Use case · Cash & liquidity
Know your cash position before anyone asks.
Cash flow forecasting on live actuals: GL, AR, AP, and billing in one governed model, with 13-week and rolling views wherever you work.
The problem
The cash position lives in one fragile spreadsheet.
Every finance leader knows the moment: the CEO asks about runway, and the honest answer depends on a file that was already stale when it circulated.
Collections are a guess
The forecast assumes invoices pay on terms. Customers pay on their own schedule, and the timing gap lands on you.
Outflows collide
AP runs, payroll, taxes, and renewals cluster in the same few days, and the spreadsheet only shows it after the fact.
Reforecasting lags reality
By the time AR aging, bank balances, and entity tabs are pasted together, the position has already moved.
One connection
Cash flow forecasting on live actuals.
Cube pulls your GL, AR and AP subledgers, billing, and banking feeds into one governed cash model, then delivers 13-week and rolling views to your spreadsheet and your board deck.
Cube
One governed cash model. Every inflow and outflow mapped once, kept current, and traceable to the transaction.
Live data
The 13-week view that updates itself.
Fetch cash actuals into the weekly view, adjust the forecast around them, and publish it back to the model.
| $K · week of | Jun 22 · Actuals | Jun 29 · Actuals | Jul 6 · Actuals | Jul 13 · Fcst | Jul 20 · Fcst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning cash | 12,180 | 12,290 | 12,345 | 12,400 | 12,375 |
| Collections (AR) | 1,140 | 980 | 1,215 | 1,050 | 1,180 |
| Vendor payments (AP) | (620) | (540) | (705) | (660) | (590) |
| Payroll & benefits | (410) | (385) | (455) | (415) | (430) |
| Net cash flow | 110 | 55 | 55 | (25) | 160 |
| Ending cash | 12,290 | 12,345 | 12,400 | 12,375 | 12,535 |
Charted
The cash line, week by week.
Ending cash from the weekly grid, drawn. Actuals are solid, the forecast is dashed, and every point reconciles to the bank feed.
Why teams choose Cube
One cash number everyone trusts.
One cash position
Entities, banks, and currencies consolidate into a single figure that matches the GL and the bank statements.
Direct and indirect, together
The 13-week view and the monthly forecast come from the same governed model, so they always tie.
Trace to the transaction
Any figure opens to the invoices, payments, and payroll runs behind it, with an audit trail on every change.
Adoption
Runs alongside the stack you already have.
Setup is finance-led with guided onboarding, and Cube connects to hundreds of source systems.
Finance-led setup
Configured by your team, guided by ours.
of sources
Pre-built connectors for major platforms, flexible methods for the rest.
Rip-and-replace
Your ERP stays the system of record.
Onboarding
Hands-on setup with a named contact.
Cube in action
FP&Agents keep the forecast current.
The FP&Agents do the assembly work between reforecasts, on data governed by your rules.
Data Manager
Pulls GL, AR, AP, and banking activity into the model as transactions land, mapped by rules finance approves.
Analyst
Answers cash questions in Slack or your spreadsheet, with every figure traced to the source.
Planner
Reruns collections and spend assumptions into fresh 13-week and rolling views, ready for review.
DSO: 58 days (+12)
DSO: 46 days
Open roles held: 8
One assumption changed. The full 13-week view recalculates.
Where you work
One model, on every surface.
Cube delivers the same governed numbers wherever the work happens. Explore the full story on Where You Work.
Cube Workspace
The browser app where finance builds the model, sets permissions, and publishes.
Excel & Google Sheets
Bi-directional sync: fetch live actuals into the sheet, publish plans back.
AI assistants via MCP
Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini answer from your governed numbers.
Slack & Teams
Ask a question in chat and get the governed figure back, with the trace.
PowerPoint & Google Slides
Decks with figures bound to Cube that refresh to the current numbers.
BI tools
Tableau, Looker, and Power BI read from the same model as the plan.
Workflows
Where teams put the cash model to work.
13-week direct forecast
Weekly cash in and out, built from open AR, AP, and payroll calendars.
Rolling indirect forecast
A monthly view derived from the P&L and balance sheet forecast, for horizon planning.
Runway & board reporting
Runway, liquidity, and lowest-week cash in the deck, traced to the source.
Scenario stress tests
A collections slip or a hiring pause, recalculated across the full horizon.
Multi-entity consolidation
Entities, banks, and currencies rolled into one governed position.
Collections visibility
AR aging and payment behavior feed the forecast instead of flat invoice terms.
Put a cash question to the model.
Book a demo and ask what a CFO would ask. We answer it live and trace the figure to the transaction.
Security & governance
Built for the controls review.
Bank data deserves bank-grade controls. The full posture lives on our security page.
Read-only connections
Source systems and banking feeds connect read-only by default.
Role-based permissions
Entity-level and account-level access, managed by finance.
Audit trail
Every mapping change and forecast edit is logged with who and when.
Encryption
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Trace to the transaction
Every cash number opens.
Every finance leader knows the feeling of presenting a number they can't fully explain. In Cube, the number opens to the transactions behind it.
| Jul 06 | Acme Talent Partners | staffing invoice | NetSuite | $58.4K |
| Jul 08 | Northline Consulting | implementation services | NetSuite | $47.3K |
| Jul 09 | Beacon Legal | Q3 retainer | NetSuite | $31.9K |
| + 9 more transactions | ||||
Start here
What is cash flow forecasting?
Cash flow forecasting
Cash flow forecasting is the process of projecting the cash a business expects to collect and pay out over a defined horizon, so finance teams know their runway, their liquidity, and the timing of every inflow and outflow before commitments come due.
There are two methods. A direct forecast builds week by week from scheduled receipts and payments, and answers near-term questions like whether the next payroll is covered. An indirect forecast derives cash from the forecasted P&L and balance sheet, and answers horizon questions like runway. Cube runs both from the same governed model, so they tie.
Cash in · cash out
What leadership asks
The hard parts
Why is cash flow forecasting difficult?
Each of these is a data problem before it is a modeling problem, which is why the fix is the model.
AR collection timing
Invoices rarely pay on terms. Cube forecasts collections from your aging and each customer's payment history.
AP and payroll calendars
Outflows cluster on run dates a spreadsheet can't see. Cube reads them from the subledgers.
Entity and bank sprawl
Five entities and nine bank accounts make one position hard. Cube consolidates them, currencies included.
Direct and indirect disagree
Two methods in two files produce two answers. In Cube both come from one model, so they tie.
Spreadsheet fragility
One broken link quietly corrupts the forecast. Cube keeps the logic governed while the grid stays your interface.
Reforecast latency
A forecast rebuilt by hand is stale on arrival. Cube refreshes as actuals land, so reforecasting becomes a review.
Manual vs automated
How does cash flow forecasting work?
Every cash forecast starts with expected inflows (open AR, billing schedules) and outflows (AP, payroll, taxes, capex), projected across the horizon and reconciled against bank actuals as reality lands. The work is the same everywhere; what differs is whether people or software move the data.
| Step | Manual spreadsheet | With Cube |
|---|---|---|
| Gather the data | ✗Export AR aging, AP runs, payroll, and bank balances from each system, then paste and reconcile. | ✓Sources stay connected; actuals land in the model mapped and consolidated. |
| Project collections | ✗Flat assumptions on invoice terms, adjusted from memory. | ✓Collection curves from real payment behavior, adjustable by scenario. |
| Consolidate entities | ✗One tab per entity, FX by hand, totals that drift. | ✓Entities and currencies roll up into one governed position. |
| Reforecast | ✗Rebuild the file, re-check the links, recirculate. | ✓Refresh the view; assumptions carry forward and actuals replace forecast. |
| Defend a number | ✗Trace it through pasted tabs and hope the trail holds. | ✓Drill from the figure to the source transactions. |
Pick your horizon
What are the types of cash flow forecasts?
Four views, one model underneath them in Cube.
Direct method
Weekly receipts and payments from open AR, AP, and payroll calendars. The standard near-term liquidity view.
Indirect method
Cash derived from the forecasted P&L and balance sheet. The horizon view boards and lenders expect.
Always current
Re-projected on a set cadence so the horizon never expires, whichever method feeds it.
Stress views
The same forecast under different assumptions, from a collections slip to a hiring pause.
What good looks like
Cash flow forecasting best practices.
Match the grain to the horizon
Weekly detail for the near horizon, monthly beyond it. Precision far into the future is false comfort.
Model collections from behavior
Use aging and payment history; invoice terms alone will flatter the forecast.
Reconcile to the bank weekly
Compare forecast to bank actuals every week and carry the variance into the next view.
Tie cash to the operating plan
Collections follow the revenue plan, hiring follows headcount, and large outflows follow the capex plan.
Stress the downside early
Run the slip scenarios before you need them; driver-based planning makes the assumptions explicit.
The evaluation
What to look for in cash flow forecasting software.
Native source connections
Direct connections to your GL, AR and AP subledgers, billing, and banks, across hundreds of source systems.
Both methods, one model
Direct and indirect views that tie because they share actuals and assumptions.
Multi-entity consolidation
Entities, currencies, and intercompany handled in the model, with no side files.
Drill to the transaction
Any forecast figure should open to the source records behind it.
Spreadsheet-native delivery
The forecast should meet your team in Excel or Google Sheets, with the model governing the numbers.
Governance and audit
Role-based permissions, audit trails, and SOC 2 Type II at minimum.
Know your cash position before anyone asks.
Book a demo and watch a 13-week forecast assemble from live actuals, trace a figure to the transaction, and stress a scenario in the sandbox.
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