Kolleno Payments
You can’t build accurate cash flow forecasts on shaky data. If reconciliation is off—even by a little—your cash flow projections won’t reflect reality.
Reconciliation and cash flow forecasting go hand in hand. One tells you what’s real, while the other predicts what’s next. Get either wrong, and finance teams risk cash shortages, missed opportunities, and shaky strategic planning.
In this article, we’ll unpack how forecasting and reconciliation work together. We’ll also share some examples from businesses who have transformed their reconciliation process with Kolleno, taking their cash flow forecasting to the next level.
What Is Cash Flow Forecasting?
Cash flow forecasting is the practice of predicting a company’s cash inflows and outflows over a set period. Done well, it shows whether you’ll have sufficient future cash flows to cover accounts payable, payroll, and capital expenditures—or if a cash shortage is looming.
Finance teams build forecasts using historical data, expected cash inflows from accounts receivable, and planned cash outflows. The goal is accurate cash flow forecasting: projecting cash balances with enough precision to support strategic planning, risk management, and informed decisions.
In short, forecasting helps you determine future cash positions before they become reality.
What Is Reconciliation?
Reconciliation is the process of checking that your financial records match reality. Finance teams compare bank statements, accounts receivable, and accounts payable against the general ledger to confirm every transaction is recorded correctly.
Without reconciliation, you can’t trust your cash balance. Errors, unmatched entries, or duplicate payments distort financial statements and undermine cash flow forecasting.
Accurate reconciliation keeps financial data clean, supports audit readiness, and gives finance teams confidence that today’s numbers are right—so tomorrow’s forecasts are built on solid ground.
How Forecasting and Reconciliation Work Together
Reconciliation and forecasting are two sides of the same coin. Reconciliation tells you where your cash really is today. Forecasting projects where it will be tomorrow. One without the other is incomplete.
When reconciliation is weak, forecasting suffers. For example, if bank statements haven’t been reconciled, your forecast may assume cash inflows that never arrived—or overlook cash outflows like bank fees and loan payments. If accounts receivable aren’t reconciled, forecasts will overstate expected cash inflows, leaving the business exposed to potential cash shortages. Errors in accounts payable reconciliation can also understate future cash outflows, creating a distorted picture of future cash positions.
Strong reconciliation, on the other hand, gives finance teams a reliable foundation. Clean cash flow statements built from reconciled general ledger data ensure that cash flow projections reflect reality. Accurate reconciliation history provides the historical data needed to improve forecast accuracy over time. With reconciled numbers, finance teams can confidently use cash flow forecasting tools to model projected cash inflows, outflows, and net cash flows. This leads to better visibility of projected cash balances, and better overall financial health.
The payoff is clear: reconciliation ensures accurate cash flow forecasting, while forecasting makes reconciliation actionable by showing the consequences of today’s data on tomorrow’s cash balance. Together, they enable finance teams to manage risk, avoid cash shortages, and make strategic decisions with confidence.
Best Practices for Finance Teams
When cash flow forecasting and reconciliation work together, finance teams get the best of both worlds: reliable actuals and accurate projections. But that only happens if processes are tight. Here are the best practices that ensure accurate cash flow and better financial decision-making:
Reconcile Frequently for Real-Time Data
Don’t wait until month-end to catch errors. Conduct reconciliations daily or weekly to keep cash balances current. Real-time reconciliation reduces discrepancies, ensures accurate cash flow statements, and improves forecast accuracy.
Integrate Forecasting and Reconciliation Processes
Treat reconciliation and cash flow forecasting as two parts of one workflow. Reconciled accounts receivable and accounts payable feed directly into cash flow projections, making forecasts more reliable. This alignment also helps finance teams determine future cash positions with confidence.
Use Historical Data to Improve Forecast Accuracy
Accurate historical data from reconciled records strengthens forecasting models. By analyzing actual cash inflows and outflows, finance teams can spot patterns, refine assumptions, and improve cash forecasting for future periods.
Leverage Automation to Reduce Manual Effort
Manual reconciliation is slow and error-prone. Finance teams should use automated reconciliation software to match transactions, flag discrepancies, and update cash flow statements. With less manual effort, teams gain both efficiency and accuracy in their cash flow forecasting tools.
Collaborate Across Finance and Treasury Teams
Treasury teams and finance leaders should work together to align reconciliation with liquidity management and strategic planning. This collaboration ensures sufficient cash is available for cash payments, avoids cash shortages, and supports future investments with confidence.
How Kolleno Strengthens Forecasting and Reconciliation
Even the best finance teams struggle with the sheer volume of cash inflows and outflows, complex accounts receivable, and growing accounts payable. Manual reconciliation and fragmented data leave gaps that directly weaken cash flow forecasting. That’s where Kolleno’s payments reconciliation makes a difference.
Kolleno integrates directly with financial systems like NetSuite to automate reconciliation. Its intelligent transaction matching reduces manual effort, flags discrepancies in real time, and ensures every cash balance reflects reality. By cleaning and reconciling data automatically, finance teams can trust their cash flow statements and build more accurate cash flow forecasting models.
Beyond reconciliation, Kolleno provides dashboards and reporting that give finance teams clear visibility into projected cash inflows, overdue balances, and upcoming cash outflows. This visibility makes it easier to avoid cash shortages, manage liquidity, and support strategic planning with confidence.
In short, Kolleno connects the dots between reconciliation and forecasting. It ensures today’s numbers are accurate and tomorrow’s projections are reliable—helping finance leaders maintain financial stability and make informed strategic decisions.
6 Real-Life Examples From Kolleno Customers
The link between cash flow forecasting and reconciliation isn’t theoretical—it’s playing out in finance teams every day. From SaaS platforms to global service providers, businesses using Kolleno have shown how better reconciliation leads directly to clearer forecasting, stronger cash flow visibility, and smarter financial planning. Here are six examples that bring the connection to life.
1. Laundryheap
As Laundryheap scaled across multiple markets and payment methods, its finance team found itself buried under manual reconciliation. Payment references were missing. Amounts didn’t align. Invoices piled up. Cash flow slowed.
Then they turned to Kolleno. The shift toward automated reconciliation changed everything. Laundryheap’s system now intelligently matches payments to invoices, even when references aren’t perfect.
This improvement didn’t just save time: it elevated financial forecasting. With real-time visibility into invoices, payment status, and overdue balances, Laundryheap’s finance leaders gained clarity on what cash was coming in—and when. With six hours of manual work reclaimed each week, they could reallocate effort toward cash flow management instead of just chasing reconciliation issues.
2. E-commerce Growth Platform
For one e-commerce SaaS provider, manual collections created stress and unpredictable cash flow. After implementing Kolleno, the AR Manager said: “Before Kolleno, collections were a constant source of anxiety—but I now have complete confidence in our collections process. I know exactly where we stand, which accounts need attention, and how our cash flow is trending.”
This visibility gave the finance team the clarity needed to forecast cash flow more accurately while scaling.
3. Rentsync
Rentsync was grabbling with surging Days Sales Outstanding and limited visibility into receivables. Kolleno’s automation and Xero integration removed the need for constant manual reconciliation, helping the finance team reclaim time for higher-value activities.
CFO Leena Lukka explained: “The combination of time savings, improved cash flow, and enhanced financial visibility has delivered value far beyond what we initially expected.” These improvements strengthened Rentsync’s ability to plan and forecast.
4. Fusion Consulting
Fusion Consulting’s finance team struggled with late payments and limited visibility, making forecasting difficult. Director Adam Maurice recalled: “Before implementing Kolleno, we had very limited visibility into our receivables. We were essentially operating in the dark when it came to predicting when payments would come in, making financial planning incredibly challenging.”
With Kolleno, Fusion improved cash flow visibility by 29% and cut overdue payments by 44%, giving leadership confidence in forecasting.
5. Zartis
For Zartis, fragmented systems and manual reconciliation led to inefficiency and poor visibility. After moving to Kolleno, COO Laura Sanchez highlighted the impact: “We reclaimed time, improved visibility, and finally had a system we could trust.”
Real-time dashboards and predictive analytics allowed Zartis to forecast payment trends confidently, turning reconciliation from a reactive process into a strategic advantage.
6. Dealer-FX
Dealer-FX’s manual reconciliation in NetSuite consumed hours each week and left finance blind to cash flow. Kolleno’s automated reconciliation changed this, providing real-time visibility into payments and outstanding balances. The result was a 10-hour weekly time saving and, crucially, accurate data for forecasting and decision-making . For Dealer-FX, better reconciliation directly translated into sharper financial planning.
Final Thoughts
Cash flow forecasting and reconciliation aren’t separate tasks—they’re two parts of the same system. Reconciliation gives finance teams clarity on today’s actual cash flows, while forecasting projects tomorrow’s cash position. Get either wrong, and the consequences are serious: inaccurate cash flow projections, surprise cash shortages, and weaker financial stability. Get them right, and you build the foundation for smarter planning, stronger liquidity, and informed strategic decisions.
Kolleno helps finance teams bridge the gap. By automating reconciliation, surfacing real-time insights, and improving visibility into cash inflows and outflows, Kolleno makes it easier to build accurate forecasts and maintain financial health.Ready to strengthen your forecasting and reconciliation processes? Book a demo with Kolleno today.
