---
title: "How to create and use custom projections in sherloc"
url: "https://help.sherloc.elementaryb.com/en/article/how-to-create-and-use-custom-projections-in-sherloc"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-05T21:42:17.576Z"
---

# How to create and use custom projections in sherloc

A custom projection is a what-if test on your cash: pick a starting balance, then choose what flows in and out each month, to see where it lands. Here’s how to set one up on your Performance page.

## 1\. Open the projection builder

On the Performance page, scroll to **Custom projections** and click the **+** icon in its header. This opens **Create a projection**.

The create option is available once you have an Active forecast, because projections are built on it. If you don’t see it, check you have an Active forecast first.

## 2\. Name it and set your starting point

Give the projection a name under **Projection name** that describes what you’re testing: this is what appears on the projection card later. Then choose your **Starting balance**, either **From accounts** (the combined balance of the accounts you pick under **Starting balance accounts**, such as your bank accounts) or **Set a value** (a figure you enter yourself).

## 3\. Choose what flows in and out

Pick your **Incoming accounts** (money coming in each month, such as sales and other income, which the projection adds) and your **Outgoing accounts** (money going out each month, such as payroll and rent, which it subtracts).

If the same accounts appear on both sides, a **Matching Accounts** message tells you the chart may come out as a flat line. Change one side and it clears.

## 4\. Create it and read the result

Click **Create projection**. It appears under Custom projections as a card with a chart of your balance month by month, the name of the forecast it’s built on and a **Months runway** figure. Use the card menu to **Edit graph** or **Delete**.

Click the card to open its detail page, with one chart line for each of your forecasts and a monthly table (starting balance, income, outgoings and the total), so you can see whether it holds up, dips negative, or grows the way you’d expect.

Example: seeing how long your cash lasts at your current pace. Name it “Cash over the year”, set a **Starting balance** of £100,000 with **Set a value**, pick your sales and other income accounts as incoming, and pick your payroll and rent accounts as outgoing. The card then shows how many months of runway that leaves.