Your fix plan · Cash scorecard
Start with the fixes for your score
Every fix works in the spreadsheet you already have. Each section builds on the one before it.
Ticked something outside your section? Every fix is on this page.
Do this first, whatever your score
About 20 minutes
List your five largest expected receipts. Move each one 30 days later and see which week falls below your floor.
If no week falls below it, your forecast can take a late payer. If one does, that week is where to look first, and fixes 3 and 4 are where to start.
Float connects to Xero and QuickBooks Online. If you use another accounting system, the “In Float” notes won’t apply yet, but every fix still works in your spreadsheet.
0 to 3
Spreadsheet-safe
Your cash moves in ways a well-kept spreadsheet can follow. These fixes keep it that way.
1
Give each way of paying its own line
Card, monthly invoice and annual contract revenue on separate lines, so when cash comes in under forecast you can see which one moved.
In Float · Invoices and bills import from Xero or QuickBooks Online every day.
2
Keep a renewal schedule by month
List each renewal in the month it will be invoiced, and take it off once the invoice is raised so it is never counted twice.
In Float · Renewals sit as budgets that invoices fill as they arrive.
10
Set a floor and look week by week
Agree a minimum balance, then forecast week by week for the next three months, so the low week shows up while there is time to act.
In Float · A threshold shows the date your balance would cross the floor.
4 to 6
Stretched
It works while one person owns it. These fixes stop it depending on them. The Spreadsheet-safe fixes still apply.
Keeping it current takes more than an hour a week? See the same steps on your own numbers.
3
Date receipts by payment history, not due date
Work out each large customer’s average days late from their last few invoices, and date their receipts by that.
In Float · Expected dates change one at a time or in a batch. On Xero, Smart Expected Dates applies each customer’s average days late, worked out from [period to confirm with product].
4
Test your largest receipts slipping
Move your largest receipts 15, 30 and 60 days later, one at a time, and note which weeks fall below your floor.
In Float · Scenarios keep each slip next to the base forecast, without copying the file.
6
Keep an inputs tracker
Who sends each input, what it is, when it is due and whether it has arrived. The template has a tab for it.
In Float · Float doesn’t chase people for you. Comments sit on the invoice, bill or budget they explain, so the answer is there next week.
8
Time your weekly update
Time each step of your next update. Re-keying data from the ledger is usually the first thing to cut, then chasing inputs.
In Float · Actuals replace budgets when you reconcile in Xero or QuickBooks Online.
7 to 10
Outgrown the spreadsheet
Too many moving lists to keep current by hand. The fixes above still apply. These are the parts a spreadsheet struggles with most.
Start with one entity on Xero or QuickBooks Online. Free for 14 days, and no sales call unless you ask for one.
5
Link costs to the revenue that drives them
Tie each customer-linked cost, such as resold licences or pass-through fees, to the revenue line behind it, and list the costs your ledger can’t see yet.
In Float · A linked budget follows another by a percentage and an optional delay.
7
Forecast each entity on its own first
Each entity in its own ledger and currency, intercompany netted out, then check each can meet its own payroll before you look at the group total.
In Float · A consolidated view in one currency, on the [plan name] plan.
9
Keep a one-page answer ready
Three lines, updated with the forecast each week: the lowest week, the headroom above your floor, and what would change either of them.
In Float · Share the live forecast read-only, or export it as PDF or CSV.
