Thirteen weeks is one quarter, long enough to see the rent cheque, four payroll runs and a VAT payment in one view, and short enough that the settlement timings you enter are still real.

Where do card and delivery receipts go?

In the net settlement lines, in the week the money reaches the bank. Do not also enter the related POS sales or the fees the platform deducted — the sheet works from cash, not sales.

Customer receipts and supplier payments are entered VAT-inclusive where VAT was charged; the actual net payment to the Federal Tax Authority goes in its own row in the week it is due. The UAE standard rate is 5% (Ministry of Finance, checked 28 Sep 2026); confirm your registration and treatment with the finance owner.

Is the Example sheet a benchmark?

No. It is fictional, built to show the mechanics. It is not a client result and the figures are not typical ranges for any format.

Can I unlock and change the formulas?

Yes — formula cells are not password-protected, so the file stays fully editable. In routine use edit the blue input cells only.

UAE Restaurant Operations Toolkit · Cash · 13 weeks

UAE Restaurant Cash Flow Template — 13-week forecast

Thirteen weeks of receipts, payments and closing cash, with a buffer alert on every week — so payroll and the rent cheque never arrive as a surprise.

Download the Excel workbook XLSX · 25 KB · free, nothing stored What is in the file, and the complete toolkit ↓

Who it is for: Owners and managers of a UAE restaurant, café or cloud kitchen who settle payroll, rent and suppliers from one bank account and want to see the next quarter before it happens.
The problem it removes: A profitable month can still miss payroll. Card and delivery settlements arrive days after the sale, the rent cheque falls in one week, the net VAT payment in another, and the P&L shows none of that timing.
What you leave with: A week-by-week view of opening cash, receipts, payments and closing cash for the next 13 weeks, with the lowest projected balance and a status line — at or above buffer, below buffer, or negative — for each week.

The files

Download Excel workbook XLSX · 25 KB · 4 sheets

Format: XLSX
Version: UAE edition 1.0
Reviewed: 28 September 2026
Access: Free · direct · nothing stored

Files are the published copies of GGB's UAE edition: formulas and formatting intact, editable, with a link back to this page for updates. The complete toolkit is also one download — all files as a ZIP (759 KB).

What is inside — previews from the filerendered from the published file

The Example sheet of the cash-flow workbook: week-commencing dates across the top, receipts and payments down the side, blue editable cells and green calculated totals. — Sheet “Example” — the fictional Dubai café, weeks 1 to 7 of 13

The Start here sheet: numbered rules on receipt timing, VAT treatment, payments, avoiding double counts, the weekly review and cash versus profit. — Sheet “Start here” — the seven rules for filling the forecast

Start here — seven rules for entering receipts, payments, VAT and financing without double counting
Forecast — your outlet: 13 weeks, six receipt lines, sixteen UAE payment categories, closing cash, headroom against the buffer and a status row
Example — a fictional Dubai café with every formula live, to see the mechanics before you overwrite it
Actions — a cash-risk log with owner, due date, expected cash effect and status
Two charts of closing cash against the buffer, one on each forecast sheet

How to use it — three steps

On Forecast, set the first week, the cash actually available today and the minimum buffer you refuse to go below. All amounts in AED.
Enter money in the week it reaches the bank — card and delivery settlements net of fees — and every known payment in its expected week: suppliers, WPS payroll, rent cheques, visas, licences, insurance, the net VAT payment.
Read the closing-cash and status rows, note the lowest week, and log one action with an owner and a date for any week that reads below buffer. Review it weekly against the bank balance.

Worked example · illustrative, not a client resultthe workbook's own fictional example sheet

The fictional Dubai café in the Example sheet

Opening cash AED 50,000 with a AED 15,000 buffer. Receipts of AED 30,000 a week (cash, net card and net delivery settlements). Suppliers AED 10,000 a week, cleaning AED 1,200 a week, payroll AED 22,000 and utilities AED 1,800 every fourth week, one rent cheque of AED 30,000 in week 6 and a net VAT payment of AED 5,000 in week 8.

Closing cash each week, AED, from the Example sheet. Hatched: the lowest week. The dashed line is the AED 15,000 buffer.

The thirteen weeks as a table

Week	Opening	Receipts	Payments	Closing	Status
1 · 28 Sep 2026	50,000	30,000	35,000	45,000	at / above buffer
2 · 05 Oct 2026	45,000	30,000	11,200	63,800	at / above buffer
3 · 12 Oct 2026	63,800	30,000	11,200	82,600	at / above buffer
4 · 19 Oct 2026	82,600	30,000	11,200	101,400	at / above buffer
5 · 26 Oct 2026	101,400	30,000	35,000	96,400	at / above buffer
6 · 02 Nov 2026	96,400	30,000	41,200	85,200	at / above buffer
7 · 09 Nov 2026	85,200	30,000	11,200	104,000	at / above buffer
8 · 16 Nov 2026	104,000	30,000	16,200	117,800	at / above buffer
9 · 23 Nov 2026	117,800	30,000	35,000	112,800	at / above buffer
10 · 30 Nov 2026	112,800	30,000	11,200	131,600	at / above buffer
11 · 07 Dec 2026	131,600	30,000	11,200	150,400	at / above buffer
12 · 14 Dec 2026	150,400	30,000	11,200	169,200	at / above buffer
13 · 21 Dec 2026	169,200	30,000	35,000	164,200	at / above buffer

Week 1 is the tightest week of the run — payroll and utilities land before the first full week of receipts, and closing cash dips to AED 45,000. Every week after that reads at or above the buffer.

The rent cheque in week 6 is the one to watch: closing cash falls from AED 96,400 to AED 85,200 while receipts are unchanged. Had the cheque been a quarter’s rent of AED 90,000 instead, week 6 would have closed at AED 25,200 — still above the AED 15,000 buffer, but with only AED 10,200 of headroom.

That is the point of the sheet. The P&L would show the same profit either way; only the cash view tells you which week needs the overdraft conversation, the supplier call or the owner top-up — and how many weeks you have to arrange it.

Common mistakes

Entering POS sales instead of net settlements — card and aggregator money arrives later and smaller than the till says.
Adding VAT on top of receipts and purchases that already include it; the sheet takes VAT-inclusive cash and a separate net FTA payment.
Treating the owner’s top-up or a loan as revenue: they are financing receipts, and loan repayments include principal as well as interest.
Leaving a payment category at zero because the amount is not yet known — a blank is not evidence of sufficient cash.
Rolling the forecast forward without saving a dated archive, so last quarter’s assumptions cannot be checked against what happened.

What it does not do

It is a cash forecast, not a P&L or a VAT return: it does not calculate VAT due, depreciation or accruals.
Local taxes and fees are entered only where they apply to your business and emirate, from your accountant’s schedule; nothing is asserted about corporate tax, municipality or tourism fees.
Thirteen weeks is a horizon, not a promise — the sheet is as good as the settlement timings and commitments you enter.

Questions

Why 13 weeks?: Thirteen weeks is one quarter, long enough to see the rent cheque, four payroll runs and a VAT payment in one view, and short enough that the settlement timings you enter are still real.
Where do card and delivery receipts go?: In the net settlement lines, in the week the money reaches the bank. Do not also enter the related POS sales or the fees the platform deducted — the sheet works from cash, not sales.
How is VAT handled?: Customer receipts and supplier payments are entered VAT-inclusive where VAT was charged; the actual net payment to the Federal Tax Authority goes in its own row in the week it is due. The UAE standard rate is 5% (Ministry of Finance, checked 28 Sep 2026); confirm your registration and treatment with the finance owner.
Is the Example sheet a benchmark?: No. It is fictional, built to show the mechanics. It is not a client result and the figures are not typical ranges for any format.
Can I unlock and change the formulas?: Yes — formula cells are not password-protected, so the file stays fully editable. In routine use edit the blue input cells only.

Official references the template uses

UAE Ministry of Finance — Value Added Tax — standard rate; checked 28 Sep 2026

Prepared by GGB Consulting as an operating template. Not legal, tax or financial advice; HR and finance owners confirm the treatment that applies to the employer and the emirate.