Act on the result
Choose one inventory, collection or supplier-term change and assign an owner and review date.
Educational only: Business decision support, not accounting, tax or legal advice.
Privacy: No account is required. Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral small-business planning using your own assumptions.
What this planner helps you decide
Best for
Owners reviewing how stock, customer collections and supplier terms affect working capital.
Outputs
Current and proposed cycle days, estimated cash tied in the cycle and cash released by the proposed change.
Start here
Use recent average operating days and annual records, then test one achievable working-capital change.
Use a different tool when: Do not use this to forecast weekly closing cash, the first shortfall and the funding gap across a 13-week operating horizon; use 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast for that decision. Use this tool to reduce working-capital days across inventory, receivables and payables.
Cash & growth
Cash Conversion Cycle: current and proposed cycle days
Current and proposed cycle days, estimated cash tied in the cycle and cash released by the proposed change.
Amounts use the same currency as your inputs. No currency conversion is performed.
Planning assumptions
Use records and assumptions from one consistent period. Values stay in this browser.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Average days inventory remains on hand.
Average days customers take to pay.
Average days before suppliers are paid.
Annual cost base used for inventory and payables. Use one consistent currency and time basis.
Annual sales made on credit. Use one consistent currency and time basis.
Use the same annual convention as the entered records.
Test a realistic inventory-cycle target.
Test a realistic collection target.
Test a supplier-term target that remains commercially valid.
Decision result
Each output is bound to its own registered engine formula step.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
- Current cash conversion cycle
- 50 days
- Estimated Cash Tied In Cycle
- 110,958.90
- Proposed Cash Conversion Days
- 33 days
- Cash Released By Improvement
- 33,698.63
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Current scenario50.00Baseline
Lower Proposed receivable days50.000.00
Higher Proposed receivable days50.000.00
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Current cash conversion cycle
Cash Conversion Days
inventory days + receivable days − payable days50 daysResult50 days
Uses one consistent market-neutral ex-tax basis and planning period. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Cash Conversion Cycle Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Cash Conversion DaysInventory Days
- 45
- Cash Conversion DaysReceivable Days
- 35
- Cash Conversion DaysPayable Days
- 30
- Cash Conversion DaysAnnual Cost Of Goods Sold
- 600,000
- Cash Conversion DaysAnnual Credit Sales
- 900,000
- Cash Conversion DaysPeriod Days
- 365
- Cash Conversion DaysProposed Inventory Days
- 40
- Cash Conversion DaysProposed Receivable Days
- 28
- Cash Conversion DaysProposed Payable Days
- 35
Estimated Cash Tied In Cycle
Estimated Cash Tied In Cycle
inventory cash + receivables cash − payables cash110,958.90Result110,958.90
Uses one consistent market-neutral ex-tax basis and planning period. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Cash Conversion Cycle Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleInventory Days
- 45
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleReceivable Days
- 35
- Estimated Cash Tied In CyclePayable Days
- 30
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleAnnual Cost Of Goods Sold
- 600,000
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleAnnual Credit Sales
- 900,000
- Estimated Cash Tied In CyclePeriod Days
- 365
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleProposed Inventory Days
- 40
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleProposed Receivable Days
- 28
- Estimated Cash Tied In CycleProposed Payable Days
- 35
Proposed Cash Conversion Days
Proposed Cash Conversion Days
proposed inventory days + proposed receivable days − proposed payable days33 daysResult33 days
Uses one consistent market-neutral ex-tax basis and planning period. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Cash Conversion Cycle Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysInventory Days
- 45
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysReceivable Days
- 35
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysPayable Days
- 30
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysAnnual Cost Of Goods Sold
- 600,000
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysAnnual Credit Sales
- 900,000
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysPeriod Days
- 365
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysProposed Inventory Days
- 40
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysProposed Receivable Days
- 28
- Proposed Cash Conversion DaysProposed Payable Days
- 35
Cash Released By Improvement
Cash Released By Improvement
current cash tied in cycle − proposed cash tied in cycle33,698.63Result33,698.63
Uses one consistent market-neutral ex-tax basis and planning period. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Cash Conversion Cycle Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Cash Released By ImprovementInventory Days
- 45
- Cash Released By ImprovementReceivable Days
- 35
- Cash Released By ImprovementPayable Days
- 30
- Cash Released By ImprovementAnnual Cost Of Goods Sold
- 600,000
- Cash Released By ImprovementAnnual Credit Sales
- 900,000
- Cash Released By ImprovementPeriod Days
- 365
- Cash Released By ImprovementProposed Inventory Days
- 40
- Cash Released By ImprovementProposed Receivable Days
- 28
- Cash Released By ImprovementProposed Payable Days
- 35
Inputs used
- Inventory days
- 45
- Receivable days
- 35
- Payable days
- 30
- Annual cost of goods sold
- 600,000
- Annual credit sales
- 900,000
- Days in annual basis
- 365
- Proposed inventory days
- 40
- Proposed receivable days
- 28
- Proposed payable days
- 35
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario links contain only allowlisted numeric and closed-choice inputs shown in the URL; Margin101 excludes free text and identifying fields. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| annualCostOfGoodsSold | Annual cost base used for inventory and payables. Use one consistent currency and time basis. | currency units/entered annual basis on the selected cost and tax basis | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 600000 |
| annualCreditSales | Annual sales made on credit. Use one consistent currency and time basis. | currency units/entered annual basis on the selected sales and tax basis | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 900000 |
| inventoryDays | Average days inventory remains on hand. | calendar days/current inventory holding cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 45 |
| payableDays | Average days before suppliers are paid. | calendar days/current supplier payment cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 30 |
| periodDays | Use the same annual convention as the entered records. | whole calendar days/entered annual calculation basis | 1 to 366 | Required | 365 |
| proposedInventoryDays | Test a realistic inventory-cycle target. | calendar days/proposed inventory holding cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 40 |
| proposedPayableDays | Test a supplier-term target that remains commercially valid. | calendar days/proposed supplier payment cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 35 |
| proposedReceivableDays | Test a realistic collection target. | calendar days/proposed customer collection cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 28 |
| receivableDays | Average days customers take to pay. | calendar days/current customer collection cycle | 0 to 3650 | Required | 35 |
Cash Conversion Cycle: current and proposed cycle days
Use cycle days to locate where operating cash is absorbed; the estimated release is a scenario, not a forecast.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- inventory days + receivable days − payable days
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the general business formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Stress-test the decision
Retest lower sales, slower collections or less favourable supplier terms before relying on released cash.
When this estimate can be misleading
- This model excludes lender fees, tax effects, covenant wording and lender-specific assessments.
- Results depend on complete, consistently classified inputs.
- Demand, timing, quality and strategic fit remain separate decisions.
- This is educational business decision support, not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice.
- Use cycle days to locate where operating cash is absorbed; the estimated release is a scenario, not a forecast.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- Working Capital Explained for Small Businesses
Separate net current assets from operating working-capital requirements before testing receivables, inventory and payables changes.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
How do I reduce working-capital days across inventory, receivables and payables?
Choose one inventory, collection or supplier-term change and assign an owner and review date.
Which planning assumptions should I stress-test?
Compare a plausible alternative scenario and verify the decision-critical assumption that changes the plan most.