Real-time cash flow with Saga: how to get a 30/60/90 day forecast without changing your software
Saga shows you the past. A CFO needs the future. Here is how to build a forward-looking cash flow forecast on top of your Saga data.
Bogdan Minoiu — Founder Azuvio · 2026-05-21 · 8 min · Cash flow
Why Saga doesn't give you a cash flow forecast
Saga is built as a system of historical record (general ledger, trial balance, tax filings). It is not designed as a financial planning tool. This means Saga can tell you perfectly:
How much cash you collected last week
How many outstanding invoices you have (AR balance)
How much you owe to suppliers (AP balance)
But it doesn't tell you:
How much cash you will have in your account three weeks from Friday
If you can cover next month's payroll without an overdraft
What the cash flow looks like if you lose Client X, who represents 22% of sales
Exactly when to draw on your credit line and for how many days
For all of this, you need a cash flow forecast — a forward-looking projection for 30/60/90 days, updated daily, featuring multiple scenarios.
The components of a real cash flow forecast
A solid forecast is built from 5 data sources:
1. Outstanding issued invoices (from Saga: AR aging) → projected cash IN based on due dates
2. Historical payment behaviour per client (from Saga: real DSO per client over the last 12 months) → adjusting theoretical due dates with the actual average (Client X pays on average 18 days late)
3. Pipeline orders (from CRM / OMS / Azuvio: orders accepted but not yet invoiced) → future cash IN once invoiced and collected
4. Debts and planned payments (from Saga: AP aging + recurring salaries + monthly taxes + leasing installments) → projected cash OUT
5. Seasonality (from Saga: 3-5 year historical monthly patterns) → adjustments for future sales
Saga provides the core data (1, 2, 4, 5). The operational layer (Azuvio or your CRM) provides the pipeline (3). The BI / Excel / dashboard combines everything into the forecast.
A practical architecture for mid-market companies
Step 1 — Configure automated exports from Saga (nightly):
AR balances and due dates (customer receivables)
AP balances and due dates (supplier payables)
Monthly recurring payroll and tax payments
Bank account balances
Step 2 — Configure pipeline capture (from CRM, Azuvio, or any sales tool):
Accepted orders not yet invoiced
Leads with >70% probability and estimated billing date
Step 3 — Apply adjustment rules (simple model, not rocket science):
Real DSO per client (automatically calculated from Saga over 12 months)
Collection probability per client category (A / B / C)
Monthly seasonality (multiplier vs. annual average)
Step 4 — Visualize the forecast (Power BI, Metabase, Azuvio dashboard):
Line chart: cash in bank per day for the next 90 days
Automated alerts: "on June 18th, the balance drops below €50k — liquidity tension"
Scenarios: "what if I lose Client X?", "what if I delay payments to supplier Y by 30 days?"
What it costs to build this
DIY Option (competent internal controller + Excel/Power BI):
40-80 hours for initial setup
2-4 hours/week for maintenance
Cost: only the controller's time. Limitations: fragile to changes in Saga, depends on one person, limited scenarios.
Azuvio Operational Layer + CFO Dashboard Option:
Setup: 2-4 weeks, ~€3,000-€5,000 one-time
Operations: ~€6,000-€9,000/year (part of the Business plan)
Benefits: live, automated, configurable scenarios, native integration with Saga + your pipeline, ready-made CFO dashboard.
"New ERP with treasury module" Option (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage):
€80,000-€200,000 + 8-12 months implementation
Excessive for the actual problem — you end up using 5% of the ERP for a problem that can be solved with 5% of the budget.
The real ROI of cash flow forecasting
For a company with €5-20M turnover, a forward-looking cash flow forecast brings:
10-25% reduction in financing costs: draw credit only when needed, for exact periods, not "just in case"
Elimination of unplanned overdrafts: zero accidental overdraft fees
Data-driven investment decisions: "can I purchase Christmas stock with my own cash or do I need a credit line?"
Better supplier negotiations: plan large payments for weeks with surplus cash
Executive peace of mind: no liquidity surprises on Monday morning
Typical Year 1 Savings: €30,000-€150,000 (depending on turnover and current cash cycle).
Conclusion
Real-time cash flow with Saga is not an illusion — it is a simple architecture: Saga remains the historical data source + your pipeline + simple projection rules + live dashboard. Cost: €8,000-€15,000/year. Typical ROI: 5-15x in Year 1. See how the Azuvio CFO Dashboard looks on top of Saga or read "Saga limitations for large companies" for scale-up context.