Compare deposit scenarios by pre-delivery cash exposure
A deposit scenario should name its purpose, observable event, invoice date, expected bank date and cancellation/refund boundary. The percentages below are fictional user choices, not standard terms.
| Deposit case | Receipt before delivery | Pre-delivery exposure | Required stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0 CU | 18,000 CU | Confirm funding and payment timing |
| 20% of 40,000 CU price | 8,000 CU | 10,000 CU | Review invoice/receipt and cancellation terms |
| 40% of 40,000 CU price | 16,000 CU | 2,000 CU | Review conversion, refund, tax and local legal effects |
Define events, dates, process and stop points before work starts
Prerequisites, sequence and stop points
- Confirm business-to-business or consumer context and governing market before using any clause. (not complete)
- Reconcile scope, amount, currency and indirect-tax display. (not complete)
- Name observable invoice, delivery, acceptance or milestone events and exactly when any day count begins. (not complete)
- Record purchase-order, portal, contact, approval, method, fee and reconciliation requirements. (not complete)
- Set internal escalation and future-exposure limits without asserting a legal suspension right. (not complete)
- Stop for local review on fees, interest, security, credit checks, deposits, cancellation, remedies, consumer law or tax. (not complete)
- Run base and downside receipt-date scenarios, then capture approval, version and change trigger. (not complete)
Compare user-proposed timing structures symmetrically
| User-proposed structure | Payment events and amounts | Invoice and approval requirements | Illustrative base receipt date | Illustrative downside receipt date | Project cash low point from the tool | User-entered method/admin cost | Trade-off, local-review question and stop point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case A | 12,000 CU after acceptance | Acceptance and invoice on 29 August; exact event evidence required | 12 September | 26 September | −4,000 CU after the 22 August outflow, before receipt | 20 CU | Highest pre-receipt exposure; stop for local review of acceptance, remedies and further-work rights |
| Case B | Two 6,000 CU milestone invoices | Milestone approvals/invoices on 9 and 29 August | 16 August and 12 September | 30 August and 26 September | −2,000 CU after the 8 August outflow in the base case; −4,000 CU after 22 August in the downside case | 40 CU | More administration and approval dependency; stop when either milestone is not observable or locally reviewed |
| Case C | 3,000 CU pre-work and 9,000 CU after acceptance | Pre-work invoice on 1 August; acceptance/final invoice on 29 August | 2 August and 12 September | 16 August and 26 September | −1,000 CU after the 22 August outflow in the base case; −2,000 CU after 8 August in the downside case | 30 CU | Lower stated project low point but pre-work payment suitability is unresolved; stop for local review rather than call it a required deposit |
Model dates, then record the agreement
Labelled scenario
The fictional project is tax-exclusive, with 12,000 CU value and 4,000 CU external delivery outflows before completion.
| Case or record | Inputs and arithmetic | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Base date case | Project starts 1 August; external outflows are 2,000 CU on 8 August and 2,000 CU on 22 August; base receipts use 2 August, 16 August and 12 September as shown above | The listed low points are illustrative 13-week tool fields on a project-only cash view, not predictions |
| Downside date case | Move each listed receipt two weeks later to 16/30 August or 26 September while leaving delivery outflows unchanged | No probability is assigned; modelled receipt timing is not a customer promise |
| Completion record | Approved events, basis, process owner, exposure stop and local-review questions | Ready for local contract review; not a generated clause |
Final checklist, local review and cash hand-off
Use the calculation owner for the next step
- 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
Forecast weekly closing cash, the first shortfall and the funding gap across a 13-week operating horizon
Questions and limitations
- How many days should a new client receive?
- No universal default is supplied. Define the event basis, compare the dated cash exposure and obtain local review for the actual agreement.
- Does the forecast predict when the client will pay?
- No. It models user-entered receipt dates and downside cases; it does not assign a payment probability.
Sources and scope
- Payment terms — business.gov.au: Educational payment-event and term documentation context; not a global legal rule.
- Late commercial payments — GOV.UK: Local limitation example only; no UK rule is applied globally.
- Getting invoices right — UK Small Business Commissioner: Invoice-process corroboration; not contract wording.