Working capital requirements (WCR) and cash flow are essential indicators of a company’s financial health. Even a profitable company can find itself in difficulty if its WCR is too high and its cash flow too low. To anticipate such situations, CFOs and credit managers often use Excel as an analysis tool. To make things easier for you, we’ve provided a free, ready-to-use WCR & Cash Flow Excel template.
What is WCR and why is it important?
WCR is the difference between cash outflows on trade payables and cash inflows on trade receivables and inventories. In practical terms, it’s the amount a company needs to finance to cover its operating cycle. A high WCR means you’re tying up too much cash in your receivables and inventories. Conversely, a low or negative WCR indicates that your cash inflows cover your short-term requirements.
Monitoring WCR is therefore essential: it shows whether your company has the necessary liquidity to pay suppliers, expenses and investments. Banks and investors systematically analyze this indicator before financing a company.
Practical example in Excel
Our WCR & Cash Flow Excel template enables you to automatically calculate your WCR based on your actual data. You enter your trade receivables, trade payables and inventories. The file calculates your WCR and tells you whether you’re in surplus or deficit.
Example: a trading company with €500,000 in receivables, €300,000 in trade payables and €200,000 in inventories has a WCR of €400,000. Thanks to the model, it can visualize this need and anticipate a short-term credit line to avoid cash flow tensions.
Founded in 2011, ASTON AI, voted Fintech of the Year 2015, has revolutionized the receivables management market in ten years by offering a high-performance, simple, comprehensive and innovative platform. ASTON AI platforms benefit from 10 years of continuous technological development and an in-house R&D department dedicated to digital services.
Download our WCR & Cash Flow Excel template
The Excel file we provide is designed for immediate use by CFOs and SME managers. It includes :
- Automatic calculation of normative WCR.
- Cash flow monitoring at 30, 60 and 90 days.
- Liquidity ratios to assess financial strength.
Download the WCR & Cash Flow Excel template now and take control of your financial needs.
How to anticipate cash flow with Excel?
In addition to the WCR calculation, our file includes a simplified cash flow table. It helps you forecast your cash inflows and outflows over a 3-month period, and detect any potential liquidity bottlenecks. This insight is invaluable for anticipating financing requirements and negotiating with your banking partners.
For example: if you notice that your cash position becomes negative in the 2nd month, despite good profitability, you can adjust your supplier payment terms or accelerate your customer collections.
Excel's Limitations and the Aston AI Alternative
Excel is an effective tool for making one-off calculations, but it quickly shows its limits when it comes to day-to-day monitoring of working capital and cash flow. Files become unwieldy, input errors frequent and manual updating time-consuming.
With Aston AI, you benefit from SaaS software capable of tracking your receivables in real time, automatically generating your indicators (WCR, DSO, aged trial balance) and predicting your cash flow requirements. Artificial intelligence analyzes your flows and alerts you before a critical situation arises.
Take the next step with Aston AI
The Working Capital & Cash Flow Excel template is the first step in structuring your financial analyses. But for greater efficiency and long-term security of your collections, discover Aston AI: intelligent collection software that automates your reminders, calculates your KPIs in real time and improves your cash flow.
Request a free demo today.
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