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Get MatchedWorking Capital & Cash Cycle Calculator
How many days does each dollar stay trapped in inventory and receivables before it comes home? Five balance-sheet numbers show you — and what freeing ten days is worth.
Your Numbers
By using this tool you acknowledge that all results are high-level estimates for educational purposes only — not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Figures are rounded for display and may not sum exactly, though results remain directionally accurate. For real decisions, consult a qualified professional or talk to a CFO.
Your Cycle, Visualized
What Freeing 10 Days Is Worth
Each lever shown independently: cash released = 10 days × the relevant daily rate (revenue/365 for DSO, COGS/365 for DIO and DPO).
Download Your Working Capital Report (PDF)
Your cycle, all three components, the cash-release math, and the priority order — as a shareable PDF for your banker or partner. Leave your email to download.
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The Cheapest Financing You'll Ever Find Is Inside Your Balance Sheet
Every business runs a hidden loan: the cash paid for materials and labor weeks or months before customers pay it back. The cash conversion cycle measures that loan's duration — days of inventory on hand, plus days waiting on receivables, minus the days your suppliers wait on you. Multiply the cycle by your daily cost of doing business and you get the working capital permanently trapped in operations: money that behaves like an interest-free loan you extended to your own company.
Why manufacturers feel it most
Manufacturing sits at the long end of the spectrum — raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods stack inventory days on top of B2B receivable terms. Cycles of 60–100 days are normal; past 120, growth becomes self-punishing, because every new order demands its working capital upfront. This is the mechanical reason profitable manufacturers run out of cash while growing: the P&L records the profit immediately, but the cycle delays the cash by a quarter.
The order of operations
Receivables first: invoicing same-day and chasing systematically is fast, free, and entirely within your control. Payables second: suppliers often accept longer terms for reliable payers who simply ask. Inventory last but largest: planning, lot sizes, and dead-stock cleanup take longer but usually hold the most days. Ten days off a typical mid-sized manufacturer's cycle releases six figures of cash — permanently, and without a lender involved.
When to Bring in a CFO
If your cycle runs past benchmark, or cash keeps tightening while the P&L shows profit, working capital discipline is the likeliest fix — and it's core fractional CFO work: aging analysis, terms renegotiation, inventory policy, and a 13-week cash forecast to hold it all together. Through the US Fractional CFO Alliance you can speak with up to six manufacturing-experienced CFOs and choose who you work with — free, first introduction within two working days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cash conversion cycle?
DIO + DSO − DPO: the days between paying for inputs and collecting from customers.
What's a good cycle for manufacturers?
60–100 days is typical; under 60 strong; over 120 means growth will starve the business of cash.
How do I shorten it?
Receivables discipline first, supplier terms second, inventory planning third — fastest to largest.
Why does growth create cash problems?
Working capital scales with revenue — every new sales dollar must fund its share of inventory and receivables before it returns anything.