Xero forecasting software and Xero forecasting tool with an AI CFO
Xero forecasting software reads the actuals already in your Xero organization and projects cash and profit forward. Budgeter.ai connects read-only, builds a 13-week cash view and a 24 to 60 month forecast from up to two years of Xero history, adds planned hires and scenarios, and reforecasts after every close, so the tight month shows up before payroll does.
Read-only connections. Encrypted data. Cancel anytime.
Columns show opening, then closing cash. Example figures for a fictional company.
Where forecasting in Xero stops
Xero is excellent at the books. Its forward view is short by design. The cash flow projection takes today's bank balance and the invoices and bills already entered, and depending on your plan Xero Analytics stretches that out by a few months. If a cost is not in Xero yet, the projection does not know about it.
That leaves out the things owners actually ask about. What does a new designer starting in January do to cash in a slow February? What if the two biggest clients move from 30 to 60 day terms? Can we sign the bigger office lease in spring and still keep three months of payroll in the bank? Those answers need a forecast that carries revenue you have not invoiced, payroll you have not run and decisions you have not made yet.
A Xero forecasting tool fills that gap. Xero stays the system of record. The 24 to 60 month forecast, the hiring plan and the scenarios sit next to it and read the same reconciled numbers your bookkeeper closes each month.
What the Xero forecast is built from
Budgeter reads from Xero. It never writes to it.
Chart of accounts
Every Xero account mapped once to a forecast line, grouped into departments.
Monthly profit and loss
Up to 24 months of Xero actuals for the run rate, the trend and seasonality.
Starting cash
The bank balance from a bank CSV export or typed in, refreshed whenever you update it.
Payroll
Salaries and headcount from the payroll connection, so planned hires sit next to the current team.
Revenue drivers
MRR and churn from your own Stripe account for subscription businesses.
Your approved budget
Where a budget exists for a month, the forecast uses it before falling back to the run rate.
What Xero forecasting software does in Budgeter
Each feature works from your Xero data, with no export to rebuild each month.
13-week cash forecast
Cash in and out by week for the next quarter, so a payroll week that lands before a large client payment is visible a month ahead.
Rolling monthly forecast
Revenue, costs and cash by month for 24 months on Small Business, 36 on Growth and 60 on Scale, rolled forward after every close.
Scenarios side by side
Save a base case, a hiring plan and a slow-payer case, then compare cash and runway for each without touching Xero.
Questions in plain English
Ask the AI CFO what an $85K hire in March does to cash in June. It answers from your numbers and lists the assumptions it used.
Forecast vs actual
After close, see where the forecast missed by account. A large miss gets a short note so you know whether to adjust the plan.
Exports for the bank or board
On Growth and up, export the forecast for a lender or the board as PDF, or the full model as XLSX or CSV.
How to set up Xero forecasting in four steps
Most companies see a first forecast the same day they connect Xero.
-
01
Connect your Xero organization
Sign in to Xero from Budgeter and approve read-only access to settings and reports. Budgeter reads the chart of accounts and the monthly profit and loss and never writes back to Xero.
-
02
Set the starting cash
Add the bank balance from a bank CSV export or type the opening balance, so the forecast starts from the cash you actually have today.
-
03
Check the baseline and add what is coming
Budgeter builds a run-rate baseline from up to 24 months of Xero actuals with seasonality. Add planned hires, a price change, a new lease or a loan as assumptions or saved scenarios.
-
04
Reforecast after every close
Each sync refreshes the 13-week and monthly forecast. Forecast vs actual shows where last month was off, and the remaining months roll forward without a rebuild.
If the main job is next year's budget and the monthly variance review, start on the Xero budgeting software page. Connection details and the data read are on the Xero cash flow forecast integration page.
A worked forecast for a 22-person design agency
Picture a hypothetical brand and web design agency with about $3.6 million in yearly revenue, 22 people and its books in Xero. Most work is billed by milestone, so cash arrives in lumps. December is quiet because clients freeze budgets, and January brings the year's annual software renewals and the payroll tax reset.
After connecting Xero, the base forecast shows cash at $318K in November sliding to $276K by the end of December. The owner wants to hire a senior developer on January 6 at a loaded $11,500 a month, and adds a second scenario where the agency's largest retainer client, about 18 percent of revenue, moves to 60-day terms.
With the hire, January bottoms out at $219K, still a little over two months of fixed costs. With the slow-paying client on top, the low point drops to about $164K, under the $180K floor the partners agreed to keep. The decision gets simple: make the hire, but invoice the retainer client's Q1 milestone in December and keep the line of credit as a backstop instead of a plan.
When January closes, the forecast reruns from the new Xero actuals. Forecast vs actual shows contractor spend came in $9K over, so February and March move up on their own. The weekly side of the same view is covered on the cash flow forecasting page.
Xero forecasting tools compared
Prices are those published on vendor sites in October 2026.
Scroll sideways for all columns
| Option | Price | What it forecasts | Scenarios and hires | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xero cash flow projection and Xero Analytics | Included, horizon depends on the Xero plan | Short-range cash from bank balance, invoices and bills | No saved scenarios | A quick look at the next few weeks |
| Float | Small Business $105 a month billed yearly, Growth $215 | Cash flow, 12 months on Small Business, 36 on Growth | Yes, 8 cash scenarios | Teams that only need the cash view |
| Cash Flow Frog | Pro from $55 a month, priced by revenue | Cash flow up to 36 months | Yes, cash scenarios | Owners who want a simple cash tool |
| Fathom Pro | $450 a month for 25 companies | Three-way forecasts with reporting | Yes, built by the advisor | Accounting firms reporting on many Xero clients |
| Budgeter.ai | $74 a month billed yearly, Growth $299 | 13-week cash plus 24 to 60 month forecast, reforecast after close | Yes, plus headcount and an AI CFO | Companies of 5 to 500 people running on Xero |
If you only need to know whether the next few payroll runs are covered, the projection already in Xero may be enough, and we would say so. If you need a forecast that carries the budget, the hiring plan and scenarios and stays current without a rebuild, Budgeter is built for that. Advisors forecasting for several Xero clients should read the forecasting software for accountants page, and companies on QuickBooks Online the QuickBooks forecasting software page.
Who uses Budgeter as a Xero forecasting tool
The usual pattern is a company that has outgrown a forecast spreadsheet but does not want an FP&A implementation project. The wider category is on the FP&A software page.
- Agency and studio owners Milestone billing makes cash lumpy. See the thin month before you commit to a hire or a lease.
- Professional service firms Consultancies, architects and engineering firms that plan partner draws and hires against cash.
- Founders reporting to investors Keep runway and the cash-out date current for every board meeting, with a scenario for the next raise.
- Companies applying for a loan Give the bank a monthly forecast that ties back to the Xero books instead of a one-off projection.
- Bookkeepers who close the books Hand the owner a forecast that updates with every close at no extra work.
Questions about Xero forecasting software
The connection is read-only and encrypted, and company data is never used to train public models. Plan limits are on the pricing page.
Can Xero do forecasting?
Partly. Xero shows a short-term cash flow projection built from your bank balance and invoices and bills due, and on some plans Xero Analytics extends it to a few months. It does not build a 12 to 36 month profit and cash forecast, model planned hires or compare saved scenarios. That is what a forecasting tool connected to Xero adds.
Does Xero have a cash flow forecast?
Yes, a short one. The cash flow projection in Xero looks ahead from today using the bank balance plus invoices and bills already entered, and the horizon depends on your Xero plan. It cannot see revenue you have not invoiced yet, next quarter's payroll or a hire you are planning, so most owners pair it with a longer forecast.
What is the best forecasting tool for Xero?
For a company of 5 to 500 people that wants a cash and profit forecast it runs every month, pick a tool that drafts the forecast from Xero and reforecasts after close, such as Budgeter. Float suits teams that only need the cash view, and Fathom suits accounting firms reporting on many Xero clients.
How do I forecast cash flow from Xero?
Start from today's bank balance, add expected collections and the revenue run rate, subtract bills, payroll and fixed costs by week and by month, then roll it forward after each close. Budgeter does this from a read-only Xero connection, keeps seasonality from your history and lets you add hires and scenarios on top.
Does Budgeter change anything in Xero?
No. The connection uses the read-only scopes accounting.settings.read and accounting.reports.read. Budgeter reads the chart of accounts and the monthly profit and loss. It never creates or edits invoices, bills, bank transactions or journals, and the forecast lives in Budgeter rather than in Xero.
How much does Xero forecasting software cost?
Budgeter Small Business is $149 a month or $74 a month billed yearly, with a 24-month forecast horizon and 5 saved scenarios. Growth is $599 or $299 billed yearly and extends the horizon to 36 months with headcount and revenue planning. Scale, at $1,999 or $999, forecasts 60 months across up to 5 companies.
Related planning modules
- Xero budgeting software Next year's budget drafted from your Xero actuals.
- Cash flow forecasting The weekly and monthly cash view in more detail.
- Scenario planning Compare hiring, pricing and collection cases side by side.
- Headcount planning Test each planned hire against cash before the offer goes out.
See your runway before you connect Xero
Enter a few numbers to see the month cash gets tight, then connect Xero for a forecast that updates after every close.
Forecasts and scenarios are estimates based on your data and assumptions, not financial, investment, tax or accounting advice.