Also called Reforecast.
Not a rule. FP&A convention — not codified. US GAAP governs recognition, measurement and presentation, not bookkeeping mechanics. Sources
The lessons that teach this
From the free founder back-office course, taught on one company's books, with exercises to work it yourself.
- FinanceThe 13-week cash flowNorthwind's next thirteen weeks, built from the September 30 balance sheet and the IRS's deposit calendar, and read for its lowest week.10 min
- FinanceThe operating model: three statements, linkedNorthwind's fourth quarter as three linked statements: drivers in, cash derived, and a balance sheet that balances without a plug.13 min
Forecast, in use
Quoted from the 5 documents that use the word: what it does to an interface, in the spec's own words.
Actual, budget, variance (absolute and relative) and forecast, by period and by dimension.
The boundary is drawn too, as a dashed vertical rule labeled Forecast →, because you can't read a date off a dash pattern spread over six months.
Projected balance is a forecast and looks like one: dashed on charts, labeled, with the assumptions one click away.
For founders
The same idea written for a founder: what it costs a startup that ignores it, and what to do in a real month.
- Payment terms explained: Net 30, discounts and late feesHow to choose payment terms, count a due date, price an early-payment discount, set lawful late fees and work with enterprise procurement.
- Burn rate and runway: how to calculate them correctlyGross burn, net burn and months of runway, done the way an investor checks them: from cash, averaged, and with the hires you’ve already committed to.
- Vendor payment terms and early-pay discounts, explainedWhat Net 30 and 2/10 net 30 really mean, the annualized cost of skipping an early-pay discount, and how to schedule payment runs around your cash.
What it is not called
Each of these means something else. Use one here and an accountant reading the product notices.
- budget
- projection used for a plan nobody updates
Components that render this
These components name it in their spec, grouped and labeled exactly as the catalog shows them.
Also in Finance & planning
Defined in Lexicon. This page is generated from that document, so the two can't disagree.