Use the cash flow planner in QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite

by Intuit •

403 •

Updated 8/3/2026 02:28

Learn how to use the cash flow planner.

Track your income and expenses with the cash flow planner. Manage transactions within the planner without affecting your books.

Note: The cash flow planner isn’t available in QuickBooks Online Accountant and in all other versions if Multicurrency is on.

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The Cash Flow Planner uses your QuickBooks data to help you plan your future cash flow. This video will go over what this tool does and how to use it to get a complete picture of your cash flow so that you can make informed decisions about spending and bringing money in.

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Video transcript

[0:00] The Cash Flow Planner uses your QuickBooks data to help you plan your future cash flow. Let's go over what this tool does and how to use it to get a complete picture of your cash flow so that you can make informed decisions about spending and bringing money in. Let's start by looking at the tool. Select Reports, then Financial Planning, then Cash Flow Planner.

[0:22] You'll see what your cash flow has looked like in the past over here. This historical view is based on the total cash that has flowed in and out of your connected bank accounts, including your QuickBooks Checking account. You can view either your cash balance or your money in and out. You can also change the time period. Over here is where the fun starts.

[0:43] You can see what your cash flow is projected to be in the future. The Planner bases this projection on your QuickBooks data - like future invoices, bills, and expenses. So, the more data you have in QuickBooks, the better this projection will be. Down here, you can see all the items that are included in this projection.

[1:03] You'll see any future invoices and expenses that you've already entered into QuickBooks. You can edit any of these items to see what they do to your future cash flow. You can also change your projection by adding a future item, like buying a new truck. Select Add item, then enter the date of the item, a description, the amount, and whether it is money coming in or money going out.

[1:28] Once you are finished, select Save. Now you can see that your cash flow projection has changed. If you see an issue like a red dip, make some changes to your future items and get yourself back on track. These items are just for planning purposes and don't affect your books, so feel free to try out lots of scenarios. That's it!

[1:49] Now you can start using your Cash flow Planner to see where your cash flow is headed.

Set up your account

To set up your planner, connect your bank and credit card accounts. This way, you can use the data from your chart of accounts.

Manage items

Add, edit, or delete items in the planner for potential income and expenses. You can also create repeating items to make planning even easier. Here’s how.

Note: Items in the planner aren't actual transactions. They won’t appear in your books.

Add an item

Go to Reports , then Financial planning, then Cash flow planner (Take me there).
Note: If it’s your first time, select Start planning, then select Let’s go.
Select Add item.
Select Money in if the item is income, or Money out if it's an expense.
Enter a name in the DESCRIPTION field and enter an amount in the AMOUNT field.
Note: If it’s a recurring item, select Repeating. Then select how often the item repeats.
Select Save.

Note: To export your cash flow details, select the Download Report ▼ dropdown. You can export the report as a CSV, PDF, or XLS file.

Edit an item

Go to Reports , then Financial planning, then Cash flow planner (Take me there).
Select the item you want to edit.
Edit the info.
Select Update.

Delete an item

Go to Reports , then Financial planning, then Cash flow planner (Take me there).
Select the item you want to delete.
Select Remove, then select Confirm.

Note: If you want to delete an entire series, select an item in the series, turn off the Repeating switch, select Remove, then select Remove again.

Customize your planner in QuickBooks Online

Select the data you want to see in your planner. Here’s how:

Go to Reports , then Financial planning, then Cash flow planner (Take me there).
On the planner page, select the gear ⚙ icon.
Select your preference.
- In the Linked accounts section, select the accounts that you want to show in the Cash flow planner.
  Note: Select Link bank account to link another bank account.
- In the Threshold section, set an amount you don’t want to go under.
Select Save.

Customize your planner in Intuit Enterprise Suite