Float and Pulse (and similar tools like Fluidly and Cash Flow Frog) are short-term cash flow forecasting platforms. They connect to accounting systems and produce rolling 13-week cash projections showing which weeks will be tight and which will be flush. For businesses managing cash on a weekly cadence, these tools are valuable. What they do not do is answer whether the business's fundamental economics can fund MMP over the next twelve months, whether Working Capital Actual is sufficient to cover Required, or whether pricing is delivering enough gross margin to survive.
The Two Different Questions
Float / Pulse answers: "When in the next 13 weeks will cash be tight?"
The Aldebert Diagnostic answers: "Can the business structurally fund MMP at its operating floor?"
Two different questions. Both matter. Confusing them is where owners lose time and money.
Side by Side
| Cash flow forecasting tools (Float, Pulse) | The Aldebert Diagnostic (RTO + MMP + Layer Cake) | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | 13-week cash flow forecast | Structural diagnostic on operating floor |
| Core question | When will cash be tight in the next quarter? | Can the business fund MMP structurally? |
| Time horizon | 13 weeks forward | Continuous reading of current reality |
| Primary input | AP, AR, payroll, recurring commitments | 11 proprietary Business Biomarkers |
| Output | Weekly cash position projection | MMP, Layer Cake, Breakeven, written verdict |
| What it catches | Timing gaps within the next 90 days | Structural gaps that will produce timing crises |
| Best use | Weekly cash management for tight-cash businesses | Diagnostic identification of why cash keeps getting tight |
| Users | Bookkeepers, controllers, CFOs, owners | Owner-operators and their diagnostic advisors |
What Cash flow forecasting tools (Float, Pulse) Does Well
Float, Pulse, and similar 13-week forecasting tools handle a real problem well. Businesses with lumpy receivables, seasonal payables, or major one-time commitments need to see which weeks will be tight so they can plan around them. The tools connect to bank feeds, calculate a rolling forecast, and update automatically as new invoices and bills arrive. For a business that lives week to week on cash management, these are essential. They surface timing problems before the checks bounce.
What the Aldebert Diagnostic Adds
Cash timing tools show when cash will be tight. They do not answer why cash is tight in the first place. If the underlying business is under Required Working Capital, no amount of 13-week forecasting will fix the structural gap. It will just show the same shortfall on repeat weeks. The Aldebert Diagnostic runs the Working Capital Gap calculation, sizes the structural shortfall in dollars, and produces the pricing or cost restructuring move required to close it. Once the structural gap is closed, the 13-week tool becomes accurate rather than repeatedly warning about the same recurring tightness.
The Structural Test Cash Forecasting Misses
A 13-week cash forecast is arithmetic on scheduled receivables and payables. It is precise. It also assumes the underlying economics of the business are healthy enough that a good forecast is worth having.
When Working Capital Required exceeds Working Capital Actual by a meaningful amount, the 13-week forecast keeps showing tightness in weeks 4, 8, and 12 (or whatever the collection cycle pattern produces). The owner adjusts around the tightness week by week. The tightness never actually resolves because the shortfall is structural.
The Aldebert Diagnostic runs Required against Actual and names the gap in dollars. That number becomes a target. Repair it through pricing (raise the recurring book to fund the working capital growth built into the pricing) or through cost restructuring (cut the fixed obligation to lower the working capital requirement) or through cycle compression (get paid faster, pay suppliers slower).
This is exactly the pattern in the contractor field note. Weekly cash tools would have shown tight weeks. They would not have surfaced the $340,000 structural gap.
How They Work Together
Use Float or Pulse for weekly cash management once the structural gap is closed. Use the Aldebert Diagnostic to close the structural gap first. Businesses running 13-week forecasts against a chronic Working Capital Gap are managing symptoms. Both layers matter. Run them in the right sequence.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Float and Pulse cost?
Typically $50 to $200 per month depending on the tool and features. Affordable relative to the value of catching timing crises before they hit.
Can these tools replace an accountant?
No. They forecast cash. Accountants keep books, file taxes, and handle compliance. Different jobs.
Does the Aldebert Diagnostic include a 13-week forecast?
No. The diagnostic is a current-state read and structural diagnosis. If a 13-week forecast is useful for weekly management, run it in Float or Pulse after the diagnostic surfaces any structural issues.
What if my 13-week forecast keeps showing the same weeks tight?
That is a signal of a structural Working Capital Gap. Run Return to Owner to identify and close the structural cause. The 13-week tool cannot fix structure. It only reports symptoms.