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Case Study8 min read

The Week 8 Problem: How a Profitable Company Nearly Missed Payroll

A growing tech services company with $4.8M revenue and healthy profits found themselves 10 days away from missing payroll. Here's what went wrong and how they fixed it.

SA
Brisbane, Australia
January 4, 2026

The Crisis

Nexus Technologies had been growing 35% year-over-year. Their P&L looked great. They were winning bigger contracts. Everything seemed fine.

Then in just 8 weeks, their operating account dropped from $420,000 to $85,000.

Upcoming Obligations
  • Payroll (10 days)$82,000
  • Vendor payments (3 weeks)$178,000
  • Delayed client payment-$95,000
Cash available$85,000

The Growth Paradox

On paper, Nexus was doing everything right:

$685K
Accounts Receivable
$1.2M
Signed Contracts
35%
YoY Growth

But here's the problem: revenue on paper doesn't pay bills. They were winning work faster than they were collecting cash.

How 8 Weeks Changed Everything

1
Week 1-2—Won two large contracts
+$240K (signed)|Payment terms: Net 60
2
Week 3—Hired 4 new staff
-$45K/month added|Payroll due every 2 weeks
3
Week 4—Vendor payments due
-$120K|Contracted deliverables
4
Week 5-6—Client payment delayed
-$95K (expected)|Client internal approval delays
5
Week 7—Second payroll cycle
-$82K|Non-negotiable
6
Week 8—Cash crisis discovered
$85K remaining|Payroll in 10 days: $82K needed

The Root Cause

Nexus wasn't tracking cash flow — they were tracking revenue. Their accounting system showed a healthy P&L, but nobody was watching the bank account.

What They Tracked

Revenue, profit margins, contract pipeline

What They Should Have Tracked

Cash position, 13-week rolling forecast, days sales outstanding

The Four Lessons

1

Revenue ≠ Cash

A signed contract isn't money in the bank. Payment terms, collection delays, and billing cycles all create gaps between earning and receiving.

2

Growth Consumes Cash

Every new hire, every new project, every expansion requires cash upfront. The faster you grow, the more working capital you need.

3

Visibility Prevents Crisis

Nexus had the data. They just weren't looking at it the right way. A 13-week rolling forecast would have flagged the problem in Week 3.

4

Profitable ≠ Solvent

You can be profitable on paper and still run out of cash. Accrual accounting and cash accounting tell different stories.

What Nexus Built

After the crisis, Nexus implemented a cash forecasting system:

•
13-Week Rolling Forecast
Updated weekly. Shows exactly when cash will hit and when obligations are due.
•
AR Aging Dashboard
Real-time visibility into what's owed and when it's expected.
•
Cash Runway Alerts
Automatic warnings when runway drops below 8 weeks.
•
Scenario Modelling
What-if analysis for delayed payments, new hires, unexpected expenses.

Need Cash Flow Visibility?

We build practical financial tools for growing businesses — cash forecasting, AR management, and financial dashboards that show what matters.

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