QuickBooks Cash Flow: Planner and Debit Card

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Murph and I have taken a bit of a 'tag-team' approach in this mini-series on the new QuickBooks Cash Flow line-up being rolled-out by Intuit. In the first part of this series we focused on the overall features being offered at a high level. Then last week we dove deeper into QuickBooks Cash and Envelopes. Today we will focus on Cash Flow Planning and the QuickBooks Debit Card.

I’m thrilled to be sharing the QuickBooks Cash Flow features with you because Cash Flow forecasting of electronic funds can be difficult to manage. Tracking upcoming bills and expected income in QuickBooks is a big part of cash flow forecasting.

Teaching your clients to 'enter bills' and 'pay bills', in QuickBooks gives you better clarity. Determining if your client has enough funds in the bank to cover expected expenditures requires also keeping track of accounts receivable. By using the ‘invoice’ and ‘receive payment’ features in QuickBooks you get a better view of your client’s financial health.

The reason for covering the QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner and the QuickBooks Debit Card together is to show how they are related to managing earmarked funds.

QuickBooks Cash Flow Planner

Now if you remember back I first told you that this Planner was on it's way in an article I wrote in November of last year. Do I have a 'crystal ball' or what?  Really a version of the Planner has been in the Mobile App shortly after I wrote that article.

Cash Flow Planner Overview:

The Cash Flow Planner analyses the input inside QuickBooks Online. Based on the amount of data entered QuickBooks utilizes machine learning to predict up to the next 90 days. The key is the better the data input the better the results. This is why clients who track accounts receivable and accounts payable in QuickBooks will have more accurate cash flow forecasts.

Through the use of machine learning the Cash Flow Planner can create alerts when then does not appear to be enough funds available to cover expenditures. As the Cash Flow Planner evolves recommendations will also be generated to help manages a cash flow shortfall.

  • By The Way: Cash Flow Planner will work for customers who don’t invoice in QuickBooks Online like restaurants or e-commerce. These users can connect to bank accounts so the financial history can be used to make future predictions.

QuickBooks Debit Card

We told you about a new 'QuickBooks Bank Account' in both of our last two articles within this mini-series called 'QuickBooks Cash'. So, what would a bank account be without offering a 'Debit Card'? Certainly you didn't think QuickBooks wouldn't offer one!

QuickBooks Debit Card Overview

To start you must have an active QuickBooks Cash account to use the QuickBooks Debit Card. The debit card works like a traditional debit card allowing users to purchase goods as normal. You can even get free ATM withdrawals (up to 4x/statement cycle). 

Here are some additional details about the QuickBooks Cash Account and Debit Card:

  • Only one ATM cards are available per account.
  • You can use the card at international ATMs. More information is available here.
  • QuickBooks Cash is FDIC-insured through Green Dot Bank.
  • There is no overdraft coverage
  • Monthly statements are issued
  • You can choose to accept payments into the cash account or another external account 
  • Users will access their QuickBooks Cash account from the QuickBooks Navigation Bar.

So, what else is different about the QuickBooks Debit Card? The QuickBooks Debit card works in combination with QuickBooks Envelopes. Remember Envelopes are a subset of funds reserved for a specific task. Each Envelope can be labeled and assigned a given duty such as Payroll or Insurance. These funds never leave the bank account but instead they are “virtually set aside for the purpose defined”. If you are using a QuickBooks Debit which has a labeled Envelope and funds are low in that bank account, the Debit Card will not allow you to dip into the earmarked envelopes. If you choose to remove the restriction you can easily do so from within QuickBooks or on the go with the mobile app. 

The Envelopes are creating a holding spot inside QuickBooks online users to better manage their funds. See last week's article about the envelopes and their use.

Wrapping-up this Mini-series

All of these QuickBooks Cash Flow features look promising. I’m ready to start using them for my clients.

I am certain that there will be little tweaks along the way, and maybe even some other features rolled-out that go along with the major aspects that have been released. As new information and features are released, we will keep you posted.  

Footnotes & Disclosures:

1 Subscription to QuickBooks Online is required. Banking Services provided by and QuickBooks Visa® Debit Card is issued by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC, under a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association. Green Dot is a registered trademark of Green Dot Corporation. QuickBooks products and services are not provided by Green Dot Bank.

2 Four (4) free in-network ATM withdrawals per each monthly billing cycle, $3 ATM withdrawal for out-of-network or after 4th free withdrawal of the month; 3% fee per foreign transaction.