Creating a New Cash Forecast in ZoneLiquidity – ZoneReconcile Knowledge Base

Audience: External | ZoneLiquidity Users

ZoneLiquidity combines deterministic open ledger commitments, historical recurring patterns, and AI-driven statistical modelling to deliver an accurate cash forecast. This article walks you through creating a new forecast, configuring preferences, adding business input overlays, and setting destination rules.

Note: Clicking on the images within this guide will enlarge them for better viewing.

Preference Tip: If you prefer a guided experience, follow the video above. For specific navigation paths, refer to the text instructions below.

Overview

Once a NetSuite Administrator has saved the ZoneLiquidity API Secret, you can create as many forecasts as you need. The credentials are stored against your account, so the wizard skips straight to General Preferences and you never need to enter a secret. This applies whether you are picking up immediately after an Administrator hands off the initial setup, or creating a forecast weeks later.

Important: If the initial setup has not been completed, the wizard prompts for an API Secret and you cannot proceed. See Completing the Initial ZoneLiquidity Setup and contact your NetSuite Administrator.

Prerequisites

A NetSuite Administrator has completed the initial ZoneLiquidity setup, including the API Secret.
At least 1 subsidiary with associated bank accounts is configured in NetSuite.
Historical transaction data exists for the subsidiaries and bank accounts you intend to forecast. The system looks back 365 days from the forecast creation date to train the AI model. For best results, aim for at least 6–12 months of reasonably complete payment history.

Who can create a forecast

Create a forecast while logged in to NetSuite with 1 of the following roles:

Role	When to use it
Administrator	Full access, including the ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record used for validation and troubleshooting.
ZoneLiquidity Role	Standard role for finance users who create and review forecasts.
ZoneLiquidity Role (SAML Single Sign On)	Equivalent to the ZoneLiquidity role, for users who authenticate through SAML single sign-on.

Important: Without 1 of these roles, you cannot open the forecast wizard. Contact your NetSuite Administrator to request the required role before proceeding.

Step 1: Launch the setup wizard

How you open the wizard depends on whether your account already has a forecast.

If this is the first forecast in your account: Navigate to Setup > ZoneLiquidity > ZoneLiquidity Setup. (In Zone Control Center, click Setup > Liquidity Setup.)

ZoneLiquidity Setup menu path in NetSuite

If a forecast already exists: Navigate to Setup > ZoneLiquidity > Forecasting and click New Forecast. (In Zone Control Center, click Cash forecast, then New Forecast.)

Either way, the ZoneLiquidity Setup Wizard opens at General Preferences because the API Secret is already stored.

Step 2: Set general preferences

General preferences define the basic scope of the forecast.

General Preferences step of the New Forecast Setup wizard

Important: Custom forecast naming is not yet available. Forecasts are identified by their internal system ID. To distinguish between forecasts, note the creation date and configuration details on the ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record.

Select subsidiaries

Select 1 or more subsidiaries from the Subsidiary pick-list. 'Select All' to avoid selecting each subsidiary individually.

Tip: For cleaner results, start with a single subsidiary. Combining multiple subsidiaries is supported, but all cash forecast amounts consolidate into the headquarter subsidiary's currency.

Select bank accounts

Once you select a subsidiary, the Bank Accounts pick-list filters automatically to show only accounts associated with that subsidiary. Select 1 or more bank and credit card accounts to include.

You do not need to include every account. Leave low-volume accounts unselected if you do not want to forecast them, and exclude test or legacy accounts to avoid noise in the results.

Set the forecast period

Select a pre-defined period (such as Q1 2027) from the Forecast Period options, or choose custom start and end dates. The forecast period determines the date range over which the system projects bank balances.

Select transaction types

Select the transaction types that represent your cash inflows and outflows. ZoneLiquidity automatically evaluates qualifying NetSuite transactions across AR, AP, direct banking, and general ledger records. Use the table below to understand how each transaction type is handled.

How to read this table

Transaction type — The standard NetSuite record type.
Flow type — Indicates whether the transaction increases cash (Inflow / AR), decreases cash (Outflow / AP), or acts as a deduction or contra-entry (Offset).
Enhanced Projections (open / pending) — ✅ Yes: open, approved, or unbilled records are pulled directly into the Enhanced Projections forecast layer as future forecast events based on due dates, delivery dates, or payment terms. The system uses AI to understand past payment patterns and identify the payment dates more accurately.
Patterns and AI (historical actuals) — ✅ Yes: settled or closed transactions are ingested into the machine learning models to detect recurring operational patterns and forecast baseline cash flows.
Netting and handling logic — The business rules applied to prevent duplicate counting.

Transaction type	Flow type	Projections (open / pending)	Patterns and AI (historical actuals)	Netting and handling logic
Sales orders	Inflow (AR)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Projected based on expected ship/fulfillment dates; unbilled amounts are dynamically netted against customer deposits to prevent overstatement.
Customer invoices	Inflow (AR)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Ingested into Projections using due date and payment terms. Once closed or paid, feeds historical pattern detection and AI models. Relieves open sales order projections.
Customer credit memos	Outflow / AR Offset	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Open or unapplied credit memos reduce projected AR inflows. Settled credits adjust historical net collections.
Cash sales	Inflow (Direct)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Settles immediately; serves as direct bank inflow history for pattern recognition and AI model training.
Customer payments	Inflow (AR Settle)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Primary training dataset for realised bank receipts and customer payment timing and behaviour metrics.
Customer deposits	Inflow (AR Prepay)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Realised cash inflows upon deposit; netted against open sales orders to avoid duplicate revenue forecasting.
Customer refunds	Outflow (AR Return)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Realised cash outflows against customer deposits or credit memos; factored into net cash flow history.
Purchase orders	Outflow (AP)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Projected based on expected delivery or receipt dates; unbilled amounts are dynamically netted against vendor prepayments.
Vendor bills	Outflow (AP)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Ingested into Projections based on due date and discount terms. Paid bills train recurring vendor expense patterns. Relieves open purchase order projections.
Vendor credits	Inflow / AP Offset	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Open or unapplied vendor credits reduce projected AP outflows. Settled credits adjust historical net disbursements.
Vendor prepayments	Outflow (AP Prepay)	❌ No (netted)	✅ Yes	Settled prepayments record actual bank outflows; dynamically deducted from open purchase order balances to prevent double-counting commitments.
Bill payments	Outflow (AP Settle)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Realised cash disbursement actuals; feeds vendor payment behaviour analysis and historical actuals.
Expense reports	Outflow (AP)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Open or approved unbilled expense reports project upcoming employee reimbursements; settled reports feed historical actuals.
Checks	Outflow (Direct)	❌ No	✅ Yes	Non-AP direct bank disbursements; included in baseline cash flow history and periodic recurring expense patterns.
Journal entries (simple)	Inflow / Outflow	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	Open lines: AR debit lines project as inflows; AP credit lines project as outflows. Closed or bank lines: debit to bank = inflow; credit to bank = outflow. Excludes Advanced Intercompany Journal Entries.

Tip: Tailor the selection to how your business operates. If you work primarily on a cash basis through payment service providers, for example, cash sales and customer payments may be sufficient.

Important: Only the transaction types listed above are supported in this version. Custom transactions are not supported, payments posted to the Undeposited Funds GL account are not considered, and transactions with a Pending Approval status are excluded.

Step 3: Configure business inputs (manual overlays)

Capture forward-looking events and assumptions not yet recorded on the NetSuite general ledger — for example, planned hiring, tax settlements, CAPEX, or debt service.

Click Add Business Input.
Complete the following fields:
- Event Name / Description — Enter a free-text title (for example, Q4 Tax Payment or Sales Team Expansion).
- Effective Date — Select the date from which the forecast should take the inflow/outflow into account.
- Subsidiary and Bank Account — Select the relevant subsidiary and bank account scoped in General Preferences.
- Amount — Enter the expected amount in the forecast consolidation currency.
- Flow Type — Select Inflow (Cash In) or Outflow (Cash Out).
- Recurrence — Choose One-off, Daily, Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
Repeat for any additional manual adjustments.

Step 4: Configure destination rules

Destination rules define financial thresholds that overlay the forecast chart, helping you interpret results against your cash management objectives.

Rule	Description
Liquidity Floor	The minimum bank balance your organisation must always maintain. Use it to represent a legal minimum balance requirement, or the sum of non-negotiable recurring costs such as payroll, rent, and VAT obligations.
Cash Milestone Target	The cash balance your organisation aims to reach by the end of the forecast period. This functions as a KPI or OKR benchmark within the forecast chart.

Both fields are optional. Complete them where possible — they appear as reference lines on the Cash Forecast chart, making it easier to see at a glance how your cash position tracks against your goals.

Important: Destination rule amounts always display in the headquarter subsidiary's currency. To confirm which currency applies, navigate to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries and check the Currency field on the Parent subsidiary.

Step 5: Review and execute

The Review and Execute screen summarises every selection you made in the previous steps. Review the configuration, then click Save and Execute to initiate the forecast.

The system performs 2 actions simultaneously:

Creates a ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record to log the configuration and track execution status.
Sends the selected transactions from the past 365 days to Zone's AI model via the ZR Transaction Sync MR script.

Important: The historical look-back period is fixed at 365 days and cannot be changed. The AI model uses this payment transaction history to generate the forecast.

Step 6: Confirm completion

Execution time varies with the volume of transactions being sent. You do not need to remain on the page while the system processes.

A success message appears when execution completes and the forecast is ready.

Automatic daily sync

Once your forecast is created, Automatic Daily Sync Active appears to confirm that your forecast stays current without any further action from you. Every 24 hours, new transaction data matching your configured filters (the subsidiaries, bank accounts, and transaction types you selected in General Preferences) is automatically synced to the forecasting service.

Note: The initial sync sends the previous 365 days of transactions. After that, only new transactions are sent each day, so you do not need to create a new forecast or re-run the wizard to keep your data up to date.

Important: The ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record is accessible only through the Administrator role. If you are working under a ZoneLiquidity or ZoneLiquidity SAML role, ask your NetSuite Administrator to check the record's Status and Sync Count fields on your behalf.

Validating forecast results

Once the forecast completes, validate the output before sharing it with your finance team. Navigate to Setup > ZoneLiquidity > Forecasting and confirm the following:

Inflow and outflow patterns look reasonable for the selected subsidiary and period.
The Liquidity Floor and Cash Milestone Target reference lines appear on the forecast chart as intended.

Troubleshooting

If results look incorrect or unexpected, check the following:

Source criteria and bank account mapping — confirm the correct transaction types and bank accounts are selected and that no relevant cash activity is excluded. Ask your Administrator to review the ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record, which holds a full snapshot of the submitted configuration.
Historical data — confirm transaction history is complete for the 365-day look-back period. Missing or misclassified transactions affect the AI model's output. Review the Transactions sublist on the forecast itself.
Sync status: If new transactions are not reflected in your forecast, confirm that they match the filters saved on the forecast and that the daily sync is active. Ask your Administrator to check the Status and Sync Count fields on the ZoneLiquidity Forecast Definition record.

Next steps

Navigate to Setup > ZoneLiquidity > Forecasting to view your results. See the related articles below for guidance on interpreting the Liquidity page, the Cash Forecast chart, Working Capital Insights, and the Scenario Planning Agent.

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