As the second quarter of 2023 draws to a close, plans for the next quarter’s finances should be a top priority. And, as if controlling cash flow wasn’t difficult enough, you should be building — or fine-tuning — forecasts about what your company will invest and earn over the next quarter at this point. Relax, if this is making you feel stressed. There are varieties of software and online resources (including templates) that can help you manage and forecast the company’s cash flow.
Overtime, we put a range of online cash-flow management and forecasting tools (softwares inclusive) to test. Below are our top five picks for getting the most bang for your buck.
#1. Free Cash-Flow Forecasting Templates
Download one of the many free-cash-flow forecasting models embedded in well-known business applications to perform your own cash-flow analysis.
Though they don’t have all of the bells and whistles of more advanced software, cash-flow forecasting templates save time over creating one from scratch. For the most part, Microsoft Office comes pre-loaded with many comprehensive spreadsheets for Excel, with more available for download from the Office website.
Google Docs, on the other hand, provides templates that can be shared and modified by other Google Apps account members. You can look through Google Docs’ list of models for cash-flow forecasting software to find the right one for your business. Also, while BusinessYield provides mentorship to small companies and entrepreneurs, we have a free cash flow forecasting and other financial statement models.
Expect to tinker with these templates and change certain headings. These tools will help you learn a lot more about your money as you fill in expenditures, sales, and client info.
However, don’t get confused along the line. Besides a cash flow forecasting template, you will also find templates for balance sheets, sales projections, Payroll, and so on. In other words, this is a full financial projection template.
#2. QuickBooks’ Cash Flow Forecast Report
QuickBooks, from Intuit, has a cash-flow forecast feature built into its popular accounting software. To get a more accurate cash-flow model, you can describe various aspects of your company, such as receivables, bank balances, and credit card ledgers. Estimates will be broken down after the report has been created by clicking links and adjusting date ranges.
#3. You Need a Budget’s Online Expense Tracking and Planning Tools
While You Need a Budget’s $60 single-purchase, downloadable software is primarily aimed at monitoring expenditures for customers and household budgets. It can also provide forward-looking spending forecasts for small businesses.
The app creates a budget based on the bank statements you upload, which you can then edit to meet your business needs. You Need a Budget calculates how much money you may hope to have and how much you will still need on hand to cover your expenses based on this information.
Despite the fact that the software doesn’t include as comprehensive an overview as QuickBooks’ Cash Flow Forecast, it’s not nearly as difficult to use.
#4. Pulse’s Cash-Flow Modeling Software
Pulse is a dedicated cash-flow forecasting Web software that helps you to review the company’s cash flow online in limitless detail.
Financial data can be manually entered or imported from a spreadsheet to create a cash-flow model that can be viewed on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. It includes a variety of graphics and charts that help you visualize how money flows in and out of your business.
Pulse also has a lot of collaboration features. Pulse is ideal for exchanging information with a team or consultants because multiple users can edit or monitor cash flow and add notes to income and expenditures.
For up to three users and 3 GB of file storage, paid accounts start at $14 per month.
#5. Master PlanGuru
PlanGuru is an alternative if the company has outgrown any of these options. It supports 10-year financial forecasting as well as automated control of business income statements and balance sheets in Excel, QuickBooks, and other formats.
PlanGuru then produces a statement containing up to 20 different methodologies. It can be used to predict almost every hypothetical business scenario.
However, all of this power carries significant risk. Users must be able to handle money in a complicated business or pay anyone who can. PlanGuru is available for $399 as a download. It costs $399 for one user and $250 for each additional user when installed on a network server for collaboration.
#6. Scoro
Scoro is a much more ambitious and capable program. Its suite of services includes cash-flow management, but it’s just a business management tool that also includes budgeting, customer relationship management, and project management. It has a high user rating, with users praising the platform’s dependability.
Scoro charges a $899 onboarding fee. Monthly plans start at $22 per user per month and require a minimum of five users.
#7. CashAnalytics
Big businesses, too, need cash-flow management software, and CashAnalytics is here to assist. CashAnalytics offers insight for finance departments in larger firms with forecasting functions and automation for different cash-flow sources.
Furthermore, it is a powerful tool that is highly configurable and customizable. The cost of a custom solution can vary depending on its complexity.
Why You Need Cash Flow Forecasting Softwares
Financial and accounting software with features designed to make forecasting easier and faster will ensure precision and help a company’s bottom line stay safe.
For the most part, accurate cash flow predictions are critical for small companies to keep their heads above water. More importantly, having a good picture of anticipated cash flow allows a small business’ finance team to spot patterns that are affecting cash flow, such as slow-paying customers, and address them quickly.
The visibility that cash flow forecasting tools can provide is also beneficial to larger companies. Finance teams can easily spot deviations from forecasts by using accounting software that automates the flow of financial data directly into the cash flow statement.
Altogether, cash flow forecasting is a critical process for ensuring that a company has the tools it requires, when it needs them, to propel the company forward. Without it, a company will experience shortfalls, putting the company at risk. Cash flow forecasting softwares make the process easier by increasing precision, automating data entry, and ensuring that the company meets or exceeds its objectives.
Which Software Is Used for Forecasting?
Clari is a sales forecasting tool that lets users make predictions based on real-time data and insights about what will happen in the future.
What Is the Best Cash Flow Analysis App?
The Top 6 Cash-Flow Management Software Applications
- Cube. Cube is an FP&A platform of the future generation that offers dynamic financial planning solutions.
- Vena Solutions.
- Anaplan.
- Adaptive Workday Planning
- .Planful.
- Centage.
What Are the 4 Types of Forecasting Model?
This article focuses on four of the most used quantitative budget forecasting tools:
- the straight line,
- the moving average
- the basic linear regression
- the multiple linear regression.
What Is a Cash Flow Management System?
Cash flow management tracks financial inflows and outflows to enable companies accurately forecast how much money will be available to use in the future. This helps organizations pay vendors and suppliers on schedule and decide whether to buy new assets.
Conclusion
Remember that your projection is just as good as the data you enter into it; regardless of which online tool you use. Therefore, your program must be consistent for revenues, expenditures, and the correct dates for all transactions in order for cash-flow projection tools to perform correctly and provide the most accurate forecasts.
