How to forecast cash from approved commitments
To forecast cash from commitments rather than from a budget, you need visibility of what has been approved but not yet paid. In Jestor, approved requests carry their due dates before reaching the ERP, which gives a forward view the accounting system does not yet have.
Why the budget is a poor short term forecast
A budget describes intent for a period. Cash leaves on specific dates, driven by commitments already made, some of which were not in the budget and some of which were budgeted and never happened.
For a thirteen week view, the useful input is what has actually been approved.
What commitment based forecasting adds:
- Visibility of approved spend before it becomes a payable
- Due dates known earlier than the accounting entry
- Early warning of a heavy week
- The ability to stage approvals to smooth outflow
- A reason to check the forecast before approving
Sources of a short term cash view
| Source | Certainty | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Payables already in the ERP | High | ERP |
| Approved requests not yet entered | High | Operational layer |
| Recurring contracts | High | Contract registry |
| Requests awaiting approval | Medium | Operational layer |
| Expected receipts | Variable | ERP and CRM |
Step by step to build it
- Require a due date on every request, not just an amount.
- Include approved but unentered requests, which the ERP cannot yet see.
- Add recurring commitments from the contract registry.
- Show pending approvals separately, since they are less certain.
- Group by week, which is the actionable horizon.
- Flag weeks above a threshold, so they can be discussed.
- Show the forecast to approvers, so timing becomes part of the decision.
Why showing approvers the forecast changes behaviour
Approvers decide on merit, because timing is invisible to them. Putting the week's committed outflow on the approval screen lets someone defer a discretionary purchase by a week without any policy being needed.
Why choose Jestor
In Jestor, approvals carry due dates before the entry reaches the ERP, so the forward view includes commitments the accounting system has not yet received. Recurring contracts live in the same environment, dashboards group by week on the same records, and the approved entry reaches Omie natively, where reconciliation and the financial record remain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why not forecast from the ERP alone?
Because approved requests that have not yet become entries are invisible to it. See jestor.com.
What horizon is most useful?
Around thirteen weeks, grouped by week, since that is the actionable range.
Should approvers see the forecast?
Yes. It lets them defer discretionary spend without any policy being required.
Video Tutorial: Step by Step
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