Film Accounting Glossary
Cash flow schedule
What is a cash flow schedule?
Also called cash flow, or funding schedule.
A cash flow schedule maps when a production will actually need money, week by week, against when funding will arrive from each source.
It is a different document from the budget: the budget says what will be spent, the cash flow says when the bank balance has to cover it. Lenders and completion guarantors require one because a fully financed picture can still fail on a timing gap.
Example
The budget totals $8.4M. The cash flow shows week three of prep needing $960,000 in the account, because insurance, stage rent, and vehicle deposits all fall due together, while the second equity tranche does not land until week six. That gap is what a bridge loan covers.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
A required deliverable for the lender and completion guarantor, updated weekly alongside the cost report.
Common mistake
Treating full financing as the end of the cash question. Money that arrives after it is needed is a shutdown risk, however complete the financing plan looks.
Related questions
- What is the difference between a budget and a cash flow schedule?
- The budget says what will be spent. The cash flow says when the bank balance has to cover it, and when each funding source actually lands.
- Why can a fully financed film run out of cash?
- Because commitments and funding arrive on different clocks. Deposits and insurance fall due in prep while equity tranches and tax credits land far later.