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acbk
Level 3

Cash Flow widget from labs

I'm playing with the cash flow widget.  I turned it on in QB labs in a couple company QBO files.  The daily cash balance doesn't seem to be correct.  Also the video in QB labs is very outdated (says it's supposed to be it's own tab...but I'm only seeing it on the dashboard tab).   It seems to be really off.  Is there a way to find out how it's supposed to be calculating cash balance over time (in my mind it should match a Balance sheet with the same date - but it doesn't).  Is there any way to find out where they are at in making it usable?   Finally...I'm sure everyone would want cash balances drillable or exportable (like the Desktop report "Cash Flow Forecast").  Is that in the works?  Finally, finally I saw lot of complaints about the fact that people found out the hard way that if you turn it on in QB Labs...it won't let you turn it off.  Has that been fixed?  If no...please update the info in QB labs with warnings to this effect.

8 Comments 8
katherinejoyceO
QuickBooks Team

Cash Flow widget from labs

Hi there, @@acbk

 

Thanks for sharing your experience here in the Community. I know most small business owners like you are on a cash basis. However, the view on the dashboard is currently on an accrual basis.  

 

Aside from the option of turning off the QuickBooks Lab feature, we've also raised the option to display the cash basis to our developers. Please note that all of our suggestions are subject for further study to make sure it is fully functional. 

 

Though, we don't have the exact turnaround time as to when all of these will be fulfilled, rest assured we will update all of you on our QuickBooks Blog site. 

 

Here's additional insight on how QuickBooks calculates your cash flow

 

Please know that we value and hear all your feedback. See you again on your next posts, @acbk. I'm always here to listen and help you in any way I can. 

 

acbk
Level 3

Cash Flow widget from labs

@katherinejoyceO I don't think the cash balance (actual - not projected) variance has anything to do with cash vs accrual.      Again, I'm on the "Cash Balance" tab...not the money in/out tab.  I'm focusing on the actual cash balance in the solid green, not the projected in the dotted green.  The cash balance seems wrong.

 

I've turned it on in my books and on other set of books.  Both do not match actual cash balances in any way that I can guess at how they would be defining a cash balance.   I would have thought it would match the beginning cash balance on a cash flow report and the Total Bank Account Balance on the Balance sheet of the corresponding day.

 

I'm attaching a pic of a file where the Nov 9th balance on the cashflow widget shows $1,280,160 (wow).  Next to it is the cash flow reports for Nov 9 that shows cash at $468,892.64.   The cash flow report is correct.  It matches the balance sheet (Total Bank Accounts).  This file doesn't use AP at all.  It uses AR minimally and basically has a zero balance in AR as of Nov 9.  Where is the widget coming up with an actual cash balance of $1,280,160? 

 

It seems that a QB Labs functionality would want feedback.   How should we be sharing this feedback?

Ultimately, like so many others, we want the "Cash Flow Forecast" report that Desktop has...but in QBO of course.  In Desktop, that is a fast and easy way to see cash balance over time in an easy to view and drillable format (meaning you can drill into the net inflows when viewing the report).   That report is priceless and I don't think anything like it exists in QBO (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong).  I was hoping the new widget could get us just a little closer to that functionality.  But at the moment, it seems I can't trust the balance that it's displaying.  Again, it seems there should be a feedback loop.  Support says they don't support things in Beta.  How do we communicate what we are seeing?

MariaSoledadG
QuickBooks Team

Cash Flow widget from labs

I know how you want QuickBooks Online to work the way you want it to be, acbk.

 

Yet, for issues that involve product functionality, I recommend reaching out to our phone support team to check and investigate this further. They have the tools to pull up your account in a secure environment.

 

Here's how to reach them.

  1. Go to the Help icon, and then Contact Us.
  2. Type in your concern in the What can we help you with? field,
  3. Click the Let's talk button.
  4. In the Choose a way to connect with us section, select to Get a callback.
  5. Enter your information to successfully get a call from us.

I've attached these help articles for your reference in case you have questions about QuickBooks.

 

Feel free to let me know if there's anything else that you want us to help with. I'll always be around to assist you anytime.

acbk
Level 3

Cash Flow widget from labs

@MariaSoledadG   

 

You said, "I know how you want QuickBooks Online to work the way you want it to be, acbk." 

 

I'm not sure what you were trying to convey here, but some may interpret that as a slightly rude response.  Or maybe just odd wording?

 

Next you said, "I recommend reaching out to our phone support team to check and investigate this further."

 

As my first post stated, I already called into support and they told me they don't support anything in Beta.   They suggested I post in in the community forum.  I did.   

 

But...I followed your instruction and again, tried support.   I did that 30 minutes ago (again - 2nd time)  and talked with Karla.  She said ALMOST the same thing as my first call.  She said she's very sorry but she cannot report anything about beta products to engineers.  She couldn't do a glance and take picture.  She couldn't do a glance to even look at it with me.  She couldn't try to answer any questions I have about the tool or validate the variances that I'm seeing.  I asked her how do I get feedback to Intuit about this beta product that seems to be reporting significantly inaccurate cash balances?  She said the only thing I could do, since I already tried the community forum was Gear Icon - Feedback. 

 

So I've tried calling twice, posting in community forum, and gear icon feedback...all based on Intuit's instructions over a series of days.  I wouldn't think the beta teams would want the ProAdvisors to have to work this hard to give feedback....which I have no confidence they will actually get based on the unfortunate series of events I've described.

 

Since you work for Intuit, I hope you can  simply reply with assurances that you will pass the feedback along to someone who might be able to improve this entire process.   Maybe even you can figure out how to get feedback to this beta team.  That would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Pabz_L
QuickBooks Team

Cash Flow widget from labs

I appreciate the details, @acbk.

 

I recognize the need of being able to improve our QuickBooks Cash Flow Widget in QuickBooks Online. Rest assured I'll pass it along to our product developers so they can consider it in the next product release.

 

For now, I'd encourage you to visit our QuickBooks Blog, so you'll be updated with our product improvements. Just go to https://quickbooks.intuit.com/blog/.

 

Also, you can use this link as another way of sending feedback to our product and developers: Feedback.

 

Please know that the Community is always here for you whenever you have issues or concerns while using QuickBooks. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any other questions. Take care always.

Chepino96
Level 1

Cash Flow widget from labs

Hopefully a fix can be found, I have been trying to figure it out as well, my Cash Balance is QuickBooks is not the actual balance totaling the accounts, its double the amount, I checked the Chart of Accounts to see if I could find the inconsistency, but no luck...Maybe if we know where the figures are coming from we could fix the glitch.

Rasa-LilaM
QuickBooks Team

Cash Flow widget from labs

Thanks for joining this thread, Chepino96.


I appreciate all your efforts in trying to figure out where the inconsistency is coming from. I can help clarify why the Cash balance in QuickBooks doesn’t total to the actual balance of accounts.


The data will not match in QuickBooks when entries were manually entered (not included in the bank statement). Also, the data on the cash flow chart doesn’t include the following.

 

  • Credit card transactions
  • Transactions you've entered manually into QuickBooks
  • Multicurrency transactions

To fix the discrepancy, check the bank statement and run an account report. Then, compare the data for each one. The information should match what’s in the bank and register.

 

  1. Go to the Accounting menu on the left panel and choose Chart of Accounts.
  2. From the list, look for the bank you’re working on.
  3. Click the View register drop-down to select Run Report.
  4. Set the correct date range in the Report period drop-down.
  5. Hit Run Report to view the changes.

If you continue to get the same result, I recommend contacting our QBO Care Team. They have tools to help perform in-depth troubleshooting. If necessary, perform a screen-sharing session with you to check why the figure doesn’t match.

 

  1. Click on the Help icon at the top to display the QB Assistant window.
  2. Press the Talk to a human menu and enter the issue/topic.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
  4. From the option, choose Message an agent for real-time assistance or Get a callback.

For an overview of how the Cash Flow feature works, check out the following resources.

 

If you need help along the way, feel free to leave a comment below. I’ll be glad to help with your QuickBooks concerns. Have a good one.

acbk
Level 3

Cash Flow widget from labs

@Rasa-LilaM  I'm the original poster.  i'm not thinking you reviewed all the back and forth before Chepino96 added (THANKS Chepino96!).  

 

Let me try to clarify...and I hope Chepino would agree.

 

We are looking at Dashboard - Cashflow (turned on in QB Labs).  We are looking at the CASH BALANCE (not money in/out).  We are looking at the solid green line (not the dotted projected line).   The solid green line says that it is the actual cash balance.   

 

We are trying to compare that actual cash balance against SOMETHING in QBO (to validate the actual cash balance).  Since it's an ACTUAL number, we should be able to tie it to something in QBO.  If you can tell us exactly what it SHOULD tie to in QBO records dated that same date, that would be very helpful.

 

What I THINK the actual cash balance should tie to in QBO is...

 

1.  Balance sheet the same day -  focusing in on "Total bank accounts" plus Undeposited funds.

2.  Statement of Cash Flows the same day - focusing in on "ending cash balance" 

     

Note:  Those two reports; balance sheet "Total Bank accounts"  plus undeposited funds and the Statement of Cash flows ending cash balance  should match each other I believe.  

 

It doesn't have to tie to my suggestions, but...

1.  We should know what it should tie to

2.  It should be something we can validate

 

Feel free to look at the picture I attached showing one of my examples (Statement of Cash flow ending balance compared to the widget cash balance (not projected) on the same day - DRAMATICALLY different numbers).

 

When answering Chepina  you said, "The data will not match in QuickBooks when entries were manually entered (not included in the bank statement). Also, the data on the cash flow chart doesn’t include the following..."  I think you are venturing into the territory of PROJECTED cash balance in which we make manual entries into the widget.   Is that correct?  In my case, I have not entered anything into the widget (manually)  and I'm only looking and actual cash balance - not projected (and trying to validate it against something in QBO).   I validated that the widget will only allow you to make FUTURE (next 90 days only) manual entries so no manual entry should impact the solid green line (historical actual cash balance).

 

Finally and more importantly - you said "If you continue to get the same result, I recommend contacting our QBO Care Team. They have tools to help perform in-depth troubleshooting. If necessary, perform a screen-sharing session with you to check why the figure doesn’t match."   

 

Please, (as I said in the prior posts) know that I've tried twice and in neither case would the representative talk with me AT ALL about this because it's in beta.  Both reps said, they can't even talk to us about beta products.   They won't do a glance.  They won't look at it/talk about it.  They won't discuss it in any way.   They were both crystal clear and firm.  The first rep told me to post it in the community forum (which I did based on her direction).  The second told me I only could alert the beta team by posting it via  Gear Icon - Feed back (which I did based on her direction).   So there is a very big contradiction given multiple employees here have replied to this post by saying that we should contact support.  Support won't talk to us about beta products according to the two calls I have made (and I think I've been told that in the past).  Maybe you could forward this to managers...and they can talk to managers at support...and it might help to have everyone aligned in their actions.

 

Chepino - sorry if I misrepresented you in any way!!!!

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