Painting
Painting Cash Flow Calculator
Works cash flow, where paint is bought before the job and paid for after.
Result
Profit and cash are different things and a growing contractor can run out of cash while profitable, because the work is paid for before the invoice is. This models collection speed, not seasonality.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Invoiced amounts against the days customers actually take to pay, with costs paid out monthly and the opening balance, giving the funding gap and months of runway. The painting-specific pressure is modest compared with equipment-heavy trades and still real: paint is bought up front, crews are paid weekly, and residential customers pay on completion while commercial and builder work pays on terms.
What moves the number
- Days customers actually take against your terms.
- Weekly payroll against monthly or slower receipts.
- Material purchased before the job starts.
- Mix of residential, commercial and builder work.
Where this one goes wrong
Builder and commercial work is where painting cash flow tightens, because construction payment terms with retention mean funding the work for far longer than residential, and a business that grows into that market without pricing for it can be busier and shorter of cash at the same time. Deposits on larger residential jobs and payment on completion rather than on terms are the main protections. Material is the smaller issue here than in material-heavy trades, though colour-specific mixes bought for a job that is then delayed still tie up money.
Before you quote
- Take deposits on larger jobs and collect residential on completion.
- Price builder and commercial work for the longer payment cycle.
- Avoid buying job-specific materials far ahead of the start.
Questions
About this calculator
Why does growing into commercial work tighten cash?
Because construction payment terms with retention mean funding the work for far longer than residential, where you are paid on completion. A business moving into that market without pricing for the cycle can be busier and shorter of cash at the same time.
Should painters take deposits?
On larger jobs it is reasonable and common, and it covers the material bought up front. For smaller residential work, collecting on completion rather than offering terms removes most of the receivables problem, since the crew is there and the work is visibly done.
Is material a cash flow problem in painting?
Less than in material-heavy trades, since paint is a modest share. The exception is job-specific colour mixes bought for work that then gets delayed, which ties up money in product that cannot be used elsewhere or returned.
The formula
cash tied up = daily invoicing x days to get paid
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How to use this calculator
- Invoiced per month ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $40,000.
- Payment terms (days). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 30.
- Days customers actually take. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 46.
- Costs paid out per month ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $38,000.
- Cash in the bank now ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $22,000.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to days of funding gap, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Invoiced per month | $40,000 |
| Payment terms (days) | 30 |
| Days customers actually take | 46 |
| Costs paid out per month | $38,000 |
| Cash in the bank now | $22,000 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Days of funding gap main result | 16 |
| Cash tied up in invoices | $61,333 |
| Monthly surplus | $2,000 |
| Months of cover | 999.0 |
There is $61,333 sitting in unpaid invoices, and customers take 16 days longer than your terms allow. That gap is the money you are lending them for free.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only invoiced per month, this is what happens to days of funding gap. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Invoiced per month ($) | Days of funding gap |
|---|---|
| $20,000 | 16 |
| $30,000 | 16 |
| $40,000 example above | 16 |
| $60,000 | 16 |
| $80,000 | 16 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Invoiced per month ($)
- A money amount, starting at $40,000.
- Payment terms (days)
- A number, between 0 and 180, starting at 30.
- Days customers actually take
- A number, between 0 and 365, starting at 46.
- Costs paid out per month ($)
- A money amount, starting at $38,000.
- Cash in the bank now ($)
- A money amount, starting at $22,000.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Days of funding gap | The headline result. A number. |
| Cash tied up in invoices | A money figure. |
| Monthly surplus | A money figure. |
| Months of cover | A decimal figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.