Liquidity classroom worksheet: build a payment calendar and find the cash gap

Prepare two calendars for 45 minutes

Allow five minutes for the starting balances, ten for ratios, ten for calendar one, ten for calendar two and ten for comparison. Draw day 1 through day 12 on two sheets. One student places the bill, another the customer payment and a third tracks cash. No new borrowing or other funding option is supplied.

On day 1 the company has cash 20, receivables 60, inventory 60 and current liabilities 100, all in fictional SEK thousands. These are its only current assets. A liability of 50 is payable on day 5. Of the receivables, 40 will be collected; the remaining 20 arrives after the calendar ends. Inventory is not sold in the base cases.

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Student worksheet: calculate on the same balance date

Define current ratio as current assets divided by current liabilities. Our quick ratio uses the same numerator without inventory. Calculate both as percentages and label the balance date. This simplified numerator excludes items such as prepaid expenses; a real report may require additional boundaries before its ratios can be compared.

Answers are (20 + 60 + 60) / 100 × 100 = 140% and (20 + 60) / 100 × 100 = 80%. Receivables enter the latter ratio but have not yet become money in the bank account. Write cash 20 next to the ratios, without calling 80% a cash balance of 80 thousand.

Two calendars: collection on day 4 or day 12

Group one collects 40 on day 4. Cash rises to 60, the bill of 50 can be paid on day 5, and cash then falls to 10. Group two collects the same amount only on day 12. Before day 5 it still has just 20 against a required payment of 50.

Group two has a projected shortfall of SEK 30 thousand. Calculated balance 20 − 50 = −30 shows a funding need in the plan, not a completed payment without funding. If the group does not pay the bill, the liability remains. Later collection does not change the fact that the due date has passed. Both groups had identical starting ratios.

Teacher notes: change the plan using specified cards

Give a new scenario starting from the same balances: before day 5, inventory with carrying amount 30 is sold for exactly 30 in cash, and 20 of receivables is collected. These events and the bill of 50 are the only transactions. Ask students to move the corresponding asset cards and show cash before and after paying the bill.

Assess whether students separate a projected negative amount from a paid liability, track inventory and receivables, and include dates in their conclusion. Ask which customer-payment information is missing in a real case. This is a planning model, not advice to delay an invoice. Its connection to Investiq is continued concept learning, rather than invoice payments in the app.