What it can answer
- "Why did gross margin fall last quarter?" — decomposed into the accounts that moved.
- "What is our runway if we hire two people?" — a scenario against current burn.
- "Which customers are taking longest to pay?" — from the ageing.
- "What changed most between February and March?" — a variance walk.
- "Are any costs growing faster than revenue?" — a trend comparison.
What it cannot answer is anything that depends on facts nobody has recorded. It does not know that a large customer is about to churn, that a price rise is planned, or that the March invoice was late because somebody was on holiday.
AI CFO
Why did gross margin fall in Q4?
It fell 3.1 points, from 67.4% to 64.3%. Revenue rose 8% but cost of sales rose 19%. Almost all of the increase is in 5100 Subcontractors (+£28,400), concentrated in November and December. Revenue mix did not change materially.
Is that a one-off?
I cannot tell from the ledger. The same account was £4,100 in the previous four quarters combined, so it is unusual against history — but whether it recurs depends on commitments the books do not record.
Recommendations
The recommendations screen surfaces things worth acting on that fall out of the data — a customer whose payment behaviour has changed, a cost line growing faster than revenue, a budget line that will be exhausted before the year ends. Each names the figures behind it.
The module can see that a cost has risen. It cannot see that the rise was deliberate, that the contract was renegotiated last week, or that the alternative was worse. Every recommendation needs the context only you have, and the ones that look most obviously actionable are often the ones where that context matters most.
The AI CFO reads and explains. It does not post entries, change budgets, or alter any figure. In line with the rest of the suite, AI never writes the ledger.
What this does not do
It knows what is posted. Nothing else.
It cannot post, adjust or approve anything.
It compares you to your own history, not to an industry.
Scenarios are the ones in Cash flow, not arbitrary modelling.
Questions
Does it see draft invoices?
No — posted entries only.
Can we ask about a specific customer?
Yes, where the ledger carries the detail.
Is this metered?
Yes, and visible in Admin → AI usage.