Rolling 12-Month Forecast Template
Budgeting & Forecasting
Quick Answer
Enter your current actuals and updated business assumptions. Paste into Claude or ChatGPT. Receive a rolling 12-month forecast narrative with trajectory analysis and key assumption documentation.
What You Get
A rolling 12-month forecast narrative covering revenue trajectory, expense trend projection, cash position outlook, key changes from prior forecast, and the main assumptions driving the next 12 months.
Who Is This For
CFOs maintaining rolling forecasts for board and investor reporting, finance managers updating monthly forecasts, and founders who want a forward-looking view of financial performance.
About This Template
A rolling 12-month forecast is more useful than an annual budget because it always looks 12 months forward regardless of where you are in the fiscal year. Updated monthly, it reflects what you now know rather than what you thought in January. This template guides finance teams through entering current actuals and updated assumptions, then uses AI to produce a rolling forecast narrative explaining the trajectory, what has changed from last month, and what the next 12 months look like based on current trends.
Fill In Your Details
Your company name
e.g. July 2026
e.g. $850K MRR
e.g. 8 percent monthly MoM growth, or 3 percent MoM for more mature business
e.g. 2 percent monthly churn
e.g. $720K monthly total costs
e.g. costs growing at 5 percent per month as we hire, or flat at current level
e.g. $3.2M
What has changed since last month that affects the forecast
Gather these details then use them to fill in the prompt below.
AI Prompts
Generate rolling 12-month forecast
Paste this prompt into Claude or ChatGPT with your inputs filled in.
You are a CFO updating a rolling 12-month financial forecast. Using the current data below, produce a rolling forecast narrative. Company: [company_name] Forecast period: 12 months starting [forecast_start] Current MRR: [current_mrr] Expected monthly growth rate: [growth_rate] Monthly churn: [churn_rate] Current monthly cost base: [current_burn] Expected cost growth: [cost_growth] Current cash: [current_cash] Major changes vs prior forecast: [major_changes] Produce: 1. Revenue Trajectory — project monthly revenue for the next 12 months based on growth and churn rates. Show month 3, month 6, month 9, and month 12 milestones. 2. Cost Trajectory — project monthly costs for the next 12 months based on cost growth assumptions 3. Profitability Inflection — when does the business reach breakeven or hit the profitability target 4. Cash Position Outlook — project ending cash for months 3, 6, 9, 12 5. Key Forecast Assumptions — the 5 most important assumptions driving this forecast 6. Forecast Risks — what could cause the forecast to be materially wrong 7. Changes from Prior Forecast — what moved and why Calculate implied ARR at month 12. Flag if cash is projected to fall below 3 months of operating expenses at any point.
Sample Output
This is an example of what AI produces when you use this template.
Revenue Trajectory
Starting MRR of $850K growing at 8 percent monthly net of 2 percent churn (6 percent net growth). Month 3: $1.01M MRR ($12.2M ARR). Month 6: $1.21M MRR ($14.5M ARR). Month 9: $1.44M MRR ($17.3M ARR). Month 12: $1.71M MRR ($20.5M ARR). The business doubles MRR within 12 months at the current trajectory — a strong outcome that is achievable but assumes the 8 percent gross new MRR addition is maintained consistently, which requires adding approximately $85K in new MRR each month from new customers and expansion.
Cash Position Outlook
Starting cash $3.2M. At current revenue trajectory the business reaches cash flow breakeven in month 7 when MRR of approximately $1.3M covers the cost base of $1.27M. Month 3 cash: $2.65M (still burning at approximately $185K/month average). Month 6 cash: $2.38M (burn declining as revenue grows). Month 9 cash: $2.71M (now cash flow positive, accumulating cash). Month 12 cash: $3.38M. The 12-month forecast shows the business never dropping below $2.3M in cash — no capital constraint risk at this trajectory.