Cash receipts and the collections curve
Sales to cash, week by week.
By Surojit Chakraverti, founder of L3VLUP and an investor running a long-short healthcare and technology equities strategy.
On this subject: cash receipts and the collections curve.Updated 30 September 2026
What it does
Cash in, not revenue. Each week’s sales are collected through a curve (a share in the week of invoice, more in the weeks after); the receivables already on the books are collected on their own schedule; and a haircut stands in for customers who stretch. The receivables roll-forward (opening plus sales less collections) ties the whole thing back to the balance sheet, and eligible receivables feed the borrowing base.
Where it lives
The same schedule in each model that carries it, with the rows to open. Open a model in the browser, go to the sheet, and click the lines.
- Assumptions, rows 12–18: Sales invoiced in the week, Collected in the week of invoice, Collected one week later, Collected two weeks later…
- Receipts, rows 6–10: Sales invoiced, Collected from sales inside the forecast, Collected from the opening receivables, Collections before the haircut…
- Receipts, rows 13–16: Opening receivables, Closing receivables: opening plus sales less collections, Eligible receivables, Check: the collections curve sums to one
What a reviewer looks for
- Receipts equal to sales.
- An opening book collected in week one in full.
- A curve that sums to more than one.
Learn it, then build it
Vocabulary: 13-Week Cash Flow, Working Capital.