Jill has recently been made redundant from her job as a designer. She has decided to use her redundancy money to realize her dream of starting a business which manufactures and sells high quality greenhouses. In order to start the business Jill has applied for a business start up loan from the bank. The bank requires a business plan, which includes a cash flow forecast. Jill has prepared the cash budget for the first six months of the business.

Table 7.4

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Receipts

$

$

$

$

$

$

Sales

0

0

40,000

60,000

60,000

80,000

Payments

Materials

0

30,000

20,000

20,000

35,000

50,000

Wages

3,500

3,500

3,500

4,200

4,200

4,200

Drawings

1,750

1,750

1,750

1,750

1,750

1,750

Workshop

900

900

900

900

900

900

Advertising

8,000

1,000

1,000

General

400

400

400

400

400

400

Van

12,000

Land Rover

450

450

450

450

450

450

Equipment

12,000

25,000

Loan

1,200

1,200

1,200

1,200

1,200

39,000

39,200

54,200

28,900

43,900

58,900

Increase/(Decrease)

(39,000)

(39,200)

(14,200)

31,100

16,100

21,100

Opening Balance

55,000

16,000

(23,200)

(37,400)

(6,300)

9,800

Closing Balance

16,000

(23,200)

(37,400)

(6,300)

9,800

30,900

In relation to the cash budget, Jill has provided you with the following information:

  1. The business will commence on 1 June with $55,000 in the bank. $30,000 of this will come from Jill’s redundancy money. The remaining $25,000 will come from a business start up loan.
  2. Jill will rent a workshop unit on an industrial estate. This will cost $900 per month, payable at the start of each month.
  3. A van will be bought in June at a cost of $12,000.
  4. General workshop costs (light, heat, power etc) and the van’s running costs are expected to be $400 per month.
  5. Jill will also lease a Land Rover Discovery car starting in June. The monthly lease payments will be $450, payable on the 10th of each month.
  6. The greenhouses will be sold to local garden centres. Sales are expected to be as follows:

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Number of greenHouse

10

15

15

20

25

30

The sales price of each greenhouse will be $4,000. In order to stimulate interest from customers, Jill has offered two months’ credit.

7. Purchases of materials, which will be on one month’s credit, are expected to be as follows:

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

$30,000

$20,000

$20,000

$35,000

$50,000

$60,000

8. Jill will initially employ a workshop manager at a cost of $1,500 per month and two further staff at a cost of $1,000 per month each, payable on the last day of the month. When sales reach 20 greenhouses per month, she will employ an additional person at a cost of $700 per month. Jill will herself draw $1,750 cash each month from the business.

9. Jill wishes to undertake a substantial advertising campaign to launch the business. This will cost $8,000 in the first month and $1,000 per month for a further two months, payable in the month incurred.

10. The machinery and equipment needed will be bought immediately at the start of June. Most can be bought second hand for $12,000 cash. Other machinery, costing $25,000, will be bought new on two months’ interest free credit.

11. Repayments on the business loan, including the interest element, will be $1,200 per month. These will be payable on the 15th of the month, commencing in July.

Required:

Analyse Jill’s cash budget and make any recommendations which you feel would improve her cash management.