wish: cash flow forecast

[Chris]

Please implement cash flow forecast feature, just like Microsoft Money's Cash flow forecast feature, which enables you to see in advance your cash flow forecast on a line graph. Microsoft has also enabled support for the display of more than one account in this view.

Other than that, I have to compliment the development team for an awesome personal money manager. A+++

Thanks.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

This is more a whish of a new feature and should have been posted as a blueprint.
Anyway, if you can send me a more detailed description of what this feature work in m$ money, I will have a look for sure.
(a small example with screenshot or any part of the help file should be ok)

[Brent West (bmwest-uiuc)]

I'd also like to chime in to request this feature. I use this heavily in MS Money to plan for multiple years in the future by estimating loan payoffs and tax-advantaged retirement investments based on expected surplus cashflows and coming up with targets for budgets. I'd be willing to donate/sponsor this feature for $30, an amount I would consider reasonable for personal financial software.

[Gabriel A. Zorrilla (gaz082)]

Can't believe a 15 years old software does not have it!

[Joel Makarov (siblingcreature)]

I would also like to request this feature. I'm new to this type of software but it was one of the features I was expecting going in.
Having the upcoming transactions list is useful, but what I'd really like to see is a way to see what the effect of my automatic transactions will be over a given period, considering that each one has a different timetable.

[James83 (giacomopennella)]

KMyMoney also do it! I will be really enthusiast to get rid of all KDE environment using Homebank instead of KMyMoney... but the forecast feature is too much important... please implent it!!!

[Raphael (r-davaillaud)]

I think this feature is a must have, please implement it.
To be able to preview how the budget will affect your future balance is really important, as you can see when there will be scheduled expense or income and so, when you can spend money for not budgeted things.

[TonyIT (nc8430)]

+1
It is a very useful tool.
I used it with KMyMoney and MoneyManagerEx

[TonyIT (nc8430)]

I admin my ignorance.
It's hard to implement a cash flow forecast report?

Ciao.

[Mick (mick-u)]

I'd also like to request this feature.
All the budget reports generate reports based on what has happened.
We need a report that can tell us what is going to happen, based on scheduled transactions.
Put simply I use this feature in other similar programs to see if I need to transfer any money from my savings account into my current account to stop it going into the red.

Other than that, excellent work guys. *****
The edit&post feature is spot on scheduled transactions very rarely happen on the day or for the exact amount.

Mick

[Chris (chris-neary)]

I use the Balance report for just this purpose; I have my scheduled transactions automatically post a year in advance so I can see them in the register, so maybe that's a workaround.

If you want your scheduled transactions to sit in the bottom window until you're ready to post them, and if that affects the Budget report's ability to see the effect they have, then this won't work for you. YMMV. :)

[Jason Thompson (jason-jasonandmary)]

This is the one feature that keeps me on KMyMoney. If Homebank had a forecasting feature, I would consider it.

[Rafael P. (rafael-p)]

Just checking on the status of this feature request that's been open for 10 years ;)
Is there any hope of implementation?
@Maxime: I know you must have other priorities, but is there anything we can do to help?

[Rafael P. (rafael-p)]

This is an example of such feature in Skrooge:
https://skrooge.org/node/51

[Vincent A (oldbear3)]

I would also like to request this feature. I come from Grisbi and it was one of the most important feature I needed. Are there news about it ?

[Mathieu DARNICHE (keizhac)]

I'd like to see it too.
It'll be really helpufull to see the budget as lines like a credit card or recursive bill, to really se how much money left. And at the end of the month, reset and only count wath was really use (like reduce the amount with each operation thath impact this budget line).

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

+1857894 should also include enable to show scheduled txn to the max forecast date

[Mistyk (skrzynkapanamarcina)]

This is must have.
We need a report that can tell us what is going to happen, based on scheduled transactions.

[Sébastien GRIPON (sebastien-gripon)]

+1, I think this is more important to have such a graph in the main page compared to categories.

This features is very well implemented in BudgetView (closed source and not maintained anymore). See :

https://www.mybudgetview.fr/files/images_fr/support/clefs_vue_budget.png

If needed, I can contribute for a more detailed specification, maybe coding also.

[Rafael P. (rafael-p)]

I'm with you Sebastien!
I suggested to give the choice of graph in the main page a while ago, but it didn't attract a lot of attention it seems...

https://bugs.launchpad.net/homebank/+bug/1857890

Please vote of you're interested, it is complementary to the current request. :)

[Hari T (hyskh1)]

I'd like this feature too. Been a long time user of MS Money Sunset edition, still works fine (a bit slow to start). This is the only main feature missing from my point of view and I would move to this app if it was there.

Watching with interest for this feature.

[Sérgio Silva (sergiojsilva)]

Hello everyone! This is my first post, excuse me any error...

Maxime: Thank you for this great application. Regarding this feature, I think this is a plus for this solution. Also, I believe it is very easy to implement because you already have schedule payments and future payments! :)

To make this work I think the following changes are needed:
1) add a system setting with the max time for cash flow forecast, p.e. six months or one year - should be set by user;
2) when adding a schedule payment, the user can set the end for the schedule payment (already done) and the system will create all the future payments beween the starting date and the end date, OR, the system will create the future payments between the start date and the max time for cash flow forecast (p.e. one year);
3) the future payments should be related to the schedule payment, so, if the user changes the schedule payment, the system should adjust the future payments;
4) when the application open, the system should recalculate the future payments for schedule payments already set until the end of cash flow forecast setting;
5) the application already have the report with incomes and expenses for time in future, based on the future payments; instead, just show the balance of the account on the end of each month, always starting the report in the current month and for the time set in the cash flow forecast setting;

With this, I think this feature will be accomplished.

Thank you again!

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

teasing

[Pascal (pascal06)]

Hello everybody, and especially Maxime.

First, I would like to thank you for your wonderful work.
Currently, I'm using another personal finance software, since a long time now:
https://ymsoft.fr/Comptes/Page1.htm
I would like to switch to another program for many reasons (this one is a bit complex to use, and has some minor bugs under Wine).
Yours is a very potential candidate, especially since you committed the cash flow forecast.
So I'm evaluating it, and first thing I'm trying is "Rapport statistique / Mode temps / Prévision"
I'm choosing a one year period (eg 2024)... But what a pitty, it goes until august. Why not the entire period? What would have been great too have the total amount curve, not only the different expenses.
Thanks a lot in advance for your valuable help.

Pascal

[gingeroots (gingeroots)]

Hello,

I'd also like to be able to see an estimate of my balance at the end of the month, based on planned transactions and even reminders.

[Vincent A (oldbear3)]

I know that the function has been implemented for a few months now, but I find that the manual lacks any reference points for understanding how it works. Is it based on previous years to predict? Is it based on planned income and expenditure? The graph is interesting, but I think it would be easier to read if it were displayed in a window with details of forecasts made.
Are there any plans to at least include details in the software user manual?

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

https://www.gethomebank.org/help/00-lexicon.html#forecast

[Vincent A (oldbear3)]

@mdoyen > I did see this section in the Homebank help, but I find it very terse. There are no details on what is calculated and I don't understand from these few sentences what the cash flow forecast diagram represents or how it calculates these forecasts.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

Indeed, documenting takes time and is not simple, but the sentence alone seems clear, as no ones asked for precision: 'It is based on the scheduled transaction', as requested in the exchanges of this ticket.

So if you have planned +1000/month you will have for each future month +1000 and the same for the debits.
The forecast is the sum of scheduled txn debit and credit, as there were already occurred, until the projected month.

[Vincent A (oldbear3)]

Thank you very much for your answer. My apologies if my question was boring, but I thought that "scheduled transactions" wasn't necessarily completely clear. Thank you again for taking the time to clarify.

[gingeroots (gingeroots)]

Is there any way we could have a forecasted cashflow graph line in the balance report based on scheduled transactions ? I'd love to know what might be by balance during the upcoming month to anticipate.