Using Microsoft Office 365 / Excel create a cash budget (use dynamic arrays where possible) for September to December 2023 for Pasta Food Services, a small food provider to retail outlets. The staff of the firm has compiled the following set of assumptions and forecasts to be used in the cash budgeting process:

1. Actual and expected sales through to January are as follows:

Month*July*AugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuarySales250,000260,000270,000350,000380,000400,000250,000

Note: * July and August sales are actual

1. 50% of sales are for cash. Of the remaining 50% of sales, 60% is collected in the following month and 40% is collected two months after the sale.
2. Raw materials inventory purchases are equal to 50% of the following months sales (e.g., July purchases are 50% of expected August sales). 70% of purchases are paid for in the month following the purchase, and the remainder are paid in the following month.
3. Wages are forecast to be equal to 25% of expected sales.
4. Payments for leases for equipment are $15,000 per month.
5. Tax payments of $25,000 will be paid in September and December.
6. $160,000 is scheduled to be paid in October for capital investment, but management is flexible on the scheduling of this outlay. Use the Scenario Manager to show the optimal month for the investment.
7. Pasta Food Services must keep a minimum cash balance of $20,000 by agreement with its bank. Its cash balance at the end of August was $35,000.