How financial forecasting connects to accounting actuals
A useful forecast labels actual versus projected periods and can show payable obligations that are not yet cash. Capitallytics Forecast is intended to sit on posted books rather than a disconnected model.
Deeper planning language lives on the FP&A page. Cash-flow management covers personal budgets and business cash as separate contexts.
Two forecasts, two questions
Plan → Forecast looks at the next twelve months. It starts from posted actuals and shows runway, runway after bills, monthly burn and projected cash in 12 months, with ready scenarios such as revenue up 20%, revenue down 30%, a new hire, more marketing or reduced payroll, plus a custom case.
Plan → Cash forecast looks at the next 30, 60 and 90 days. It starts from posted cash, adds open invoices on the date each customer is likely to pay, subtracts open bills on their due dates, and adds your usual day-to-day cash movements. Every figure is labelled an estimate and is computed by rules, not by an AI model.
The rules behind the 30/60/90-day view
An open invoice is moved by that customer's own average days late once they have paid at least two invoices; otherwise the book's average is used, and otherwise the due date. An invoice whose expected date has already passed is placed seven days from today rather than assumed to arrive at once.
Active recurring invoices and bills are projected on their schedule. Open bills are expected on their due date, and overdue bills are treated as paid today, so the forecast never looks better because you are behind on payments. The run-rate is the trailing 90-day daily average of cash movements not tied to an invoice or bill, such as salaries or card spend, and it needs at least 30 days of history.
Customers whose history shows they pay late, and who have an open invoice expected at least a week after its due date, are listed as likely late payers so you can follow up before the gap reaches your bank balance.
Common forecasting mistakes
Assuming every invoice is paid on its due date is the most frequent one. Another is ignoring bills that are already overdue. A third is forecasting from a typed revenue target instead of what is actually invoiced. Capitallytics avoids all three by forecasting from the book, and it tells you plainly when there is not enough history to estimate a run-rate.