Best Cash Flow Forecast Software for Finance Brokers

Fathom is the best cash flow forecast software for brokers preparing a reviewable business-finance file. It connects forecasts to accounting data, models profit and the balance sheet alongside cash flow, and exports forecasts with their assumptions.

A short-term cash dashboard is useful for watching receipts and payments. A borrowing proposal with new debt, tax payments or growth assumptions needs a model that explains how those changes affect cash.

Top Cash Flow Forecasting Tools for Business Finance Brokers

1. Fathom

Fathom ranks first for a business-loan file that needs linked financial statements and explainable assumptions. Its Pro plan connects accounting data to a separate forecast, with spreadsheet imports also available. Three-way forecasting links the profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, so a sale can affect profit before the customer pays.

Fathom’s documentation describes scenarios, rolling forecasts and rules for payment timing. Its tax settings support goods and services tax (GST), while journals and schedules model new borrowing and repayments. This suits an accountant preparing a forecast that a broker can review alongside the proposed finance.

The export documentation includes Excel forecasts, PDF report components and a Value Audit report of rules and assumptions. That gives Fathom a stronger documented evidence route than a cash dashboard alone. A calculation audit doesn’t establish an immutable record of every user’s edits.

Fathom forecasts monthly, quarterly or annually, so a weekly overdraft crunch needs a more detailed cash schedule. Forecasting requires Pro, not Portfolio. Pro bills monthly by connected-company tier, includes unlimited users and has a 14-day trial, with Australian prices excluding GST.

2. Forecast 5

Forecast 5 ranks second for detailed business models, especially an established MYOB Acumatica or EXO Business workflow. MYOB’s app directory lists those integrations and describes records for loans, stock, wages and GST. That makes the MYOB cash flow forecast route here a third-party forecasting application, rather than a feature attributed to every MYOB subscription.

Forecast 5’s own guidance describes linked financial statements, rolling forecasts and what-if models. An accountant can bring in actuals and compare them with the original budget. Its underlying budget locks when actuals mode starts, which helps preserve that comparison.

Forecast 5’s reporting guide describes printing, clipboard export and an Excel-based report template that can become a PDF. Its Windows installation and accounting-model setup create more work than opening a cloud accounting dashboard. Collaboration permissions and a complete edit history are unknown in this comparison, so its budget lock mustn’t be treated as a full audit log.

Forecast 5 has an annual licence obligation and a 21-day trial. Its subscription includes support, training videos and updates. Licence scope, accounting integration and preparation time all affect the operating cost, so it fits best when an accountant already uses the application.

3. Xero

Xero ranks third for a client who already keeps current books in Xero and needs a short-term view. Yes, Xero has native cash flow forecasting. Its Australian plan page lists 60 days on Grow, 90 days on Comprehensive and 180 days on Ultimate.

Xero’s cash flow documentation describes projections from bank balances, invoices and bills, with expected payment dates and manual future amounts. You can model a late receipt or one-off expense without first building a separate financial model. An accountant can work with the client in the same cloud system.

The native dashboard is a useful first look at a funding gap. For a proposal needing linked profit, debt balances and tax assumptions, Fathom’s documented three-way and export workflow is the stronger fit. A forecast-specific export of Xero’s assumptions and a retained scenario history are unknown here.

Xero charges a monthly subscription per organisation, with Australian prices including GST. The forecast horizon depends on the plan, and specialised add-ons add another subscription. Keeping the existing ledger avoids a bookkeeping migration solely to obtain a cash flow forecast app.

4. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online ranks fourth for a client already using its bank-connected Cash Flow Planner. Intuit’s Australian help page describes predictions from bank history and editable future events. Changes to planner events leave the accounting books unchanged.

QuickBooks Online, often shortened to QBO, can display 14 future months within its 24-month view. That view also includes past months and the current month, so it isn’t a 24-month forward forecast. Intuit says planner transactions include GST, and a loan repayment through a bank transfer appears as money out.

The same help page excludes credit card transactions, trust account transactions, manually entered accounting transactions and multicurrency-enabled files. Those exclusions affect whether the forecast contains the whole business cash picture. Named scenario snapshots, forecast assumption exports and an immutable planner edit history are unknown here.

QuickBooks uses a monthly accounting subscription with user allowances that change by plan. Australian prices include GST, and phone and messaging support appear in its plan comparison.

It fits an existing QuickBooks client with straightforward cash movements better than a file needing a detailed debt and tax model.

Explain the Broker Evaluation Criteria

Evaluate cash flow forecast software by the file you need to retain, including the numbers, their sources and the assumptions behind them. The forecast period must cover the funding decision and the business’s seasonal cycle. Monthly totals can conceal a cash shortage between a payroll date and a customer payment.

Compare the following requirements across every option.

Requirement	What the broker needs from the forecast
Periods and categories	Separate trading receipts, operating payments, tax, capital spending and finance movements at the required frequency.
Scenario control	Keep the original assumption set and identify what changes in the downside case.
GST treatment	Show whether sales and expenses include GST, then model the separate tax settlement without counting it twice.
Finance costs	Distinguish the loan advance, principal repayments, interest and any balloon repayment.
Accounting integration	Identify the exact ledger product, imported periods, account mapping and manual additions.
Collaboration	Give the client, accountant and broker appropriate access with a named owner for approval.
Version history	Keep the approved forecast and the assumptions that produced it, even after the live model changes.
Export evidence	Retain readable statements and assumptions outside the subscription.
Support and cost	Include licences, additional companies or users, add-ons, setup and recurring accountant work.

This comparison covers documented forecasting methods and file outputs. It excludes speed rankings, lender acceptance guarantees and personal-budgeting apps. PocketSmith describes its product as personal finance software, so a household forecast isn’t the same comparison as a business’s linked financial statements.

A forecast’s traceable calculation and its edit history answer different questions. The first explains a number. The second records who changed an assumption and when.

Keep an approved export even when the software supports collaboration.

Compare Products at a Glance

The products suit different forecasting jobs, so compare their documented method and output before their accounting feature count. The table uses the same file requirements for each option. Unknown means the capability isn’t established for this comparison and receives no credit in the ranking.

Product	Best for and forecast method	Accounting route and scenarios	Collaboration and evidence	Limits and price basis
Fathom	Reviewable monthly three-way model	Accounting connections or spreadsheet import, with scenarios and rolling forecasts	Unlimited Pro users, view-only sharing, Excel forecast and PDF report components, Value Audit report	Monthly/quarterly/annual, Pro required, monthly per company tier, Australian dollars excluding GST
Forecast 5	Accountant-built detailed forecasts	Separate forecasting application, MYOB Acumatica/EXO listed, what-if and rolling models	Print/clipboard and Excel-based PDF reporting, locked original budget in actuals mode, permissions and full edit log unknown	Windows setup, annual licence, licence scope and tax basis unknown here
Xero	Existing Xero client’s short-term receipts and payments	Native dashboard, expected dates and manual future amounts	Shared accounting access, forecast-specific export and saved scenario history unknown	Grow 60 days, Comprehensive 90, Ultimate 180, monthly per organisation, Australian dollars including GST
QuickBooks Online	Existing QuickBooks client’s bank-based cash view	Native planner, predicted and manually adjusted events	Plan-based users, forecast assumption export and scenario history unknown	Up to 14 future months in 24-month view, listed transaction/file exclusions, monthly plan, Australian dollars including GST

A forecast export doesn’t automatically include source invoices, the proposed loan terms or client approval. Keep those supporting records with the forecast file. For the evidence behind the assumptions, use the business-loan cash flow forecast guide.

Review Each Product in the Broker Workflow

Start from the client’s accounting system and the forecast’s required output. Fathom and Forecast 5 build a separate forecast from accounting data. Xero and QuickBooks provide native cash projections inside the ledger, with a different level of modelling and evidence.

For Fathom, the accountant maps imported accounts and reviews the timing and tax rules before adding new finance. Its report of assumptions belongs beside the exported statements. Fathom’s support documentation caps the described forecast Excel export at 36 forecast months, even though its product page describes longer modelling horizons.

For Forecast 5, the accountant prepares the opening balance sheet and collection, payment and loan assumptions. MYOB’s listed Acumatica and EXO integration route avoids treating all MYOB products as interchangeable. Its model and reporting setup fit repeat business-finance work better than a one-off broker dashboard check.

For Xero, start with reconciled balances and expected receipt dates. Its help centre and cash flow page explain manual adjustments, while the current Australian plan page controls the advertised horizon. A longer dashboard window still needs separate evidence of the proposed loan and its assumptions.

For QuickBooks, match the planner’s bank scope to the business’s actual accounts. Its help documentation distinguishes bank cash movements from excluded accounting entries. A forecast based on an incomplete bank scope can omit obligations even when the bookkeeping reports contain them.

Fathom provides a help centre and multi-channel support. Forecast 5 includes end-user support and training in its annual subscription. Xero has online help, and QuickBooks lists phone and messaging support.

The ongoing cost includes the accountant’s work to reconcile actuals and update assumptions, alongside each application’s billing basis.

Test a Common Forecast Scenario

A delayed receipt can expose the difference between a bank projection and a linked financial model. Consider this fictional GST-registered wholesaler, with all cash amounts in Australian dollars. This example explains documented workflows and includes a manual arithmetic check, without presenting application results as observed tests.

The business opens Month 1 with $25,000 cash. It expects $66,000 receipts including GST, has $44,000 operating payments including GST, and pays $4,000 in tax and $3,000 towards existing finance. The planned loan adds $60,000 cash and funds a $60,000 equipment payment in the same month.

The baseline Month 1 closing cash is $40,000: $25,000 plus $66,000 plus $60,000, less $44,000, $4,000, $3,000 and $60,000. If $22,000 of receipts moves to Month 2, Month 1 closes with $18,000. This calculation isolates timing and holds the tax payment constant.

In Fathom, the documented route uses a receipt timing rule, tax settings and a loan schedule, with a separate downside scenario. Forecast 5 documents debtor timing, GST and loan records alongside rolling and what-if reports. These routes can explain the movement between profit, debt and cash in a linked model.

Xero’s documented route changes the expected receipt date and adds future cash amounts. QuickBooks’ planner adjusts future events, with GST-inclusive cash movements and the listed bank-scope exclusions. A principal-and-interest split needs supporting debt calculations even when a planner displays the total repayment.

File element	Expected treatment in the fictional case
Delayed receipt	$22,000 moves from Month 1 to Month 2, with the later receipt recorded once.
GST	Cash amounts include GST. The separate $4,000 settlement remains visible and isn’t added to every payment again.
Finance	Loan advance and equipment payment are separate movements. A repayment schedule supports principal and interest assumptions.
Rolling periods	Retain Month 1’s approved version before replacing its forecast with actuals and extending the model.
Scenario versions	Label baseline and delayed-receipt cases and retain the changed assumption.
Lender-facing file	Export the required periods with the assumptions, opening balance and debt schedule. Preserve the client’s approval.

The manual calculation checks the illustrative cash movement only. Application setup determines how tax dates, payment timing and new finance affect each software output. Use the accountant’s approved model when those effects change the funding request.

Choose Software, a Spreadsheet or an Accountant

Choose a spreadsheet for a simple one-off forecast when a named preparer can maintain formulas and retain the assumptions. The cash flow forecast template gives you a starting format. A free spreadsheet avoids a software subscription, but preparation and review still take time.

Keep Xero or QuickBooks when the client’s immediate need is a connected cash view and the existing ledger is reliable. Buying another accounting system solely for its forecast creates migration work. Exporting ledger reports to a spreadsheet is a manual forecasting route, with manual updates and version control.

Choose Fathom Pro when the business-finance file needs linked statements, downside scenarios and an exportable assumptions record. Forecast 5 suits an accountant’s established detailed modelling workflow, particularly with its listed MYOB connections. Either route requires account mapping and review before imported figures become usable forecast assumptions.

Use accountant preparation for complex tax timing, stock movements, multiple entities or a new debt structure. Give the accountant the proposed finance terms and the required forecast period, then retain the signed-off model and its assumptions with the broker file.