Event cash payment schedule builder
The treasurer needs to know on which dates the event account could run short.
…
The short answer
The builder sorts your payments and receipts by date and shows the projected cash balance after each one, starting from your opening cash. Only confirmed receipts count as cash.
A pending receipt, such as a sponsor pledge that is not signed or paid, is listed in its own table and is never added to the balance.
What to enter
- Opening cash: what is actually in the account on the opening date. Leave it blank if unknown.
- Each payment or receipt with its date, description, direction and amount. Enter amounts as positive numbers.
- Status: confirmed, pending (not certain), or done (already paid or received and already inside the opening cash).
- An optional opening cash date, so items dated before it are flagged.
What counts as cash
Confirmed receipts and all payments you expect to make are counted. Payments are counted even when they are not yet certain, so the balance is not flattered.
Pending receipts are not counted. The tool shows what the closing balance would be if every pending receipt arrived, as an illustration kept apart from the projected balance.
Reading the schedule
The lowest balance and the first date it falls below zero tell you when to move a payment, ask for an earlier receipt or arrange cover.
Items without a date or an amount are listed in the warnings and left out. They are not guessed.
Common mistakes
- Counting a sponsor pledge as income before it is signed or paid.
- Counting a deposit twice: once in opening cash and again as a dated payment.
- Using the invoice date when the payment terms put the payment on a later date. Enter the date the money actually moves.
Limits
The tool does not know bank clearing times, payment terms, refund timing or tax. It reflects only what you enter. For the budget behind the payments, see the event budget builder, and for the money already out, the deposit exposure calculator.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional November cash schedule
Fictional organisation and figures, to show the calculation.
A fictional association opens with RM 30,000. It pays a RM 10,000 venue deposit on 5 November and receives RM 8,000 of registrations on 10 November, so the balance is RM 20,000 and then RM 28,000.
A RM 25,000 sponsor pledge due on 15 November is not signed, so it sits in the uncertain table. After the RM 15,000 caterer payment on 20 November the confirmed balance is RM 13,000. The RM 25,000 would only change that if it arrives.
| Date | Item | Status | Balance after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-05 | Venue deposit (out) | Confirmed | RM 20,000.00 |
| 2026-11-10 | Registrations (in) | Confirmed | RM 28,000.00 |
| 2026-11-15 | Sponsor pledge (in) | Pending | Not counted |
| 2026-11-20 | Caterer payment (out) | Confirmed | RM 13,000.00 |
Use this yourself
Cash schedule worksheet
List every dated movement in date order and keep uncertain receipts in their own column.
| Date | Item | Money out | Confirmed money in | Uncertain money in (not counted) | Balance after (confirmed only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Cash in the account | ||||
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- There are a few dated payments and the treasurer already knows the receipts.
- Receipts are confirmed and the account has comfortable cover.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Many suppliers have staged payments and receipts depend on pledges and registrations still moving.
- The balance falls near zero on some dates and someone must negotiate payment dates with suppliers.
- Several people hold parts of the payment picture and nobody owns the whole schedule.
Want the payment workstream coordinated?
A project lead can keep the payment calendar current with your committee, chase confirmations on receipts and raise a flag before a date that looks tight. Payment decisions and signatures stay with your treasurer, and the scope is agreed up front.
Questions organisers ask
Is a sponsor pledge counted as cash received?
No. A pending pledge is shown in a separate table and is never added to the projected balance.
Why are pending payments still counted?
A payment you expect to make is money that will leave the account, so counting it keeps the balance cautious.
What if I do not know the opening cash?
Leave it blank. The tool shows the movements without balances instead of treating it as zero.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.