Receivables, Payables & Cashflow Control in Excel

Q: Does the 45-day MSME rule apply to my business?

It applies to you as a **buyer** if your supplier is a Micro or Small, Udyam-registered, non-trading enterprise. Pay within 15 days (no agreement) or 45 days (with one), or lose the expense deduction for that year under Section 43B(h).

Last updated: 27 June 2026 · A practical hub for Indian SMBs running money control in Excel.

Cashflow control for an Indian SMB comes down to three linked habits: knowing who owes you (receivables), knowing whom you owe and by when (payables), and seeing the cash position ahead of time (forecast). You can run all three in Excel today — an outstanding tracker, an ageing report, a payables tracker tied to the 45-day MSME payment rule (Section 43B(h)), party ledgers, and a rolling cash-flow forecast — and tighten them with automated reminders. This pillar links to a focused guide and free template for each.

Key takeaways

Receivables first: an outstanding tracker plus an ageing report (0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+) tells you which invoices to chase today, not at month-end.
Payables discipline pays tax dividends: under Section 43B(h), payments to Micro and Small suppliers not made within 15 or 45 days are disallowed as an expense for that year — a real cash-and-tax hit.
Forecast beats firefighting: a 13-week rolling cash-flow forecast in Excel shows shortfalls weeks early, so you arrange funds before, not after.
Reminders close the loop: polite, automated WhatsApp/email reminders from your tracker recover money faster than ad-hoc follow-ups.
Reconciled ledgers prevent disputes: matching your party ledger to the customer's or vendor's statement removes the "but I already paid" arguments that stall collection.
Everything stays in Excel — offline, no new software to learn, and the same workbook your accountant already reads.

Fact box. The three pillars of SMB cash control are receivables (money in), payables (money out), and cashflow forecasting (timing). Get the timing wrong and a profitable business can still run out of cash — which is why ageing and forecasting matter as much as the totals.

What is cashflow management for a small business?

Cashflow management is making sure cash coming in (mostly customer collections) arrives in time to cover cash going out (suppliers, salaries, EMIs, taxes). It is about timing, not just profit — a business can be profitable on paper and still miss a salary run because a large invoice is stuck at 90 days.

In Excel, good cashflow management has five moving parts:

A receivables tracker — every unpaid sales invoice, due date and balance.
An ageing analysis — receivables (and payables) bucketed by how overdue they are.
A payables tracker — every unpaid purchase bill, with MSME-payment flags.
Party ledgers and reconciliation — a running account per customer and vendor.
A cash-flow statement and forecast — what actually moved, and what's coming.

How do I track outstanding receivables in Excel?

Start with one sheet listing every invoice you've raised: customer, invoice number, invoice date, due date, amount, amount received, and balance. A simple Amount − Received column gives the outstanding balance, and Due date − TODAY() (or TODAY() − Due date) gives days overdue. Sort by overdue and you have today's call list.

The full method — column layout, the formulas, conditional-formatting colours and a free workbook — is in the receivables guide below. The companion ageing report then groups those balances into 0–30, 31–60, 61–90 and 90+ day buckets so you can see your collection risk at a glance.

How do I control payables and the 45-day MSME rule?

A payables tracker mirrors the receivables sheet but for bills you owe: vendor, bill date, due date, amount, paid, balance. For Indian SMBs there's a second, tax-critical layer — Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act. If your supplier is a Micro or Small enterprise (Udyam-registered, non-trader), you must pay within 15 days (no written agreement) or up to 45 days (with one), or the expense is disallowed for that financial year and only deductible when you actually pay. Note: the payment clock runs from the day of acceptance (or deemed acceptance if no objection is raised by the buyer within 15 days of delivery) — those two 15-day periods are separate; the first fixes the start of the payment window, the second is the window itself. See the full guide for details.

That makes a payables tracker with a "days-to-MSME-deadline" flag one of the highest-value sheets a buyer can keep.

Fact box. Section 43B(h) applies only to Micro and Small Udyam-registered suppliers of goods or services — Medium enterprises and pure traders are excluded. The payment window is 15 days without a written agreement, extendable to a maximum of 45 days with one. (Source: Finance Act 2023; MSMED Act 2006, Section 15.)

How do I forecast cash and keep daily control?

Two sheets do most of the work. A cash-flow statement and forecast lists expected inflows (from your receivables ageing) and outflows (payables, salaries, EMIs, GST/TDS) week by week, so a running balance shows shortfalls in advance. A daily cash position sheet records the day's collections, payments and closing bank/cash balance, giving you a single number every evening.

How do I actually collect faster?

Tracking is only half the job — collection is the other half. Two tools help: automated payment reminders that fire from your tracker by WhatsApp or email when an invoice crosses its due date, and ledger reconciliation that matches your books to the customer's so disputes don't stall payment.

The complete cashflow toolkit (all guides)

Topic	What it does	Guide
Receivables tracker	List and chase unpaid sales invoices	Open »
Ageing report	Bucket balances 0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+	Open »
Payables tracker	List and schedule bills you owe	Open »
Section 43B(h)	45-day MSME payment rule + tracker	Open »
Cash-flow forecast	Project inflows/outflows week by week	Open »
Payment reminders	Auto WhatsApp/email follow-ups	Open »
Party ledger	Running account per customer/vendor	Open »
Ledger reconciliation	Match your books to theirs	Open »
EMI tracker	Track loan/working-capital instalments	Open »
Daily cash report	Today's collection & cash position	Open »

All workbooks are free to download, no sign-up.

How Ankeshan helps: Ankeshan turns these sheets into one connected system inside Excel — receivables, payables, ageing, 43B(h) flags and reminders update together as you record invoices and payments, offline. It's launching soon; join the waitlist.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between receivables and payables? Receivables are amounts customers owe you for sales you've made (money in). Payables are amounts you owe suppliers for purchases (money out). Tracking both, with due dates, is the core of cashflow control.

What is ageing analysis? Ageing analysis groups unpaid invoices by how long they've been overdue — typically 0–30, 31–60, 61–90 and 90+ days — so you can see how much of your money is at risk and prioritise collection.

Does the 45-day MSME rule apply to my business? It applies to you as a buyer if your supplier is a Micro or Small, Udyam-registered, non-trading enterprise. Pay within 15 days (no agreement) or 45 days (with one), or lose the expense deduction for that year under Section 43B(h).

Can I really run cashflow control in plain Excel? Yes. Receivables, payables, ageing, ledgers and a rolling forecast are all standard Excel work using SUMIF, TODAY() and conditional formatting. The guides in this hub give you the formulas and free workbooks.

How often should I update these sheets? Update receivables and payables whenever you raise an invoice or make/receive a payment — daily for most SMBs. Review the ageing report and forecast at least weekly.

Sources

Ministry of MSME / MSMED Act 2006 (Section 15 payment timelines): msme.gov.in.
Income Tax Department — Section 43B(h), Finance Act 2023: incometax.gov.in.
CBIC / GST portal for related invoice and return rules: cbic-gst.gov.in.

General information, not professional advice. Verify on the official portal for your case. Reviewed by a Chartered Accountant; last updated 27 June 2026.