Cash Support for Sales
As sales grow, cash needs will grow. Planning for future sales must include planning for additional requirements for cash. A basic formula can be used to help determine the amount of additional cash needed for new sales. The formula is calculated as follows:
Additional Cash = ((New Sales - Gross Profit) + Additional Overhead) / (Sales Growth Duration in Days x Average number of days to collect Receivables + Safety Factor)
Example: We expect $ 10,000 of additional sales during the year (365 days) with a corresponding increase of $ 3,000 in overhead. All payables are paid on time, we do not expect any changes in our collection periods, and we expect a continued gross profit margin of 25%. The average period to collect receivables is 40 days and we will add in a safety factor of 20% into our estimate.
($ 10,000 - $ 2,500) + $ 3,000 / 365 = $ 28.77 x (40 x 1.20) = $ 1,381 of additional cash is needed to support the $ 10,000 of additional sales.
The above formula is a quick and rough estimate for estimating how much cash is needed to carry additional sales. Changes in collections and payment cycles need to be considered when using this formula.
Written by: Matt H. Evans, CPA, CMA, CFM | Email: matt@exinfm.com | Phone: 1-877-807-8756
