Cash Flow Forecast Template for Trucking Companies

Trucking companies pay for every load before they’re paid for it. Fuel, driver pay, tolls and maintenance are spent on the road this week, while shippers and brokers take 30 to 60 days to settle the invoice. Many carriers use factoring to bridge the gap, which brings cash in faster but at a cost. A cash flow forecast shows whether the business can run on its own collections, and what factoring really costs.

Why trucking cash flow is different

• Fuel is a large, weekly cost. Often a third of revenue, paid at the pump as you drive.
• Brokers and shippers pay slowly. Thirty to 45 days is typical, and some take longer.
• Factoring advances cash at a price. A factoring company pays most of the invoice within days and keeps a fee, commonly 2 to 5 percent.
• Trucks are expensive to own. Loan or lease payments, insurance, tyres and repairs are large fixed costs.
• Taxes and permits are lumpy. Fuel tax filings, road-use taxes and permit renewals arrive quarterly or annually.

A worked example

A small fleet invoices about $95,000 a month. Fuel runs at 30 percent of revenue, drivers 35 percent, truck payments 10 percent and insurance, maintenance and tolls about 18 percent. Freight invoices are paid 55 percent next month and 40 percent the month after.

Without factoring, a new carrier or a fleet adding trucks needs close to a full month of costs in the bank before its first freight payments arrive. Factoring part of the loads narrows the gap, but at 3 percent it costs about $855 a month on $28,500 of invoices. The forecast lets you choose how much to factor and when to stop.

How to build a trucking cash forecast

1. Forecast loads and revenue per truck per week.
2. Apply each broker or shipper’s real payment timing, and factoring advances separately.
3. Calculate fuel as a share of revenue or from miles and price per gallon.
4. Add driver pay on its pay cycle, then truck payments, insurance, maintenance and tolls.
5. Schedule fuel tax and other quarterly filings and annual permits.
6. Keep a repair reserve for each truck.

Common mistakes

Ignoring the factoring fee when judging whether a lane is profitable. Forgetting insurance renewals, which can rise sharply. Buying another truck without funding the first two months of its costs. And not setting aside money for tyres and major repairs.

What the template gives you

The Trucking & Logistics template includes a Freight Billing tab that converts invoices into collections based on how quickly brokers pay, and a Fuel & Factoring tab that calculates fuel from revenue and the factoring fee on advanced invoices. The dashboard shows how close each week gets to your minimum buffer.

Key assumptions built into the Trucking & Logistics template

• The Freight Billing tab turns what you invoice into cash actually collected for “Freight invoices”. The example assumes 0% is paid in the month invoiced, 55% the following month and 40% two months later. Invoices sent before the start date are entered separately so the first months are right, and anything never collected shows as bad debt, so you can see what slow payers cost you.
• The Fuel & Factoring tab calculates fuel at 30% of freight invoices, factoring advances and fuel surcharges and factoring fee at 3% of factoring advances. Change a percentage once and every month of the forecast updates, so costs rise and fall with the sales that drive them.
• 4 cash in lines and 8 cash out lines are already named for trucking & logistics businesses, and every one can be renamed or extended.
• The example figures follow a fairly even year, which suits most trucking & logistics businesses; add your own seasonal pattern if you have one.

Every assumption sits in a yellow input cell, so you replace the example with your own numbers in minutes. The same figures flow through a 13-week weekly view, a 12-month monthly view and a 3-year outlook, and a dashboard shows your lowest balance, the weeks that fall below your minimum buffer and your cash runway.

Free or premium?

If you only need the basics, the free 12-month template or the free 13-week template will get you started today. The premium Trucking & Logistics template saves the setup time and adds the tabs above, best and worst case scenarios, and an actual vs forecast tracker that shows where your forecast was wrong, so next month’s is better.

Trucking & Logistics cash flow forecasting: questions

Is factoring good for trucking cash flow?

It speeds up cash from invoices, which helps new or growing carriers, but the fee reduces margin. Use the forecast to decide how much to factor and aim to reduce it as cash builds up.

What percentage of trucking revenue goes on fuel?

Commonly 25 to 35 percent, depending on fuel prices, equipment and lanes.

How much cash does a new trucking company need?

Enough to cover at least one to two months of fuel, driver pay, truck payments and insurance before broker payments start arriving.