| Custom-work receipts | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Total receipts | 180,000 | 90,000 |
| Total payments | 36,000 | 36,000 |
| Opening seasonal borrowing | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| Cash before financing | 164,000 | 74,000 |
| Principal repayment | 88,000 | 54,000 |
| Closing cash | 76,000 | 20,000 |
| Closing seasonal borrowing | 0 | 34,000 |
July total receipts become 85,000 + 5,000 = $90,000 and cash before financing becomes 20,000 + 90,000 − 36,000 = $74,000. Keeping the $20,000 floor allows a $54,000 repayment, leaving 88,000 − 54,000 = $34,000 outstanding seasonal borrowing.
The delayed amount remains a later receipt in the full schedule; it has not disappeared from the crop sale. Use the cash flow forecast guide for updating the outlook while preserving this approved seasonal budget.
Match actual bank movements to the budget's business categories and settlement periods. Ask the operating owner whether a difference reflects production, price, a changed payment amount or timing. The 13-week cash flow layout can provide finer detail around a tight seasonal period, while a daily cash flow layout addresses payment sequencing inside a week.
Bring the approved seasonal workbook or Google Sheet and a sample of your own farm business bank or ledger export. Covirage maps the columns, and its tools compute and check the comparisons; the external AI model explains the result with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account in about a minute, then set up your business and bring your file.
See financial planning and analysis reporting for the supporting use case.
No. The cash budget follows receipts and payments, including equipment purchases and debt principal. A profit budget measures income and expenses under the farm's accounting policies. Crop production, crop sales and collection of sale proceeds can occur in different periods.
Give equipment cash payments their own line outside routine operating payments. If equipment is financed, show the cash received from borrowing and the actual equipment payment separately, then schedule principal and interest without counting the same payment twice.
Keep the approved receipt date in the baseline and document its source, such as a settlement schedule. Test a separately labeled timing variation when collection may slip. Show the effect on cash and outstanding borrowing without silently changing crop volume or price assumptions.