The Cash MOT shows accountants how a client's cash flow is actually doing, and how it compares to businesses of a similar size in the same industry. It's designed to support the cash flow conversations you're already having with clients, and to make it easy to act on what you find.
This article covers what's in a report, how to pick which clients to run one on, how to run it step by step, and what you can do with the results.
What the Cash MOT does
If you’re an accountant, Cash MOT can generate a cash flow report for one of your clients' businesses. You connect that client's accounting software to the tool, and Adfin analyses their transactions over the last 12 months.
The report takes seconds to run and is benchmarked against the client's industry and company size, so the numbers stay relevant to that business rather than to businesses in general.
It's free, and you can run it on any of the Customers in your Adfin account.
What's in the report
Each Cash MOT reports on:
Average days to get paid. How long the business typically waits between issuing an invoice and being paid.
Percentage of invoices paid late. The share of invoices that land after their due date.
Average debtor days. How long money sits outstanding across the business as a whole.
Money written off or stuck 120+ days. Invoices that have been abandoned, or that have been outstanding long enough that they usually will be.
Each of these is shown against the benchmark for that industry and company size.
The report also estimates the benefits the client could expect from putting credit control or late payment fees in place.
Choosing which clients to run it on
You can run a Cash MOT on any Customer in your Adfin account, and the tool will also suggest who's likely to get the most out of one.
Suggestions are based on publicly available data about each business and on that Customer's interactions with you through Adfin. They appear as an ordered list, with the most relevant Customers at the top.
From that list you can:
Search for a specific client, if you already have someone in mind.
Hide anyone you don't think is relevant, to keep the list useful.
Save for later anyone who looks like a good fit but isn't a priority right now
Running a Cash MOT, step by step
1. Open the Cash MOT
In the Adfin Console, select either Client dashboard or Invite to Adfin in the side menu.
2. Pick a client
Choose a client from the suggested list, or search for the one you have in mind.
3. Select "Start MOT".
4. Choose Xero or QuickBooks
Select whichever accounting software the client uses.
5. Select the client's industry
This makes the benchmarking more accurate, so it's worth getting right. If none of the options fit, select Other.
6. Connect the client's account
You'll be redirected to Xero or QuickBooks, where you select the client's account and authorise the connection.
7. Come back to the Console
You'll be returned to Adfin automatically while the report generates. It takes a few seconds.
8. Read the report
The finished report opens in the Console, ready to review or to walk through with your client.
9. Act on it, or send it on
Two options from the report itself:
Select "Get started" to set the client up with collection agents straight away, without leaving the report.
Select "Send report via email" to send the report to your client, so they can read it in their own time or set up their own account.
The Cash MOT is also available on the Adfin website, so a business can run its own report without going through you.
How data is handled
The connection to a client's accounting software is deliberately light-touch:
It's read-only - Adfin can't make any changes in the client's accounting software.
It disconnects automatically once the report has run.
Only the data used to produce the report is stored, and it's kept for 60 days.
You can remove a report sooner by selecting Delete report at the bottom of the report. Your client can also delete the report when you share it with them.
Setting the client up with collection agents
Select Get started on the report to set collection agents up for that client there and then.
From there you can either:
Manage the client's credit control yourself, as a service you offer them. See Offering credit control as a service to your clients.
Hand it over to Adfin, and we'll take it from there.
Share the report with your client
Select Send report via email to send the report over. Your client can then set up their own Adfin account and pick it up themselves.
FAQs
Does it cost anything? No. The Cash MOT is free, for you and for your client.
How far back does it look? The last 12 months of transactions.
What does it benchmark against? Other businesses in the same industry and of a similar size.
Which accounting software is supported? Xero and QuickBooks.