Turning uneven investment income into one clear monthly figure to plan against

The challenge

This private client's investment and business income didn't arrive in a steady, predictable pattern. It came in seasonal, periodic lumps, while monthly commitments fell due steadily across the month regardless of when income landed.

That mismatch made forward planning genuinely difficult. It was hard to see in advance when the client's balance would reach its lowest point across the year, or whether a quieter period would still be comfortably covered.

Decisions about distributing income and minimising tax were being made without the full picture in front of the client, based on partial information rather than a proper forward view of cash flow.

The planning approach itself was manual and slow, reworked from scratch each time a decision needed to be revisited, rather than something the client could interrogate and test on demand.

Our approach

1. 01

   Building the private foundation

   We built the tool as a private, secure application from the outset, accessible only to the client, since it would hold detailed personal, investment and business financial information.

2. 02

   Modelling forecasting and the break-even income figure

   We built the core financial model on sound accounting and investment principles, working backwards from the client's known, fixed commitments to solve for the income needed, before GST, to cover everything each month.

3. 03

   Building the cash flow calendar

   We built a 12-month rolling cash flow forecast across personal, investment and business, projecting balances forward so the client could see exactly where and when the lowest point in their cash position would fall.

4. 04

   Adding tracking and allocation

   We built tracking that compares the plan against actual results over time, and directs any surplus income into buffer and savings in a clear, consistent priority order rather than an ad hoc decision each time.

5. 05

   Adding scenario and tax modelling

   We built a what-if sandbox that lets the client adjust a distribution percentage, an income assumption or a commitment, and immediately see the effect on the income required, so decisions about distribution and tax could be tested before being made.

6. 06

   Confirming reliability

   Before handover, we tested the tool thoroughly and hosted it privately on Microsoft Azure, so the client's plans and figures are kept safe and available whenever they're needed.

The outcome

The client now has a single, clear figure on screen for the income needed to cover every commitment, before GST, and that figure updates the moment anything in the plan changes.

Seasonal and periodic income is smoothed against steady monthly commitments, so the client can see well in advance whether a quieter period stays funded and exactly where their balance will reach its lowest point.

Distribution and tax decisions are now modelled rather than estimated, and the what-if sandbox lets the client test a decision before committing to it, turning what used to be reactive admin into genuine forward planning, all built on a private tool grounded in proper accounting and financial modelling.