# Cash flow forecasting for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "cash flow forecasting software" and as "cash management tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://finance-ai-index.com/treasury/cash-flow-forecasting/smb/

**Standing:** Float leads with 35% of first choices; verdict contested. 55 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Float | 35% | 12% | 65 |
| 2 | Cash Flow Frog | 16% | 0% | 32 |
| 3 | Xero Cash Flow Forecasting | 7% | 25% | 16 |
| 4 | Pulse | 4% | 4% | 23 |
| 5 | Chaser | 4% | 0% | 10 |
| 6 | Agicap | 4% | 31% | 13 |
| 7 | Fathom | 0% | 10% | 31 |
| 8 | Dryrun | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 9 | Futrli | 0% | 10% | 10 |
| 10 | QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner | 0% | 22% | 18 |
| 11 | Workday Adaptive Planning | 0% | 75% | 12 |
| 12 | Anaplan | 0% | 91% | 11 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Float; alternatives Cash Flow Frog, Chaser, Drivetrain, Fathom
- GPT-5.4 mini: Float; alternatives Agicap, Dryrun, Fathom
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Cash Flow Frog; alternatives Dryrun, Float, Jirav, QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner
- Perplexity Sonar: Float; alternatives Chaser, Fathom
- Grok 4.1 Fast: Float; alternatives Cash Flow Frog, Dryrun
- Mistral Small: Float; alternatives Chaser, Upflow
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Cash Flow Frog; alternatives Fathom, Float, Jirav, Upflow
- Llama 4 Maverick: Float; alternatives Chaser, Cube, Upflow
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Float Finance; alternatives Kashoo, Pulse
- Kimi K2: Cash Flow Frog, Float; alternatives Quicken Business & Personal, Tesorio
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Float; alternatives Futrli
- MiniMax M2.5: Float; alternatives Chaser, Futrli, Pulse, Tesorio
- GPT-6 Luna: Cash Flow Frog; alternatives Float
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Float; alternatives Agicap, Chaser, Tesorio

## Sources the answers cite

75 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- quicken.com: 41 answers, 64 citations
- tesorio.com: 39 answers, 48 citations
- guideflow.com: 36 answers, 39 citations
- drivetrain.ai: 33 answers, 36 citations
- upflow.io: 26 answers, 32 citations
- abacum.ai: 24 answers, 24 citations
- fathomhq.com: 23 answers, 28 citations
- floatapp.com: 21 answers, 36 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://tesorio.com/blog/best-cash-flow-forecasting-software-in-2026-reviewed-and-compared (38 answers)
- https://drivetrain.ai/solutions/cash-flow-forecasting-software (33 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/cash-flow-forecasting-software (31 answers)
- https://quicken.com/blog/top-financial-planning-software-with-cash-flow-analysis-features (30 answers)
- https://abacum.ai/blog/best-cash-flow-forecasting-software-for-smbs (24 answers)
- https://upflow.io/software/best-cash-flow-forecasting (23 answers)
- https://quicken.com/blog/15-best-tools-for-small-business-cash-flow-and-tax-management-in-2026 (17 answers)
- https://quicken.com/blog/best-tools-for-tracking-small-business-cash-flow-and-personal-finances (16 answers)
- https://melio.com/blog/10-apps-to-help-you-predict-your-cash-flow (15 answers)
- https://fathomhq.com/blog/the-best-cash-flow-forecasting-software (15 answers)

## Warned against

- Microsoft Excel: 7 of 8 labels negative. "Avoid Excel as Your Primary Forecasting Tool (Despite How Common It Is)" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Workday Adaptive Planning: 9 of 12 labels negative. "Tools like Anaplan and Workday Adaptive Planning are designed for large enterprises... often overkill for small businesses" (Mistral Small, negative prompt)
- Anaplan: 10 of 11 labels negative. "Tools like Anaplan and Workday Adaptive Planning are designed for large enterprises... often overkill for small businesses" (Mistral Small, negative prompt)
- Float: 8 of 65 labels negative. "I wouldn't start with Float on a tight budget: its listed single-entity plan is $265/month." (GPT-6 Luna, budget prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 10 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Float at 35%.

- QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner: 15% to 0%, −15. Cleared the floor by 5 points · rank 3 → 23 of 100.
- Xero Cash Flow Forecasting: 2% to 8%, +6. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 7 → 3 of 100.
- Pulse: 6% to 2%, −4. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 5 → 8 of 100.
- Float: 31% to 35%, +3. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 1 of 100, unchanged.
- Futrli: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 11 → 22 of 100.
- Agicap: 2% to 4%, +2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 10 → 7 of 100.
- Cash Flow Frog: 15% to 14%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 2 of 100, unchanged.
- Fathom: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 16 → 20 of 100.
- Dryrun: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 17 → 21 of 100.
- Workday Adaptive Planning: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 77 → 99 of 100.
- Anaplan: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 78 → 100 of 100.

## Record

- Method: https://finance-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://finance-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Finance AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, finance-ai-index.com.