This tool works through a fictional small food stall. You enter opening cash, three months of receipts and payments, and the selling price, costs and units for a contribution and break-even case.
Free tool · Principles of Accounting
Cash budget and contribution tutor
You can follow a cash budget in class but freeze when the numbers change.
Everything you enter stays on this device.
It is for students who understand each line of a cash budget but lose the thread when closing balances carry forward, or who mix up contribution and profit.
How do I use it?
- Read the case note, then keep the example figures or replace them with your own practice case.
- Enter the opening cash, then receipts and payments for months 1 to 3.
- Enter the selling price, variable cost per unit, fixed costs and units sold.
- Press “Calculate” and read the tables, then open each question to check your reasoning.
How does it work?
For each month the tool calculates net cash flow as receipts minus payments, then closing cash as opening cash plus net cash flow. That closing figure becomes the next month’s opening cash.
Contribution per unit is the selling price minus the variable cost per unit. Total contribution is that amount times the units sold, and profit is total contribution minus fixed costs.
Break-even units equal fixed costs divided by contribution per unit, rounded up to a whole unit. The margin of safety is the units sold minus the break-even units. If the contribution per unit is zero or negative, the tool blocks the division and explains why.
A short worked example
With opening cash RM100, receipts RM200 and payments RM150, closing cash is 100 + 200 − 150 = RM150.
Now take the contribution case. Work in RM: selling price 25 less variable cost 15 leaves a contribution of 10. With fixed costs of 3 000, the break-even point is 3 000 ÷ 10 = 300 units.
If 400 units are sold, total contribution is RM4 000 and profit is RM1 000. The margin of safety is 100 units.
What are its limits?
This is an educational case with fictional figures, so it does not describe any real business. Receipts and payments mean cash that actually moves in the month, not credit sales or purchases.
The tool assumes a constant selling price and costs that stay fixed or variable as labelled. It gives no personal financial advice and does not plan real household or business money.
Where does it connect to the lessons?
The topic belongs to cost and management accounting within the SPM Accounting subject hub. Try the tool first with your own textbook case, then check each line against the steps above.
If the carry-forward or the contribution steps keep going wrong, SPM Accounting tuition gives you a teacher to practise them with you. It starts with the one-hour trial class (from RM50), and other study tools are listed in the tools library.
Common questions
Why does opening cash equal the previous month's closing cash?
Cash is a single running balance. Whatever is left when one month ends is exactly what the business holds when the next month begins, so the budget is a chain, not separate months.
Why can break-even not be calculated sometimes?
Break-even divides fixed costs by the contribution per unit. If the contribution is zero or negative, each extra unit adds nothing or loses money, so no number of units covers the fixed costs. The tool stops and says so.
Why is the break-even rounded up?
You cannot sell part of a unit, and selling the lower whole number leaves the fixed costs just uncovered. Rounding up gives the first whole number of units at which the business does not make a loss.
Can I use my own figures?
Yes, for practice cases you make up or get from your book. Use RM and whole units, and treat the results as a check of your method. The tool is educational and not financial advice for a real business.
A teacher working one-to-one can give you fresh cash budget and break-even cases, watch where your working slips, and stay on that step until you can explain it without the tool.
- Online one-to-one lessons for your child with an experienced teacher.
- Your first class is a one-hour trial, from RM50. The fee is agreed before you book.
- Happy with the teacher? Continue with lessons of about 1.5 hours. If not, ask for another teacher.