Case Study

From Cash Basis Tracking to a 13 Week Cash Flow Forecast: Finance Transformation for a Global MSP

A managed IT services provider in business for 35 years needed to see its cash 13 weeks ahead before it committed to new hires, an office move and a pricing change. We built the forecast, the collections model and the weekly reporting that made those decisions safe, and we did it in eight weeks.

Finance Transformation · Delivered · By Nathaniel Rub, Founder · Published September 19, 2026

The client

AIM (AIManagement Inc.) served as fractional Director of Finance for a managed IT services provider with about 50 people across eight offices in the US, UK and UAE. Its clients are hedge funds, private equity firms and banks, and roughly 70% of its revenue is recurring managed services. It carries no debt and was planning to grow headcount by a quarter.

The challenge

Finance ran on cash basis tracking spread across QuickBooks, a PSA billing platform and spreadsheets, with an accounting team in India and legal entities in three countries. Leadership could see the bank balance but not next quarter. Receivables were aging, margins needed work, and the board wanted reporting the team had no way to produce.

What we built

The engagement ran eight weeks with 85 defined deliverables. Week one was data gathering, weeks two and three put the core systems in place, and the rest went to optimization and year end preparation.

Where AI fit

AI and Python did the heavy lifting on building and maintaining the model. Every number that reached the board was checked against the ledger by a person first. We do not present an AI generated figure as fact, ever.

Targets set at kickoff

MetricTarget set at kickoff
Forecast varianceUnder 5%
Days sales outstanding30 to 35 days
Weekly reports delivered on time100%
Contracts reviewed10 or more
Cost saving opportunities identified2 or more
Executive satisfaction4 out of 5 or higher

These are the targets the engagement was measured against. The measured results are not published, so no figures are stated here.

Why it matters for MSPs

Recurring revenue hides cash risk. Monthly billing feels stable while collections lag and labor costs creep. A forecast that models collections the way they really happen (4.33 weeks a month, with receipts peaking in weeks four to nine) turns that lag into a number you can manage.

FAQ

What is a 13 week cash flow forecast?

A week by week view of expected receipts, payments and ending cash for the next quarter, refreshed every week. Lenders, boards and turnaround advisors all rely on it.

Can AIM work with an offshore accounting team?

Yes. This engagement ran with an accounting team in India and managers in the US, UK and UAE.

How long does an MSP finance transformation take?

Eight weeks in this case: data gathering in week one, core systems in weeks two and three, optimization and year end preparation after that.

Related: Finance Transformation · Executive Dashboards · An agentic AI finance system for confidential client financials. See the rest of the work on the case studies index.

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Bring one workflow, its owner, and what an incorrect result would cost. That is enough to scope the first engagement.

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