Cash Flow Management
Cash-flow Visibility Architecture for Manufacturing
How we implemented cash-flow visibility architecture for a manufacturing client, reducing reporting latency from T+20 to T+1.
Engagement at a glance
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Focus
- Cash Flow Management
- Systems and work involved
- Microsoft Excel · Power Query (M Language) · Bank ODBC Feeds
On this page
The business context
A mid-sized manufacturing company was operating without real-time visibility into their cash position. The finance team prepared cash reports manually at month-end, often 15-20 days after the period closed. This created a blind spot during the month—decisions about vendor payments, capital expenditure, and short-term borrowing were made without current data.
The challenge
Reporting Latency
Financial reports were available only at T+20 days, making them historical rather than actionable.
No Forward View
Upcoming receivables and payables were tracked in silos, with no consolidated forecast.
Manual Reconciliation
Bank statements were reconciled manually against Tally entries, consuming 3-4 person-days monthly.
What we found
What we changed
Bank Feed Integration
Established ODBC connections to pull daily bank balances automatically into a master Excel workbook.
Categorized Tracker
Built a structured cash flow tracker with separate sheets for operating inflows, operating outflows, financing, and investing activities. Each entry tagged by vendor/customer and expected date.
Power Query Automation
Used M language scripts to refresh data from bank feeds and Tally exports with a single click. No manual copy-paste required.
Rolling 13-Week Forecast
Created a forward-looking view that projects cash position based on committed receivables, scheduled payables, and recurring expenses.
Implementation
Week 1-2: Documented current data sources and mapped the flow of information.
Week 3-4: Built the master workbook structure and established bank feed connections.
Week 5-6: Trained the finance team on the refresh process and weekly review rhythm.
Week 7-8: Conducted parallel runs to validate accuracy against manual reports.
Outcomes
| Area | Result described in this case |
|---|---|
| Reporting Latency | Reduced from T+20 to T+1 (next-day visibility) |
| Reconciliation Time | Reduced from 3-4 days to 2-3 hours monthly |
| Forecast Accuracy | 85% accuracy on 4-week forward projections |
The practical lesson
This material is general information. Apply it to your business only after checking the relevant facts, source documents and requirements.