Cash flow forecast for a bank or lender
Show a lender how the business will repay, month by month, from figures that agree to your accounts. Buzz builds the cash flow forecast from your latest management accounts, with the loan, the repayments and the tax payments in the months they fall, and keeps it up to date once the money arrives.
A business plan is needed for a bank loan, and it covers financial forecasts (GOV.UK, 2026).
Run by Andy Jackson and Peter Allen · AAT licensed · ICPA member · FreeAgent and Xero partner
What one high-street bank asks for
- How much you want to borrow, for how long, why, and how you plan to repay it
- Details of any existing finance
- Evidence of assets you could offer as security
- A profile of the business and the track record of its owners
- Depending on the loan: management accounts, historic accounts, details of assets and liabilities, and a business plan covering the borrowing term with a cash flow forecast
From Lloyds Bank’s loan application checklist (Lloyds Bank, How to get a business loan, 2026). Each lender sets its own list.
How we build a forecast for a lender
- 1Start from the latest management accounts
The forecast opens on the real bank balance, debtors and creditors at the last month end, so the first month agrees to figures the lender can check.
- 2Cover the whole borrowing term
Twelve months by month, then the remaining years of the loan by quarter or year, to match the business plan.
- 3Show the loan as it will run
The money drawn in the month it arrives, then every repayment of capital and interest.
- 4Put tax in the right months
VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax in the month each is paid, alongside the loan repayments.
- 5Write the assumptions down
Sales, prices, wages, payment terms and the cost of the new asset, each stated so the lender can test them.
- 6Add a lower case
The same forecast with weaker sales, to show the repayments are still met.
Cash flow forecast template for a bank loan
A 12-month Excel template with the loan arriving, every repayment split into interest and capital, and VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax in the months they are paid. Enter your figures in the yellow cells and the bank balance, the lowest month and a lower case with weaker sales calculate from them.
It opens filled in with the garage below, so each line shows how it works before you replace the figures with your own.
Business Pulse builds the forecast with you from your management accounts, tracks the business against it and reviews it with you every month or quarter, so the figures the lender sees keep agreeing to your accounts after the loan is drawn.
A garage borrowing £60,000 for a second MOT bay
The bay takes three months to fit out. Repayments start in the first month, so the forecast shows three months of repayments before the bay earns anything, and the lowest bank balance falls in month three.
A month once the second bay is running
- Cash from trading before the new bay
- £4,800
- Extra cash from the second MOT bay
- +£2,600
- Loan repayment: £60,000 over five years at 9%
- −£1,246
- Cash left each month
- £6,154
In the lower case, with the new bay earning half as much, £4,854 is left each month after the repayment.
An illustrative example. The business is not a real client and every figure is invented. The 9% rate is invented for the arithmetic.
Which service fits
Business Pulse keeps a rolling 12-month cash flow forecast and management accounts against your budget, reviewed with you every month or quarter. Quarterly from £375 + VAT a month, monthly from £499.
For a larger loan or an investor, Peter Allen, Buzz’s co-founder and Financial Director, builds the profit and loss, balance sheet and cash forecast together and comes to the lender meeting, through the part-time finance director service from £2,000 + VAT a month. Buzz is not authorised by the FCA, so a recommendation of a particular lender or loan is referred to an authorised firm.
Questions about forecasts for lenders
What does a bank want to see in a cash flow forecast?
Each lender sets its own requirements. Lloyds Bank lists a business plan covering the borrowing term with a cash flow forecast, along with management accounts and historic accounts, depending on the loan. The forecast needs to show the loan arriving, every repayment, and enough cash left in each month.
How far ahead should the forecast go?
Over the borrowing term. We forecast the first 12 months month by month and the remaining years of the loan by quarter or year.
Can you recommend a lender?
Buzz is not authorised by the FCA, so a recommendation of a particular lender or financial product is referred to an authorised firm. We prepare the forecast, the management accounts and the records the lender asks for.
Is there a template I can fill in?
Yes. Download the 12-month cash flow forecast template, an Excel file with the loan, the repayments and the tax payments laid out month by month and a lower case with weaker sales.
Can I have the forecast as a one-off?
Yes. A 12-month cash flow forecast and budget for a loan application is £1,200 + VAT. Business Pulse keeps it up to date after the loan is drawn.
Does the lender need to see management accounts?
Lloyds Bank lists management accounts among the information it may ask for. Business Pulse produces them every month or quarter, set against your budget.
12-month cash flow forecast and budget
£1,200 + VAT, once
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