Every option on this list can produce a cash forecast. The real differences are who it's built for, how much it costs over time and whether anyone keeps it current.
Cash flow forecasting software that connects to QuickBooks: what it has to do
Before comparing names, agree on the job. A useful cash forecast for a small business has to do five things:
- Start from your real bank balance, automatically.
- Pull open invoices and bills from your accounting software.
- Predict when customers will actually pay, not when invoices are due.
- Handle recurring costs, payroll and lumpy items like quarterly taxes.
- Show the lowest point in the next 13 weeks in a way you'll actually look at.
Most tools do the first two well. The differences show up in three through five, and in whether the forecast is still being updated three months after you sign up.
Software adoption itself is part of the problem. In Intuit's 2025 survey, only 36% of the businesses most affected by late payments used accounting software, versus 56% of less-affected businesses (Intuit QuickBooks, 2025). Forecasting tools sit on top of accounting software, so that's step zero.
QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner: any good?
If you're already on QuickBooks Online, the built-in Cash Flow Planner is the obvious place to start. It reads your connected bank accounts, projects cash forward based on your history, and lets you add expected income and expenses by hand.
Where it shines: it's already there, it's simple, and it's free with your subscription.
Where it falls short: projections lean on past patterns, so it can miss one-off events and seasonal swings unless you add them. Owners on Reddit asking "quickbooks cash flow planner any good" tend to land in the same place: good for a quick look, light for planning big decisions.
Float vs Fathom for cash flow
Float is a dedicated cash flow forecasting app that connects to accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero. Its strength is scenario planning: what happens if you hire, if a big customer pays late, if you take on a loan. It's built for owners and their advisors. Check its current pricing, which is a monthly subscription.
Fathom is a financial reporting and analysis platform with forecasting built in. It's widely used by accountants and advisors to produce management reports for clients. Its pricing page lists Fathom Pro at $450 a month for 25 connected companies (Fathom pricing page), which tells you who it's designed for: firms serving many clients.
The honest comparison: Float is the more natural fit for an owner managing one business's cash. Fathom is often what your accountant uses to report to you. Neither replaces knowing which customers are slow and what you're planning to spend.
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The cash flow forecast template in Excel or Google Sheets is still the most common tool in small business. It's free, flexible and exactly as good as the person updating it.
Where it shines: total control. You can model your business precisely.
Where it falls short: every number is typed by hand, and the Monday update is the first thing dropped in a busy week. 38% of owners name juggling multiple applications as a top financial-admin frustration (Tide, 2016); a spreadsheet beside the bank app beside the accounting app is exactly that.
Do I need a fractional CFO or just a better bookkeeper?
People are tools too. A good bookkeeper keeps your books current, which every forecast depends on. A fractional CFO adds judgment: financing, pricing, hiring plans, scenarios. Our estimate for a fractional CFO share at a typical 10-person company is about $600 a month.
Where they shine: advice. A good CFO will see things no software flags.
Where they fall short: cost and cadence. You're paying senior rates for work that includes a lot of routine updating, and the forecast typically lives in their files, not yours.
Many owners do best with a current bookkeeper, an automatic forecast, and a CFO on call for big decisions.
Side by side
- QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner: free with QuickBooks Online, simple. Light on scenarios and seasonality.
- Float: owner-friendly forecasting and scenarios on top of your accounting. Monthly subscription; still depends on clean books.
- Fathom: strong reporting and forecasting, priced for advisors with many clients.
- Spreadsheet: free and flexible. Manual, and only as current as the last update.
- Fractional CFO: judgment and planning. About $600 a month in our estimate, and rented.
Notice that none of them, on its own, knows that your biggest customer always pays 45 days late in December. That knowledge has to come from you, and it has to be built into whatever you use.
Five questions before you pick one
- Does it connect to the bank and accounting software you already use?
- Can it predict pay dates per customer, or only use due dates?
- Will someone in your business actually open it every week?
- Can you get the data and the model out if you stop paying?
- Does it give you a plain-English answer, or a dashboard you have to interpret?
The visibility payoff is real. In one survey, businesses that tracked metrics in real time were about twice as likely to hit all their growth goals, 50% versus 24% (Geckoboard, 2016).
What owning the system looks like
Owning it means the forecast lives in your accounts, reads your bank and accounting data on its own, applies each customer's real payment history, and sends you a short Monday summary: cash today, the low point, what's driving it, what to do.
You can build that yourself with a spreadsheet, an automation tool and an AI assistant, or have it built. Either way, it replaces the subscriptions you pay for separately for the same job, and it doesn't stop working when a contract ends.
One option is a done-for-you subscription like Valuexus: you post the request, a team builds the forecast system in your own accounts, usually within 24 hours, with unlimited revisions. It's $450 a month, locked for life, covers every other request you post too, and what's built stays yours if you cancel. You'd still pay your own software and AI usage costs.
Whatever you choose, the test is the same as for every tool on this list: is the forecast current on Monday morning without anyone rebuilding it?
Questions owners ask
What's the best cash flow forecasting software for a small business?
The one you'll keep current. If you're on QuickBooks Online, start with its Cash Flow Planner. If you need scenarios, a dedicated tool like Float is built for that. If your accountant uses Fathom, ask them for a forecast as part of your reporting.
Float vs Fathom: which is better?
They're built for different users. Float is focused on cash flow forecasting and scenarios for a business and its advisor. Fathom is a reporting and analysis platform priced for firms that serve many companies.
Is the QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner good enough?
For a quick forward look, often yes. For planning hires, seasons or financing, most owners add their own expected events or use a more detailed forecast.
Can I use more than one of these tools together?
Yes, and many owners do. A common setup is accounting software as the source of truth, a forecasting tool or owned forecast on top, and an advisor who reviews it monthly or quarterly. Just make sure there's one forecast everyone trusts, not three that disagree.
How much does a fractional CFO cost for a small business?
It varies widely by scope and market. Our estimate for a fractional CFO share at a typical 10-person company is about $600 a month. Get quotes and be clear on what's included.
Own the system instead of renting it
Valuexus builds it inside your own accounts, usually within 24 hours, and it stays yours even if you cancel. $450 a month, locked for life; your first month is $225 with code WELCOME50. 7-day, 75% money-back guarantee.
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Sources
- Only 36% of businesses most affected by late payments use accounting software, versus 56% of less-affected ones — Intuit QuickBooks, 2025 Small Business Late Payments Report
- Fathom Pro is listed at $450 a month for 25 connected companies — Fathom pricing page
- 38% of owners named using multiple applications for different services as a top financial-admin frustration — Tide, via Startups.co.uk
- SMBs tracking metrics in real time met all growth goals 50% of the time, versus 24% for others — Geckoboard SMB Growth and Metrics Survey, via La Opinion
- 56% of US small businesses are owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging $17.5K each — Intuit QuickBooks, 2025 Small Business Late Payments Report
Written by Hunter J. Schneider, founder of Valuexus. Get your free 173-point AI audit.