Plan the year. Protect the cash.

Easel connects your ledger, payroll and CRM, forecasts P&L, balance sheet and cash, keeps Excel live and flags any month below your cash floor.

100% free, open source alternative to Workday Adaptive Planning, Planful and Anaplan

Run Easel →Try the demo Read the docs

exceptionLowest cash $1,910,000Mar 2027below $2,000,000 floorRidgeway Logistics slipped Dec → MarTue Oct 13
3 responsesOption 2: 3 sales hires Feb → Maylowest cash $2,022,500 ✓
Rachel picked Option 2Wed Oct 14

Runway

31 months

lowest cash $2,022,500floor $2,000,000 ✓

Monthly cashOct 2026 –⁠ Dec 2027Picked planOld forecast

Ridgeway slippedfloor kept3 hires moved to May

FY27 plan to the board Nov 19!

HubSpotQ1 2027

$2.4M openweighted $860,000probability by stage

FY2027 headcount

142 → 168Gusto roster syncedsalaries restricted

13-week cashweek of Mon Oct 19

$2.45Mpayroll Fri Oct 30

ActualsMon Oct 5

September in by 6:00 am. Down to the transaction.

QuickBooks refreshed overnight and tied to the trial balance. Every cell opens to the rows behind it.

QuickBooks Online 6:00 am ✓
Gusto 6:00 am ✓
HubSpot 2:00 am ✓
Stripe 6:00 am ✓
nightly

QuickBooks Online

September closed1,284 transactionsties to trial balance ✓refreshed 6:00 am Mon Oct 5

Trial balance Sep 30sums to $0.00 ✓

2 new accounts6155 AI tools, 6160 Security toolsmapped by rule 6000–⁠6999 → Software & tools ✓

P&L · Sep 2026

Revenue	$1,457,600
Cloud hostingEngineering	$96,420

Cloud hostingEngineeringSep 2026

AWSBill 4392Sep 30$79,180Open in QuickBooks ↗
DatadogBill 4388Sep 28$16,240
SentryBill 4371Sep 15$1,000

Total$96,420 ✓

September closed in Easel8:12 amforecast keptnow Oct 2026 –⁠ Dec 2027

The slipMon Oct 12 –⁠ Tue Oct 13

Ridgeway slipped a quarter. Easel caught it by 2:04 am.

One close date moved in HubSpot. Overnight, the agent found the month it breaks, traced the cause, and asked the deal owner.

Cash floor brokenMar 2027

opened Tue Oct 13, 2:04 am

exception

Lowest cash $1,910,000

floor $2,000,000short $90,000

Before: lowest $2,097,000Jun 2027 ✓After: $1,910,000Mar 2027

Cause, traced: HubSpot deal 18842Ridgeway Logistics$310,000 annual upfrontContract sent (90%)close Fri Dec 18 → Fri Mar 19changed by Marcus Hale, Mon Oct 12, 4:47 pm
Effect: Weighted cash $279,000 moves from Jan to Mayrevenue $23,250 a month moves from Jan to Apr

Plan unchangedrev 212owner: Rachel Kim

Caught 5 months out!

finance-forecast

Easel · 8:00 am
to Marcus Hale:
Is Mar 19 firm for Ridgeway Logistics ($310,000)?
YesNoNew date
Marcus Hale · 9:06 am
Yes. Their budget year starts Mar 1.
Easel · 9:06 am
Recorded: close Fri Mar 19source Marcus Hale, Slack, 9:06 am ✓

ResponsesTue Oct 13 –⁠ Wed Oct 14

Three ways back. Rachel picked one.

The agent returned three changes that each restore the floor with the least it takes. Rachel chose, and the forecast moved.

Adjustable levers: hire starts (whole quarters)discretionary spendline of credit ($50,000 draws)

Option 1
Draw $100,000 on the line of credit
Mon Mar 1
lowest cash $2,010,000
interest $791.67 a month at 9.5%
12 cells movedOpen
Option 2
✓ Picked
3 sales hires Feb → May
account executives #4–⁠6 start Mon May 3, not Mon Feb 1
lowest cash $2,022,500
$96,000 of FY2027 revenue later
12 cells movedOpen
Option 3
Events and paid media −⁠$90,000
Feb –⁠ Mar
lowest cash $2,000,000
Q2 pipeline −⁠$360,000
12 cells movedOpen

Rachel picked Option 2Wed Oct 14, 8:40 amforecast rev 213runway 31 monthsfloor kept ✓

Lowest monthsJan –⁠ Jun 2027Old forecastPicked plan$2,000,000 floor

No debt,
pipeline intact.

ExcelWed Oct 14, 9:14 am

Owen's workbook, live from Easel.

Owen's board model pulls straight from Easel. One refresh brought the new forecast, and his own formulas followed.

Tallgrass FY27 board model.xlsx

B4=EASEL.VALUE("Revenue","Sales","2027-01","Forecast")

	A	B	C	D	E
1
2
3		Jan 2027	Feb 2027	Mar 2027	Q1 2027
4	Revenue · Sales	$1,512,400	$1,534,900	$1,559,700	$4,607,000my SUM updated too=SUM(B4:D4)
5	was	~~$1,535,650~~	~~$1,558,150~~	~~$1,582,950~~	~~$4,676,750~~
6

Revenue

PDF

Tallgrass Software

Q3 2026 board pack

published Thu Oct 15, 3:30 pm

PowerPoint

Q3 at a glance

Revenue: $4,318,600; +⁠$28,600 vs budget
ARR: $17.64M
Net burn: $243,000
Runway: 31 months

Excel

P&LBalance sheetCash flowVariancesDecisions

3 account executive starts Feb 1 → May 3, 2027owner Luis Morenokeeps Mar 2027 cash above $2,000,000

Saved to Google DriveBoard / 2026 Q3 ✓

Board packThu Oct 15

Q3 to the board in three formats.

One pack, published once, as PDF, PowerPoint and Excel. The numbers never change after publishing.

Q3 board packPDFPowerPointExcelThu Oct 15 ✓

Same numbers in all three!

floor $2,000,000

Mar 2027Lowest cash $2,022,500floor kept ✓
May 20273 account executives startRidgeway paid
Dec 2027168 peoplecash $2,477,750

FY2027 budgetFri Oct 16

Eight departments, all in by Friday.

Department heads typed and pasted into the same grid finance plans in. Each one saw only their own numbers.

EngineeringFY2027 budgetJan –⁠ Dec 2027swipe for more →

Item	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Contractors	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000	42,000
Software tools	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500	31,500
Cloud hosting	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000	95,000
AWS	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000	78,000
Datadog	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000	17,000
Conference travel$60,000 spread evenly	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000	5,000

Pasted 36 cells · from eng-budget-27.xlsx

Cloud hosting · Jul (swipe): Database move done Sep 28; usage flat.

Sales moved its
3 starts to May.

ReminderThu Oct 15, 8:00 am3 departments openSlack and email

Requested Mon Oct 5due Fri Oct 16

SupportTasha GreeneThu Oct 8
PeopleCarla JensenFri Oct 9
G&ARachel KimMon Oct 12
ProductSam WhitakerTue Oct 13
Customer SuccessDerek OkaforWed Oct 14
SalesLuis MorenoThu Oct 15
Sales moved its
3 starts to May.
MarketingHannah ColeFri Oct 16, 11:30 am
EngineeringPriya RamanFri Oct 16, 3:42 pm

FY2027 budget8 of 8 departments inFri Oct 16 ✓$19,600,000

13-week cashMon Oct 19

Thirteen weeks, payroll to the day.

Each invoice lands when that customer really pays, and every Gusto payroll lands on its run date.

Bank balance Mon Oct 19$2.45M · read-only

Closing cash by weeknet in and outweeks of Oct 19 –⁠ Jan 11net innet outpayroll$2,000,000 floor

Oct 19+⁠$144.0K$2.59M: closes $2,594,000, in $412,000, out $268,000
Oct 26−⁠$192.0KFri Oct 30: closes $2,402,000, in $402,300, out $594,300, payroll Fri Oct 30
Nov 2+⁠$149.6K: closes $2,551,600, in $391,200, out $241,600
Nov 9−⁠$232.7KFri Nov 13: closes $2,318,900, in $371,800, out $604,500, payroll Fri Nov 13
Nov 16+⁠$148.3K: closes $2,467,200, in $362,700, out $214,400
Nov 23−⁠$260.5KFri Nov 27: closes $2,206,700, in $341,400, out $601,900, payroll Fri Nov 27
Nov 30+⁠$191.8K: closes $2,398,500, in $436,100, out $244,300
Dec 7−⁠$240.1KFri Dec 11: closes $2,158,400, in $352,600, out $592,700, payroll Fri Dec 11
Dec 14+⁠$176.4K: closes $2,334,800, in $398,900, out $222,500
Dec 21−⁠$213.5KThu Dec 24moved from Fri Dec 25: closes $2,121,300, in $387,000, out $600,500, payroll Thu Dec 24
Dec 28+⁠$140.7K: closes $2,262,000, in $318,900, out $178,200
Jan 4−⁠$141.5KFri Jan 8: closes $2,120,500, in $452,600, out $594,100, payroll Fri Jan 8
Jan 11+⁠$110.9K$2.23M: closes $2,231,400, in $318,200, out $207,300

The weeks that matter

Week of Oct 19
closes $2,594,000
in $412,000out $268,000
Week of Oct 26
payroll Fri Oct 30 $548,300
Oct 31 $2,402,000 = monthly forecast ✓
Ozark Physical Therapy
$18,200 due Mon Nov 2
pays on time ✓
Heartland Dental Partners
$64,800 due Fri Oct 30
averages 12 days late → Wed Nov 11

Thu Dec 24 payroll moved from Fri Dec 25.

Dec 31 $2,262,000 = monthly forecast ✓week 13 closes $2,231,400

HeadcountTue Oct 20

One plan, two views. Salaries stay restricted.

Gusto keeps the roster current. Owen plans every position without seeing pay; detail goes only to the people Rachel grants.

Gusto142 people142 matched0 unplanned2 salaries changed Oct 1synced 6:00 am Tue Oct 20

Rachelfinancepay access

Sales · 22 → 30

Marcus HaleAccount executivebase $120,000
Account executive #4start Mon May 3$18,750 a month
Account executive #5start Mon May 3$18,750 a month
Account executive #6start Mon May 3$18,750 a month

Sales FY2027$4,620,000

OwenFP&Ano pay access

Sales · 22 → 30

Marcus HaleAccount executive
Account executive #4start Mon May 3
Account executive #5start Mon May 3
Account executive #6start Mon May 3

Sales FY2027$4,620,000

FY2027 headcount 142 → 168Gusto roster syncedsalaries restricted

Sales22 → 30
Marketing10 → 12
Customer Success14 → 17
Engineering48 → 56
Product12 → 14
Support16 → 18
People6 → 6
G&A14 → 15

October closeMon Nov 2

Every variance explained, confirmed by noon.

The agent drafted why each department missed, citing the ledger rows. Each department head confirmed their own.

October 2026actual vs FY2026 budgetQuickBooks Online1,311 transactionsties ✓6:00 am Mon Nov 2

Marketing

Actual$171,300

Budget$149,900

Variance+⁠$21,400 (+14.3%)

Drafted by Easel

Bill 4471Heartland HR Expo booth deposit$18,900Oct 8 evidence

for the Nov 12 show, so November should land under hypothesis

Confirmed by Hannah Cole10:12 am

Engineering

Actual$498,700

Budget$512,300

Variance−⁠$13,600 (−2.7%)

Drafted by Easel

AWSBill 4519$76,400 vs $90,000 planned evidence

usage down after the Sep 28 database move hypothesis

Confirmed by Priya Raman11:40 am

Sales

Actual$389,200

Budget$384,500

Variance+⁠$4,700 (+1.2%) under threshold

Cash Oct 31$2,418,600$16,600 ahead of forecast
Forecast keptextended to Jan 2028
8 department statements emailed2:00 pm ✓

Before the switchThu Oct 1 –⁠ Fri Oct 2

August, side by side. Two differences, both explained.

Easel brought in Tallgrass's Adaptive Planning model and two years of QuickBooks. Rachel compared one month line by line before switching.

From Adaptive Planning286 accounts142 positionstotals reconcile ✓3 items to map

mapped Fri Oct 2, 10:15 am: Commission % formula → kept as values'Laptop refresh' column → expense scheduleBoard access → viewers

QuickBooks Online connected Thu Oct 1, 2:30 pm24 months backfilled, Sep 2024 –⁠ Aug 2026each tied to its trial balance ✓

Adaptive PlanningAugust 2026

Subscription revenue$1,412,300
Services revenue$27,400
Salaries and wages$1,021,400
Payroll taxes$78,140
Software subscriptions$38,920
Cloud hosting$94,180
Deferred revenue release$118,400
Rent$36,500

62 of 64 match to the cent

EaselAugust 2026

Subscription revenue$1,412,300
Services revenue$27,400
Salaries and wages$1,021,400
Payroll taxes$78,140
Software subscriptions$43,130mapping: account 6150 sat in Adaptive's Other G&A · +⁠$4,210
Cloud hosting$94,180
Deferred revenue release$105,800timing: booked Aug in Adaptive, Sep in the ledger · −⁠$12,600
Rent$36,500

Signed off by Rachel KimFri Oct 2, 4:30 pmfirst close in Easel Mon Oct 5

Also moves in from Planful, Anaplan, Runway and Pigment.

Thursday, November 19. The plan holds.

100% free and open source. MIT licensed.

Run Easel →Read the docs

curl -fsSL https://runeditrun.com/install.sh | sh -s -- dev just-every/run-easel # Already have Node 22 or later? npx -y @runeditrun/rer dev just-every/run-easel

Tallgrass Software

FY2027 plan

board meeting Thu Nov 19

PDFPowerPointExcel

published Wed Nov 18, 5:10 pm

Monthly cashJan –⁠ Dec 2027board forecast

Lowest cash $2,039,100Mar 2027floor $2,000,000 ✓

Plan the year. Protect the cash.

September in by 6:00 am. Down to the transaction.

QuickBooks Online

P&L · Sep 2026

Cloud hostingEngineeringSep 2026

Ridgeway slipped a quarter. Easel caught it by 2:04 am.

Cash floor brokenMar 2027

# finance-forecast

Three ways back. Rachel picked one.

Draw $100,000 on the line of credit

3 sales hires Feb → May

Events and paid media −⁠$90,000

Owen's workbook, live from Easel.

Q3 2026 board pack

Q3 at a glance

Q3 to the board in three formats.

Eight departments, all in by Friday.

EngineeringFY2027 budgetJan –⁠ Dec 2027swipe for more →

Requested Mon Oct 5due Fri Oct 16

Thirteen weeks, payroll to the day.

Week of Oct 19

Week of Oct 26

Ozark Physical Therapy

Heartland Dental Partners

One plan, two views. Salaries stay restricted.

Sales · 22 → 30

Sales · 22 → 30

Every variance explained, confirmed by noon.

Marketing

Engineering

Sales

August, side by side. Two differences, both explained.

Adaptive PlanningAugust 2026

EaselAugust 2026

Thursday, November 19. The plan holds.

FY2027 plan

finance-forecast