Set up the Cash & Runway Planner

This guide covers version 1.0.0, the version you download today. Setup takes about 10 minutes, plus about 1 minute per row of money in or money out. A first plan with 6 clients and 10 costs takes about 25 minutes.

Before you start

You need Excel 365 on a Windows desktop computer. That is where this version was tested. Other apps are listed on the compatibility page.
Have your opening cash ready, each retainer and unpaid or expected invoice, each committed cost (payroll, contractors, rent, software, loans and drawings), and how many days late each client usually pays.
Sheet names and column labels below are quoted exactly as they appear in the version 1.0.0 file.

Yellow cells: you type. Leave every other cell to the workbook.

1. Download the ZIP file

About 2 minutes.

After payment, Payhip shows a download link on the confirmation page and sends the same link by email.
Click the link and save the ZIP file (about 1136 KB) somewhere you will find it again, such as a "Metricvalley" folder in Documents.

Can't find the email? Search your inbox and spam folder for "Payhip". If it isn't there, email [email protected] with the address you used at checkout and we'll resend the link.

2. Unzip it

About 1 minute.

Excel can open a file from inside a ZIP, but it opens a temporary read-only copy, and your changes may be lost. Extract the files first.

Windows: right-click the ZIP file, choose Extract All, then Extract.
Mac: double-click the ZIP file. The files appear in a new folder beside it.

You now have ten files:

File	What it is
`cash-runway-planner-v1.0.0-blank.xlsx`	The workbook for your own plan
`cash-runway-planner-v1.0.0-worked-example.xlsx`	The same workbook with a demo plan and scenarios
`START-HERE.html`	Open this first: what each file is and where to begin
`quick-start.md`	Setup steps, reading the Dashboard and using scenarios
`metric-dictionary.md`	Every input and calculated field defined
`support-and-compatibility.md`	What is tested, what isn't, and how to ask for help
`license.md`	License terms for both licenses
`release-notes-v1.0.0.md`	What is in this version
`money-back-guarantee.md`	The 30-day money-back guarantee
`MANIFEST-cash-runway-planner-v1.0.0.sha256`	SHA-256 checksums, so you can check every file arrived intact

START-HERE.html opens in any browser. The .md files open in any text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

3. Open the worked example, then save your own copy of the blank file

About 2 minutes.

Open cash-runway-planner-v1.0.0-worked-example.xlsx to see how the sheets fit together. Every client in it is fictional, and the status reads SAMPLE until the sample rows are cleared.
Open cash-runway-planner-v1.0.0-blank.xlsx. Excel may show a yellow Protected View bar that says the file came from the internet. This is normal for any downloaded file. Click Enable Editing. The file has no macros, so you will not see a macro or content warning.
Choose File > Save As and save a copy with your business name in the file name. Keep the format as Excel Workbook (.xlsx).
Keep the original download untouched in its folder. It is your clean copy if you ever need to start again.

The workbook has seven sheets: Start Here, Dashboard, Money In, Money Out, Cash Plan, Reference and Guide. It opens on Start Here. The Guide sheet explains every input, calculation and check, so you can work without this page.

Every sheet is protected without a password, so a formula can't be overwritten by accident. You never need to unprotect a sheet to enter data. If you want to change the workbook itself: Review > Unprotect Sheet.

4. Fill in the Setup block on Start Here

About 3 minutes.

Choose your currency.
Type the start month: the first day of the first month in the plan. Type it as 1 Aug 2026, which Excel reads the same way on US, UK and Australian settings. The plan runs 12 months from there, and the cell beside it spells out the months, for example "Plan runs Aug 2026 to Jul 2027." A date that isn't the first day of a month is refused, so a day and month typed the wrong way round can't start the plan in the wrong month.
Type your opening cash and your minimum cash buffer: the lowest balance you are comfortable holding at a month end.
Tax set-asides are optional (step 9).

5. List your clients on Reference

About 2 minutes.

Type each client's name and how many days late they usually pay. A client who pays on time gets 0.

6. Add money in on Money In

About 1 minute per row.

One row per retainer, and one per unpaid or expected project invoice: client, what it is for, the type, the amount and the due date. A retainer's later payments fall on the same day each month. Unsigned work goes in as New client scenario only (column J); it never counts in the base case.

Type due dates the way your computer shows them, or as 15 Aug 2026, which works on any setting.

7. Add money out on Money Out

About 1 minute per row.

One row per committed cost: payroll, contractors, rent, software, loans and drawings. Costs can be paid once, weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly or yearly; for pay every two weeks, use a real payday as the first payment date, and a month with three paydays shows three.

8. Read the Dashboard

About 2 minutes.

Check the status in row 3. OK means every check passes. CHECK (n) names how many fail; the Checks block says what to do. SAMPLE means sample rows remain.
Months covered: the months in a row, from the start month, whose cash at month end stays at or above your buffer, 0 to 12. It stops at the first month below the buffer, even if a later month recovers.
Read the lowest month-end cash and its month, cash at the end of month 12, opening cash in months of money out, and the largest client's share of money in.

The Cash Plan sheet holds every figure month by month and prints on three pages.

9. Scenarios and tax set-asides

Late payment: type extra days late next to a client on Reference (column D) and choose Late payment on Start Here.
Client leaves: type the first day of the month the client stops paying (column E). Nothing from that client arrives from that month on, and any cost on Money Out linked to the client stops too. If you expect a final invoice to be paid, add it as its own row with a due date before the leave month.
New client: rows marked New client scenario only count only in this scenario.
All three together: all of the above at once. The base case always stays beside the scenario.

Two optional set-asides take money out of available cash as it arrives: sales tax (a rate included in what you receive; clients marked No sales tax carry none) and income tax (a share of each receipt after sales tax). The plan assumes tax bills are paid from the money set aside, so don't enter them on Money Out. These are percentages you choose, not tax calculations or advice.

10. Each month, and clearing the worked example

To roll the plan forward each month: change the start month, type the new opening cash, delete or mark received the invoices that were paid, and check the Timing notes on Money In. An invoice left in place after it was paid is counted again as overdue at the end of month 1.

To clear the worked example (only if you want to reuse that file):

Save a copy of the worked example under a new name first.
Click the Name Box, the box left of the formula bar that shows the cell address.
Choose MV_Clear_MoneyIn and press Delete. Then do the same for MV_Clear_MoneyOut and MV_Clear_Reference.
Check the Dashboard: the Sample data check and the status read OK. Settings are kept: replace the start month, opening cash, buffer and tax set-asides with your own.

Getting help

Email [email protected]. Support replies within 1 business day (Monday to Friday, Australian Eastern time). Include the version (1.0.0, on Start Here), your Excel version, the sheet and row, and what you saw. Send demo or redacted data only.

The Google Sheets edition is free for every buyer when it ships, delivered through your Payhip download link. Don't import the .xlsx files into Google Sheets.