Turnaround 30-60-90 Playbook

Executive summary

A turnaround plan has one job in the first month: make sure the company can pay for the next 13 weeks. Everything else, including strategy, restructuring the cost base, and growth, depends on having cash and time. Companies in trouble usually do the reverse. They spend the first month on a strategy deck while cash quietly runs down and lender patience goes with it.

This playbook splits the first 90 days into three phases with different goals.

• Days 1-30, stabilize. Take control of cash, build a weekly 13-week forecast, talk to the lender and key suppliers before they call you, and stop the avoidable leaks.
• Days 31-60, fix. Find the operating causes (pricing, margin, cost, service failures, working capital) and start the fixes that change the run-rate, not just the timing.
• Days 61-90, grow. Once cash is steady and the base is repaired, decide where to put scarce capital and attention: which customers, products, and segments earn their place.

The rule that holds across all three phases is cash first. Margin improvement and growth matter, but a company that runs out of cash during month two never collects the benefit.

One boundary is worth stating at the start. If the company is in default, close to default, or considering any restructuring or insolvency process, you need counsel and your credit agreement in the room from day one. This playbook covers the operating and financial work. It is not legal advice, and it does not tell you what your agreements permit or what your directors' duties require.

When to use this

Use this playbook when two or more of these are true:

• The 13-week cash forecast shows a low point below your internal minimum, or you do not have a 13-week forecast at all.
• You have missed, or expect to miss, a covenant test, or you are using waivers to get through each quarter.
• Suppliers have started to tighten terms, ask for cash in advance, or place you on credit hold.
• Payroll, taxes, or rent have been paid late or came close to it.
• Revenue is flat or falling while the cost base is unchanged, and no one can say which customers or products make money.
• A new CEO, CFO, or sponsor-appointed operating partner has just taken over a company already under pressure.

Do not use it as a substitute for the earlier, calmer work. If you are not yet in trouble but want a steady cash discipline, start with the cash flow operating system playbook. If you are inside the first two weeks of an acute liquidity event, read liquidity crisis triage first and come back here for the 90-day structure.

Diagnostic questions

Answer these in the first 48 hours. Most can be answered from the bank portal, the ERP, and the credit agreement.

1. What is cash in every bank account today, and which of those balances are actually available (not trapped in another entity, restricted, or subject to a lender sweep)?
2. How much undrawn revolver or other committed liquidity is available today, after the borrowing base and any reserves?
3. What are the next four weekly payrolls, tax remittances, rent, debt service, and critical supplier payments, in dated order?
4. Is there a weekly cash forecast, who built it, and how did last month's forecast compare with actual receipts and disbursements?
5. Which financial covenants apply, what are the test dates, and what is the current headroom on each?
6. Has any default, event of default, or reporting deadline already occurred or been missed, and has anyone read the notice and cure provisions with counsel?
7. Which suppliers are critical (sole-source, long lead time, safety-relevant) and which are replaceable? Who is on credit hold or cash in advance?
8. How old is receivable and inventory, and how much of each is genuinely collectible or sellable?
9. Which customers, products, and locations lose money after fully loaded cost, and how confident are you in that answer?
10. Who has authority to commit cash, and is every payment above a stated threshold approved by one person?
11. Which people are essential to the next 90 days, and are any at risk of leaving?
12. Which stakeholders (lender, sponsor, board, key customers, key suppliers, landlord) have been told what, and by whom?

Rule of thumb for reading the answers: if questions 1 to 4 have no clear answer, the company has a visibility problem before it has a strategy problem. Fix visibility first. If questions 5 and 6 raise anything uncertain, stop and get counsel before talking to the lender.

The framework: stabilize, fix, grow

Three principles run through all three phases.

Cash first. Every action is ranked by when it produces cash and how certain it is. A cost cut that saves money in six months does not help a company that is short in week five.

One version of the truth. A single 13-week forecast, owned by one person, updated weekly with actuals, is the shared language between management, the board, and the lender. Without it, every conversation turns into an argument about whose numbers are right.

Fix causes, not symptoms. A late payment to suppliers fixes a cash gap for a week and creates a supply problem for a quarter. A price increase on the wrong customers fixes margin and loses revenue. The fix phase exists to separate real improvements from timing moves.

Step-by-step process

Days 1-30: Stabilize

Week 1: take control of cash.

1. Centralize visibility. List every bank account, balance, available balance, and signatory. Owner: CFO or Controller. Output: one-page cash position by entity and account, refreshed daily.
2. Set payment control. Require a named approver for every payment above a threshold you set (start low). Make payroll, taxes, and secured debt service the first priorities in the payment order. Owner: CFO. Output: written payment priority list and approval rule. Whether any payment is restricted by your agreements, or exposes directors or officers to personal liability, is a question for counsel.
3. Build the 13-week cash forecast. Use the direct method (receipts and disbursements), weekly, rolled forward each week. Use the 13-week cash flow forecast template or the 13-week cash flow builder. Owner: FP&A or the CFO. Output: a forecast with a stated low point and week of the low point.
4. Read the credit agreement with counsel. Identify covenants, reporting requirements, cure rights, restricted payments, and what counts as a default. Owner: CFO and counsel. Output: a short obligations summary that the whole leadership team can read. See covenant compliance and headroom tracking for tracking.
5. Name the people. Appoint one cash owner (often the CFO or an interim finance lead), one lender and creditor communications lead, and one operations lead. Output: a three-line org chart for the crisis period.

Week 2: close the first gap.

6. Rank cash actions by timing and certainty. List every possible source of cash (collections, inventory, vendor sequencing, spend holds, asset sales, equity or lender support) with an amount, a date, a probability, and an owner. Output: a ranked list. Do not count anything the lender or a supplier must agree to as certain until they have agreed.
7. Work the receivables. Call every past-due account above a materiality threshold, resolve disputes, and issue overdue invoices. See AR aging analysis and collections prioritization and how to reduce DSO. Owner: Controller and the sales leaders for the accounts they own.
8. Stop avoidable outflows. Pause discretionary spend, non-critical purchases, hiring, and capital projects that have not started. Distinguish deferral (timing) from elimination (permanent). Owner: CFO with each function head.
9. Protect the critical suppliers. Identify the suppliers whose loss would stop shipments, and decide payment terms with each deliberately. Paying everyone late is not a plan.

Weeks 3-4: lock in communication and the cadence.

10. Speak to the lender before the lender speaks to you. With counsel's guidance, share the 13-week forecast, the plan to close the gap, and a specific request, if you have one. Owner: CEO and CFO. Output: lender call log and next-step commitments. Lenders respond better to a credible forecast and a named owner than to a late surprise.
11. Brief the key stakeholders. Employees, key customers, key suppliers, the board, and the sponsor each need a message that is accurate, consistent, and approved. Owner: CEO. Output: one communications plan with who says what, to whom, and when.
12. Start the weekly cash meeting. Same agenda every week: actual versus forecast, the low point, cash actions by owner, upcoming risks. Owner: CFO. Output: a one-page cash report.
13. Run the day-30 review. Is the 13-week low point above the minimum? If not, what is the next lever and who decides? Output: a stabilize-phase exit decision (see below).

Exit criteria for the stabilize phase:

• A 13-week forecast that has been updated weekly for at least three weeks, with a documented forecast-versus-actual comparison.
• A cash low point that is above the minimum you set, or an agreed plan with the lender or owners to cover the gap.
• A written obligations summary reviewed with counsel.
• A named owner for every material cash action.
• Stakeholder communication made, logged, and consistent.

Days 31-60: Fix

Weeks 5-6: find the causes.

14. Build a customer, product, and location profitability view. Use contribution margin after variable cost and a fair share of cost-to-serve. State the allocation method and its limits. Owner: FP&A. Output: a ranked list showing who earns and who loses.
15. Trace the margin movement. Compare price, volume, mix, material cost, labor, and freight against a baseline period using a bridge. See margin expansion playbook and pricing waterfall analysis. Owner: FP&A and the commercial lead. Output: a bridge from prior-period to current-period margin with each driver sized.
16. Check the quality of the numbers. A turnaround built on the wrong numbers fails. Confirm that revenue recognition, inventory valuation, accruals, and reserves are sound. Owner: Controller, with the auditors or advisers as needed. Output: a list of adjustments that change the baseline.
17. Identify service and quality failures. Late deliveries, rework, returns, and warranty costs often drive both margin and receivable disputes. See on-time delivery root-cause attribution. Owner: Operations. Output: the top three failure causes, each with an owner.

Weeks 7-8: act on the run-rate.

18. Decide cost actions with the structure in mind. Separate cost that supports revenue from cost that does not. Look at spans and layers, span of control and cost, indirect spend, and vendor concentration. Anything involving layoffs, plant or site closures, contract terminations, or changes to employee benefits has legal and HR requirements that vary by place and agreement. Involve employment counsel and HR before announcing. Owner: CEO and CFO. Output: a sized, dated cost plan with one-time costs shown separately from run-rate savings.
19. Fix pricing and terms deliberately. Re-price where the profitability view shows persistent losses and the customer has alternatives you can afford to lose. Review payment terms for the largest customers. Owner: Commercial lead. Output: a customer-by-customer pricing and terms plan, agreed with Sales.
20. Work the working capital levers. Receivables, inventory, and payables each have a recoverable component. See reduce the cash conversion cycle, inventory optimization, and extending payables without damaging suppliers. Owner: CFO with function heads. Output: a working capital plan separating one-time release from permanent improvement.
21. Reforecast with the fixes in it. Move from a 13-week view to a 13-week plus a 12-month view, with each initiative, owner, and date. Owner: FP&A. Output: a bridge from current EBITDA run-rate to the target run-rate, showing which items are in progress, which are planned, and which are not yet started.
22. Run the day-60 review. Which initiatives are producing results, which are late, and which should be stopped? Output: a decision log.

Exit criteria for the fix phase:

• A profitability view the leadership team agrees on.
• Cost and pricing actions sized, owned, dated, and, where legal or HR steps apply, cleared with counsel.
• A reforecast that shows the run-rate and the working capital plan.
• Lender and board updated on progress against the plan.

Days 61-90: Grow

Weeks 9-10: choose where to compete.

23. Decide the core. Using the profitability view, decide which customers, products, and channels deserve investment, which should be maintained, and which should be exited or repriced. Owner: CEO with Sales and Operations. Output: a one-page portfolio decision with reasons.
24. Review the commercial engine. Pipeline quality, win rates, discounting patterns, and customer retention. Owner: Commercial lead. Output: a short list of changes to quoting, discount approval, and account management.
25. Test capital allocation. For each proposed investment, state the cash needed, the date of payback, and what has to be true. In a company short of cash, favor projects with short, observable payback. Owner: CFO. Output: a ranked list with a funding source for each.

Weeks 11-12: institutionalize the cadence.

26. Install the operating rhythm. Weekly cash, monthly performance review, quarterly planning. Move from the crisis cadence to a sustainable one, and keep the 13-week forecast running. See cash flow operating system playbook. Owner: CFO.
27. Rebuild stakeholder confidence. Report plan versus actual to the lender and board in a fixed format. Keep a record of what was promised and what happened. Owner: CEO and CFO.
28. Run the day-90 review and set the next 90 days. Which targets were met? Which assumptions were wrong? Output: a refreshed 90-day plan, or a decision to move to a formal operating plan.

Exit criteria for the grow phase:

• A documented portfolio decision with owners.
• A funded, ranked investment list.
• A regular management and lender reporting cadence.
• A clear view of whether the company needs further financial restructuring, which is a decision for the board, advisers, and counsel together.

Templates

Day-one control sheet (copy into a spreadsheet)

Cash action ranking

Count only high-certainty actions in the base forecast. Show medium and low as upside or as a separate scenario.

Weekly cash meeting agenda

1. Actual versus forecast for the prior week: receipts, disbursements, closing cash (10 min).
2. Updated 13-week forecast and the low point (10 min).
3. Cash actions: done, late, new, with owners (10 min).
4. Lender, supplier, and customer issues expected this week (5 min).
5. Decisions needed (5 min).

30-60-90 initiative tracker

Keep one-time items (cash release, one-off costs) apart from run-rate items (permanent margin or cost change). Mixing them is how a turnaround looks better than it is.

Metrics and KPIs

Setting targets without invented benchmarks. Anchor each target in your own data or in a contract. For liquidity, use the minimum that covers your fixed obligations for a stated number of weeks plus any lender minimum in the credit agreement. For forecast accuracy, use your own trailing results and aim to narrow them. For DSO, DPO, and inventory days, use your best trailing six months and named public peers with similar terms. For margin, use your own prior-period margin and the bridge, not a general number from an article.

Common mistakes

1. Starting with strategy. A plan that ignores the 13-week low point will not survive week five.
2. Optimistic forecasts. Counting collections that depend on a customer's goodwill, or lender relief that has not been agreed, builds a forecast that fails. Rank cash actions by certainty.
3. Stretching every supplier. The wrong suppliers at the wrong time stop production, which cuts receipts. Choose which suppliers to sequence and which to protect.
4. Cutting evenly. Across-the-board cuts hit the profitable parts of the business as hard as the unprofitable ones. Use the profitability view.
5. Mixing one-time and run-rate. Releasing inventory once is not a margin improvement. Report them separately.
6. Delaying the lender conversation. Lenders are told about problems either by you or by the numbers. A late disclosure damages trust more than the problem itself. Plan the conversation with counsel.
7. Ignoring the legal edge. Payments to some creditors, transfers between entities, and guarantees can carry legal consequences once a company is near insolvency. Counsel needs to be involved before, not after, those decisions.
8. Announcing the target before the baseline. Publish numbers only after the quality-of-numbers check and the profitability view.
9. Losing key people. The people who know the customers and the plants are often the first to leave. Name them early and decide what each needs to hear.
10. No owner per action. An action without a name and a date is a wish.

Worked example

Illustrative. The numbers below are made up to show the method. They are not benchmarks, and they do not describe a real company.

A distributor has run its 13-week forecast for the first time. The forecast shows a low point of negative $0.9 million in week 7, before any new action. Available cash and revolver availability are not enough to cover that, and a covenant test falls in week 10.

In the first 30 days the team ranks cash actions by timing and certainty:

Check: 0.66 + 0.24 + 0.30 + 0.25 = $1.45M. Against the gap of $0.9M, the total provides $0.55M of cushion ($1.45M − $0.9M).

What the operator does with this:

• The base forecast counts the high-certainty items first. The collections and discretionary spend actions provide $0.90M ($0.66M + $0.24M), which exactly covers the gap with no margin for slippage. The inventory and supplier actions are the cushion and should be managed as such.
• The supplier re-sequencing needs agreement from each affected supplier. Until each one has confirmed, it stays out of the base case.
• The week-10 covenant test is a separate issue. The team asks counsel to read the covenant definition and cure provisions, and the CFO prepares the compliance calculation and headroom. Nothing is promised to the lender until counsel has reviewed the position.
• In the fix phase, the profitability view shows that a small group of customers lose money after cost-to-serve. The commercial lead builds a customer-by-customer pricing and terms plan rather than a general price rise.

AI prompt assistance

AI can speed up the analysis and drafting. It cannot know your agreements or your cash. Provide the data yourself and check every number before it goes to a lender, a board, or a supplier.

1. Draft the first 13-week forecast structure.

I will paste a bank statement summary for the last 13 weeks, an AR aging report, an AP aging report, a payroll calendar, and a list of debt service dates. Build a weekly direct-method cash forecast layout with rows for receipts by source, disbursements by category, and opening and closing cash. Fill in what the data supports and mark every assumption you had to make.

Check: confirm the opening cash ties to the bank, confirm every dated fixed outflow is present, and replace each assumption with a decision from the owner.

2. Rank cash actions.

Here is a list of possible cash actions with amounts, dates, and notes. Rank them by how soon they produce cash and how certain they are. Mark any that need consent from a lender, supplier, or customer. Do not change any amount.

Check: confirm the amounts against source data and confirm with the owner that each date is realistic.

3. Summarize a profitability extract.

Here is a customer-level extract with revenue, variable cost, freight, and returns. Compute contribution margin by customer, rank them, and list the bottom 15 by contribution dollars with the main driver of each loss. State the allocation method you used.

Check: recompute three customers by hand and review the allocation method with the Controller.

4. Draft a lender update outline.

Draft a one-page lender update outline with these sections: current liquidity, the 13-week forecast and low point, actions taken, actions planned with dates, covenant position, and specific requests. Use only the figures I give you. Leave placeholders where data is missing.

Check: have counsel and the CFO review it before it is sent. Do not let AI characterize your legal position or your agreements.

Implementation guide

Governance: the CEO owns the plan and the stakeholder message. The CFO owns the cash forecast, the lender relationship with counsel, and the initiative tracker. Function heads own their initiatives. The board or sponsor receives the same weekly cash report and monthly progress report. Keep a decision log.

What to expect: the first weeks bring visibility and a handful of cash actions. Operating fixes take longer, and some will not show in the numbers until the second or third month. Early on, resist publishing a recovery target. Publish the 13-week forecast and the plan, and report against them.

When the playbook is not enough: if the 13-week forecast shows a gap that operating actions and lender or owner support cannot close, the question has moved beyond operations. Raise it with the board and counsel immediately. Decisions about refinancing, formal restructuring, or insolvency processes belong to the board with qualified legal and financial advisers and follow your credit agreement and the law that applies to you.

Downloadable assets

The day-one control sheet, cash action ranking, weekly cash meeting agenda, and initiative tracker above are designed to be copied into a spreadsheet. The 13-week cash flow builder can be used for the forecast itself.

Related resources

• Liquidity crisis triage: the first two weeks of an acute cash event.
• Cash flow operating system playbook: the steady-state cash discipline to move to after day 90.
• Covenant compliance and headroom tracking: tracking covenant tests before they are breached.
• 13-week cash flow forecast template: the structure for the weekly forecast.
• How to reduce DSO: collections work in the stabilize phase.
• Cash management guides: the full set of cash and liquidity guides.

Frequently asked questions

What is a turnaround plan?

A turnaround plan is a time-bound program to restore a struggling company to financial stability, usually sequenced as stabilize cash, fix the operating causes, and then rebuild growth. The first phase focuses on a 13-week cash forecast and lender and supplier communication. Later phases address margin, cost, pricing, and where to invest.

What should you do first in a turnaround?

Take control of cash first. List every account and balance, set approval rules for payments, and build a weekly 13-week cash forecast with one owner. Then read the credit agreement with counsel, rank possible cash actions by timing and certainty, and speak to the lender with a credible forecast before they ask.

How long does a turnaround take?

The first 90 days can stabilize cash and start the fixes, but the full recovery usually takes longer and depends on the causes. Cash visibility and some working capital release come early. Margin, cost, and portfolio changes take months to show up. Plan in 90-day blocks and report plan versus actual each week.

When do you need lawyers in a turnaround?

Involve counsel as soon as a covenant, default, or payment priority question appears, and before any decision about layoffs, supplier or contract terminations, transfers between entities, or formal restructuring. This playbook covers operating and financial work and is not legal advice. Your credit agreement and applicable law decide what is permitted.

Why does cash come before strategy in a turnaround?

Cash decides how much time you have, and time is what every other fix requires. A sound strategy cannot be carried out by a company that cannot make payroll or pay critical suppliers. Stabilizing the 13-week low point first protects the company's options for the fix and grow phases.

How this works in a System of Performance

A turnaround runs on promises: collections that were committed, supplier terms that were agreed, initiatives that were assigned, and lender requests that were made. Those records usually sit in the ERP, the bank portal, email, and spreadsheets, and the 13-week forecast drifts away from what happened. A Performis routine can take on a recurring job like this, with the scope and fit agreed with you: it works from the records your team supplies, prepares the work for your named reviewer, and keeps each approval on record. If you want to see where your own cash gaps and recoverable days sit, bring it to us as a launch partner.