Cash flow calendar: a calendar of money coming in and going out

Fatma Hanım the tailor's hard week

Fatma Hanım is a tailor. She does 30,000 lira of work a month, and she makes a profit. But she has to pay the rent on the 5th of the month, her debt to the fabric supplier on the 10th, and the SGK (Social Security Institution) premium and tax at the end of the month. Customer payments, on the other hand, come in after the 20th of the month. The result: a cash squeeze in the first half of the month.

The problem is not profit. The problem is that the days money comes in and the days money goes out do not line up.

What is cash flow?

Cash flow (nakit akışı) is a breakdown, by date, of the money coming into and going out of your business over a period. The profit calculation answers the question "what did you earn?"; cash flow answers the question "how much money will you have on which day?"

They are two different questions (see Profit but no cash (in Turkish)).

How to make a simple calendar

A sheet of paper or a spreadsheet is enough. Three columns: Day, In, Out. Then, at the end of each day, write down the estimated money in the cash box.

This table is an example. Notice that on the 5th and the 10th of the month the balance goes below zero. If Fatma Hanım sees this at the start of the month, she can look for a solution: she can push back the fabric supplier's payment date by a few days, ask for an advance, or collect from customers earlier. Someone who doesn't see it in advance finds out on the day.

Write down the fixed outgoings

Payments that repeat every month: rent, employees' salaries, electricity/water/internet, your employees' SGK premiums, your own Bağ-Kur premium (Bağ-Kur is the social security scheme for the self-employed), loan instalments, the accountant's fee. Write these into the calendar once and copy them every month. If you have three or more employees, you must pay salaries through a bank (since 1 July 2025); on payday that money must be ready in the bank.

Don't forget the tax days

Put the tax filing and payment days in your calendar. These days vary by year, by tax and by the situation of the business; they can also shift because of a public holiday or an announcement. Example: in May 2026 the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi) issued a circular extending the deadline for the combined withholding tax and social security premium return (muhtasar ve prim hizmet beyannamesi) from 26 May to 3 June, and the deadline for the VAT (KDV, value added tax) return from 1 June to 5 June (VUK Circular/199, VUK Sirküleri/199, 15 May 2026). So the day you have written on paper can change with an announcement.

Your employees' insurance premium also goes into the calendar: the premium for a month is paid by the end of the month following that month (Law No. 5510, art. 88). The combined withholding tax and social security premium return, in which the premium is reported, is filed earlier, by the 26th of the following month. Confirm the current days with your accountant.

Ask your accountant which return is filed on which day for your business, and write it in your calendar. For details, you can also look at our article Tax calendar (in Turkish).

Estimating the money coming in

There are two kinds on the incoming side:

• Paid on the spot: Daily sales, jobs paid for immediately. Estimate by looking at last month's average.
• Expected: Credit sales, sales on payment terms. If the customer said "I'll pay on the 20th", write it on the 20th; but also allow for a week's delay.

It's fine if the estimate is off. The aim is not to be exactly right, but to see in advance the day you will run out of money.

How do you use the calendar?

1. Prepare it at the start of the month.
2. Once a week, compare it with what actually happened.
3. If you see a day that goes below zero, look for a remedy: bring collections forward, push payments back, ask for an advance.
4. At the end of the month, look at where the difference was, and correct it next month.

A common misconception: "I already know"

Most employers keep payment days in their head and at the end of the month say, "How did it come to so much?" Putting it on paper makes the same information visible. Writing something down is the first step in planning it. You can make the first version of the calendar in an hour; the following months are just copy and paste.

The calendar's second benefit

The calendar gives you bargaining power. If you know at the start of the month which day will go below zero, you can talk to your supplier in advance: "Could you give me until this date to pay?"; asking on the first day is much easier than calling on the last. You also speak more clearly with customers: "Could I have an advance?" or "Could you make the payment by this date?"

In one sentence

A cash flow calendar means hearing "the money won't be enough" at the start of the month, not at the end.