Float
Cash flow forecasting tool for small businesses.
About Float
Float pulls live data from QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, or KashFlow and builds a rolling cash flow forecast on a visual timeline. You see projected balances day by day, week by week, or month by month without manually exporting anything. Scenario planning lets you model what happens if a large invoice pays 30 days late or if you hire two people next quarter — each scenario sits alongside your base forecast so the comparison is immediate. Float fits best for small businesses with 1–50 staff where the owner or bookkeeper is making cash decisions weekly but has no dedicated FP&A resource. Firms managing clients across multiple currencies get usable multi-currency forecasting without building separate spreadsheet models. Accountants in advisory practices use it to show clients a 13-week cash runway during tight periods. The AI predictions are trend extrapolation dressed up in modern language — useful for spotting seasonal patterns, not for surfacing anything a competent bookkeeper wouldn't already know. There is no free tier, so you are committing $59 per month before you have verified it fits your workflow. Float also does not replace a budget or a P&L; if a client needs full management accounts, Float covers only the cash layer.
Best for
Small businesses wanting visual cash flow forecasting directly from their accounting data
Key Features
- Real-time cash flow forecasting
- AI-powered financial predictions
- Multi-currency cash flow management
- Visual cash flow timeline dashboards
- Scenario-based budget planning
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Pulls actuals directly from QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, and KashFlow with no manual import step
- Day-by-week-by-month visual timeline makes cash runway readable for business owners who have never built a forecast
- Scenario builder lets you test late payment, new hires, or seasonal dips against your base forecast side by side
- Multi-currency cash flow works within a single dashboard, useful for businesses billing in GBP, USD, and EUR simultaneously
- 13-week rolling forecast view is the standard cash flow advisory format most banks and lenders expect
- Cuts the time a bookkeeper spends updating a manual cash flow spreadsheet from hours to minutes per week
Cons
- No free trial or free tier — $59 per month is the entry point with no way to evaluate it against your actual data first
- Covers cash flow only; you still need your accounting software for P&L, balance sheet, and full management reporting
- AI predictions add little beyond what a trend line in a spreadsheet would show — do not buy Float for that feature
- Scenario planning becomes unwieldy if you need more than three or four simultaneous models
- Smaller user community than Xero or QuickBooks means fewer third-party tutorials and slower community-sourced troubleshooting
- Pricing scales by number of businesses managed, which adds up quickly for bookkeepers running more than five client entities
Ledger Brief Take
Built specifically for the cash flow blind spots that QuickBooks and Xero leave unaddressed, Float transforms transactional data into forward-looking scenarios that actually help with business decisions. The AI predictions feel more like sophisticated trend analysis than groundbreaking intelligence, but the visual timeline approach makes cash flow planning accessible to owners who've never built a proper forecast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about Float.
How much does Float cost and is there a free trial?
Float starts at $59 per month for a single business. Higher tiers cover multiple entities, relevant for bookkeepers managing several clients. There is no permanent free plan and no stated free trial period on the pricing page — you pay from day one, so confirm your accounting integration works before committing.
How does Float integrate with QuickBooks and Xero?
Float connects directly to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, and KashFlow via native integrations. It pulls invoices, bills, and bank transactions automatically and updates your forecast in real time. There is no CSV import step. The sync is read-only — Float does not write data back to your accounting software.
How does Float compare to Spotlight Reporting or Futrli for cash flow?
Spotlight Reporting and Futrli cover full management reporting including P&L and KPI dashboards. Float does one thing — cash flow forecasting — and does it with a cleaner visual interface. If your client needs consolidated group reporting or full board packs, Float is not the right tool. If they need cash runway visibility fast, Float is quicker to set up.
Who is Float actually built for?
Float fits small businesses with up to roughly 50 staff where cash decisions are made weekly but no finance director exists. It also suits bookkeepers and accountants delivering cash flow advisory services to those clients. It is not built for enterprise-level consolidation or businesses needing full FP&A modeling.
Is client financial data secure in Float?
Float uses bank-level 256-bit SSL encryption and OAuth authentication for accounting integrations, meaning it never stores your accounting software login credentials. Data is hosted on AWS infrastructure. Float is read-only against your accounting data, which limits the attack surface if credentials are ever compromised.
Can Float handle multiple currencies?
Yes. Float supports multi-currency forecasting within a single dashboard, pulling exchange rate data automatically. It is practical for small businesses billing internationally in two or three currencies. It is not built for complex treasury management or businesses with dozens of currency exposures.