Cashflow forecasting for Xero users
Xero includes a short-term cash flow projection that, depending on your plan, looks 30 to 180 days ahead using your invoices, bills and bank data. For a week-by-week 13-week forecast with tax dates, customer payment patterns and scenarios, most owners add a forecasting tool.
Disclosure: we make Lucid, a forecasting tool that works with Xero. We’ve tried to describe every option fairly.
What Xero shows you
Xero’s analytics include a short-term cash flow forecast. According to Xero, the length depends on your plan: 30 days on Ignite, 60 days on Grow, 90 days on Comprehensive and 180 days on Ultimate. It projects your bank balance from invoices and bills already in Xero, past bank transactions and any manual entries you add.
It’s a useful, free starting point, especially if you keep invoices and bills up to date.
Where it stops
- It relies on due dates. Unless you adjust it, customer invoices are assumed to be paid when they fall due.
- Future items need entering. Payroll, tax payments and sales you haven’t invoiced yet only appear if they’re in Xero or added by hand.
- It shows, rather than advises. You still need to spot the dip, work out why, and decide what to do.
Get your Xero data forecast-ready
Whatever tool you use, the forecast is only as good as the data. These five habits make the biggest difference:
- Reconcile your bank feed weekly. An unreconciled feed means the starting balance is wrong.
- Raise invoices promptly, with the right due dates.
- Enter bills when they arrive, not when you pay them.
- Set up repeating bills for rent, subscriptions and loan repayments.
- Keep VAT returns and payroll in Xero (or synced to it), so tax liabilities are visible.
Your options for a 13-week view
| Option | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Xero’s built-in forecast | A quick view of the next 30 to 180 days | Due-date based; you interpret it yourself |
| Spreadsheet from a Xero export | Full control, no extra cost | Two to four hours to build; easy to let it go stale |
| Forecasting apps for accountants | Three-way forecasts, budgets and board reporting | Usually need someone to set and maintain assumptions |
| Lucid | A 13-week forecast and a daily verdict, built automatically | Xero only today; QuickBooks and Sage are coming |
When it’s worth adding a tool
Consider more than Xero’s built-in view if any of these are true: you’ve been surprised by a VAT or PAYE bill, customers often pay late, you’re planning to hire or grow, or you may need funding in the next six months. In each case a weekly forecast with tax on its real dates gives you the warning you need.
How Lucid works with Xero
Lucid connects to Xero with read-only access, learns how each customer actually pays, places VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax on their real dates, and builds a 13-week forecast in minutes. Every morning it tells you whether you need to do anything, and what the cheapest fix is.
Source: Xero UK, analytics features by plan, checked 27 October 2026. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Lucid is not affiliated with or endorsed by Xero.
Common questions
Does Xero have a cash flow forecast?
Yes. Xero’s analytics include a short-term cash flow forecast. Xero says it covers 30, 60, 90 or 180 days depending on your plan.
Can Xero do a 13-week cashflow forecast?
Xero’s projection can cover 13 weeks on higher plans, but it isn’t laid out week by week with tax dates and customer payment patterns. Many owners export to a spreadsheet or use a connected app for that.
Is it safe to connect apps to Xero?
Apps connect through Xero’s own sign-in, and you choose what access to grant. Check that an app asks only for the access it needs; Lucid uses read-only access.
Will a forecasting app change my Xero data?
A read-only app can’t. Check the permissions requested when you connect.
Keep reading
See your next 13 weeks in minutes.
Free to start. Read-only connection to Xero. No card needed.