1. Debt inventory and cash obligations
Build one factual, dated view of obligations and distinguish the amount owed from the cash that must leave the business soon.
By the end of this lesson, you can create a practical obligation inventory and a short cash-obligation calendar using only records you are authorized to review.
Make one inventory, not six disconnected lists
Debt becomes harder to manage when a term loan, business card, equipment payment, vendor balance, lease amount, tax payment plan, or owner-related advance appears only in a different inbox or portal. Start with a dated inventory. For each item, record a plain-language label, counterparty category, current known balance or amount due, payment amount or method, due date, whether the amount is fixed or variable, and the document or statement location. Mark an item as "to confirm" rather than guessing. An inventory is a control document, not a legal conclusion about what is enforceable or a recommendation about what should be paid first. Keep account numbers, login credentials, and personal identifiers out of a general worksheet; consult the underlying records privately when needed.
Separate recurring operating obligations from borrowed money, but put both on the same near-term calendar. Payroll, payroll-tax deposits, rent, insurance, vendor terms, and debt payments can all create cash demands even though they are not all loans. SBA guidance identifies accounts receivable, accounts payable, available cash, bank reconciliation, and payroll as basic finance-management functions. That is a useful prompt to reconcile records before relying on a number. A clear inventory lets an owner see a missed statement, a due-date cluster, or a payment whose amount changed, without assuming that any single document tells the whole story.
Cash timing is different from accounting recognition
For a short cash plan, use the date cash is expected to arrive and the date cash is expected to leave. Under accrual accounting, a sale can be recorded when the sale is completed even if the customer has not paid. Under cash accounting, the receipt is recorded when payment is received. Neither method alone replaces a near-term cash calendar. In this course, "expected receipt" means cash the business reasonably expects to have available on a stated date; it does not mean an invoice total or a hoped-for sale. Review actual bank activity and known timing rather than converting an unpaid invoice into spendable cash.
Hypothetical mini-example: available cash at the start of a seven-day period is $4,000. Expected customer receipts are $1,250, and expected cash outflows, including a scheduled debt payment of $300, are $3,100. Planned ending cash is calculated as $4,000 + $1,250 − $3,100 = $2,150. This is only a planning arithmetic example, not a prediction or a recommendation. If the $1,250 is delayed, the plan changes immediately. Keep a confidence note beside each expected receipt so the plan reveals uncertainty rather than concealing it.
Create a dated obligation-and-cash snapshot
- Choose one recent statement date and write it at the top of a blank worksheet.
- List each known loan, line, card, lease, payable, tax-related obligation, and recurring cash commitment in a separate row using a generic label only.
- For each row, copy the next known due date, amount or calculation method, and source document location; mark unknown fields "to confirm."
- Add expected cash receipts and expected cash outflows for the next seven calendar days using actual expected cash dates, not invoice dates alone.
- Reconcile the opening available-cash figure to an authorized bank record, calculate planned ending cash, and flag any date with more expected outflows than available cash plus expected receipts.
DEBT INVENTORY AND CASH OBLIGATIONS — BLANK WORKSHEET As-of date: ____________________ Opening available cash (verified from authorized record): ____________________ Obligation label | Counterparty category | Known balance/amount due | Next due date | Payment amount or method | Fixed / variable / to confirm | Source document location | Notes ________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ ________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ ________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ Seven-day cash calendar Date | Expected cash receipts | Confidence note | Expected cash outflows | Obligation reference | Daily note ________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ ________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ | ____________________ Formula: planned ending cash = opening available cash + expected cash receipts − expected cash outflows Planned ending cash: ____________________ Items to confirm before relying on this plan: ________________________________________________________________
Keep actual account/report numbers, Social Security numbers, passwords and confidential loan documents outside Renewra. You can complete the worksheet privately in your own secure records.
A real-world decision.
A step forward, on your terms.
Mark this lesson complete after reading and working through the exercise. This is self-reported progress, not proof of mastery or a professional credential.
This is general, self-paced education for the United States, checked October 6, 2026. It is not individualized legal, tax, accounting, insolvency, lending, investment, or creditor-negotiation advice; Renewra is not a lender, debt-settlement service, credit-repair service, law firm, accountant, or assigned SBA/FTC/CFPB/FDIC adviser. The course provides no funding, turnaround, business-survival, score-improvement, deletion, settlement, or approval guarantee, and it does not recommend delaying or ignoring payroll, taxes, court notices, secured obligations, or other legal obligations. Consumer credit-report disputes are free, and accurate negative consumer information generally cannot be removed merely because it is unfavorable; consumer rules do not automatically apply to commercial business reports. Do not use a false identity or make frivolous disputes. Any contract, financial statement, payment priority, tax matter, legal notice, or distress decision may require a qualified professional who can assess the facts and applicable law.
US educational context where applicable. Sources checked October 6, 2026; check official current requirements before acting.