Cash Flow Forecast Skill
When to Use
- Client asks for a 13-week (or rolling n-week) cash flow forecast
- Need to project runway for a high-burn client (GlowLabs-type)
- Monthly or quarterly cash flow advisory deliverable
- Any time cash position monitoring or scenario modeling is needed
- SOP for the client marks "Cash Flow Forecast: ✅"
NOT for
- Historical cash flow analysis (use P&L Deep Analysis pipeline)
- Bank reconciliation (use bank-reconciliation.py)
- Full audit of cash flows (use QBO CF report directly)
- Balance sheet projections / full financial models
Script Location
scripts/pipelines/cash-flow-forecast.py
Quick Start
cd /Users/samshouse/.openclaw/workspace
# Standard 13-week forecast
python3 scripts/pipelines/cash-flow-forecast.py --slug glowlabs
# 6-month history for better seasonality
python3 scripts/pipelines/cash-flow-forecast.py --slug sb-paulson --months 6
# Custom low-cash threshold (GlowLabs: high burn)
python3 scripts/pipelines/cash-flow-forecast.py --slug glowlabs \
--low-cash-threshold 50000 \
--critical-threshold 25000 \
--out ~/Desktop/reports
# Sandbox testing
python3 scripts/pipelines/cash-flow-forecast.py --slug glowlabs --sandbox
All CLI Options
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--slug | required | QBO company slug |
--weeks | 13 | Forecast horizon (weeks) |
--months | 3 | Months of CF history to pull (1–6) |
--low-cash-threshold | 25000 | Warn when balance < X |
--critical-threshold | 10000 | Critical alert when balance < X |
--account | auto | Specific bank account name filter |
--out | ~/Desktop | Output directory |
--sandbox | false | Use QBO sandbox |
Output Excel Tabs
Tab 1: Cash Flow Summary
- Current cash position (all bank/cash accounts from Balance Sheet)
- 13-week KPI summary: total inflows, outflows, net flow, end balance
- Burn rate and runway in callout box
- Full weekly trajectory table with alert coloring
- SOP notes printed at top (client-specific warnings)
Tab 2: Weekly Detail
- Matrix: each row = a CF subcategory, each column = a week
- Inflows section (green) → Outflows section (red)
- Subtotals, Net Flow row, Running Balance row
- Alert coloring: yellow = warn, orange/red = critical
Tab 3: Scenarios
- Side-by-side: Base | Optimistic | Pessimistic
- 12 KPI rows: inflows, outflows, net, end balance, burn, runway, alert weeks
- Weekly balance comparison table across all 3 scenarios
- Best/Worst delta and % spread columns
Tab 4: Burn Rate
- Detailed burn metrics (base case)
- Runway comparison table (all 3 scenarios)
- Week-by-week burn trend
- 🔴 High burn emphasis for GlowLabs-type clients
Tab 5: Assumptions
- All parameters used (thresholds, adjustments, seasonality weights)
- Monthly averages per category (the baseline used)
- Client SOP config summary
- Methodology notes
Tab 6: CDC Log
- Run-over-run changes: starting cash, burn rate, runway
- Forecast accuracy: compares prior-run predicted starting cash vs. actual
- First run: saves baseline; second+ run shows deltas
Scenario Definitions
| Scenario | Collections | Expenses |
|---|
| Base | Historical avg | Historical avg |
| Optimistic | +10% | Unchanged |
| Pessimistic | -15% | +5% |
Cash Flow Categories
Automatically classified from QBO CF rows:
Operating — Inflows
collections: Revenue, AR, Net Income, payment processor receiptsinterest: Interest income
Operating — Outflows
payroll: Wages, salaries, officer comp, Deel (GlowLabs)rent: Rent, lease, occupancyvendors: AP, COGS, professional fees, software, subscriptionsinterest: Interest expense (SB Paulson: material line)taxes, insurance
Investing
capex: Equipment, property, asset purchases
Financing
debt: Loans, line of credit, notes payableequity: Owner distributions/contributionssafe: SAFE notes (GlowLabs)
Client SOP Integration
The script reads clients/{slug}/sop.md automatically and adjusts:
| SOP Signal | Effect |
|---|
| "burn rate", "runway", "high cash burn" | Burn Rate tab emphasized, 🔴 alert |
| "interest expense" | Interest tracked separately |
| "POS collection", "collected at POS" | No AR lag — flat weekly inflow distribution |
| "accounts receivable" | AR-based: note 30-45 day receipt lag |
| "SAFE" | SAFE financing category added |
| "crypto", "wallet", "ETH" | Crypto wallet note added |
| "Deel" | Deel inbound classified as expense reduction |
Seasonality Weights
Default week-of-month distribution (configurable in script CONFIG section):
| Week | Inflows | Outflows | Rationale |
|---|
| Week 1 (days 1–7) | 30% | 35% | Collections/payroll land early |
| Week 2 (days 8–14) | 20% | 20% | Mid-month quiet |
| Week 3 (days 15–21) | 20% | 25% | Mid-month payroll + rent |
| Week 4 (days 22–28) | 30% | 20% | End-month collections |
| Week 5 (overflow) | 0% | 0% | Rarely used |
POS clients (e.g. SB Paulson): inflows flattened to equal weekly distribution.
CDC Accuracy Loop
- First run: saves
starting_cash, first_week_balance, avg_monthly_burn, months_of_runway
- Second run: compares new
starting_cash against prior first_week_balance
- Accuracy % = how close the forecast was to reality
- Burn rate and runway deltas tracked run-over-run
- Cache stored in
.cache/cash-flow-forecast/{slug}.json
Low-Cash Alert Colors
| Color | Excel Fill | Condition |
|---|
| ✅ OK | White | Balance ≥ low threshold |
| ⚠ Warn | Yellow | Balance < $25K (configurable) |
| 🔴 Critical | Orange/Red | Balance < $10K (configurable) |
Client-Specific Notes
GlowLabs (High Burn)
--low-cash-threshold 50000 --critical-threshold 25000 recommended- SOP auto-detected: burn rate tab emphasized with red header
- SAFE financing and Deel categories auto-classified
- Runway is the #1 KPI — shown prominently in Summary tab
SB Paulson / Willo Salons
--months 6 for better seasonality (salon business is seasonal)- POS collection = no AR lag; inflows distributed flat across weeks
- Interest expense tracked as separate operating outflow category
- Cash Flow Forecast frequency: quarterly advisory (per SOP)
Dependencies
pip install openpyxl
Node.js QBO client must be authenticated with a valid token.
Output Naming
CashFlowForecast_{slug}_{YYYY-MM-DD}.xlsx
Default output: ~/Desktop/
Related Pipelines
pl-quick-compare.py — P&L variance analysispl-deep-analysis.py — Controller-level with GL drill-downbank-reconciliation.py — Bank statement reconciliation
