A cash flow forecast with your VAT, corporation tax and PAYE in it
Cadence, from CadenceFi, is cash flow forecasting software for UK businesses that puts your tax bills in the forecast. It estimates each VAT quarter from your invoices and bills, adds PAYE and corporation tax from figures you set, and places each on HMRC’s payment date, so you can see the weeks they land in before they arrive.
Why tax bills catch businesses out
- Your invoices and bills do not include the VAT, PAYE and corporation tax payments that are coming, so a forecast built only from them leaves out some of the largest payments of the year.
- VAT is collected over a quarter and paid in one go, so the money sits in the bank for weeks before it leaves.
- Corporation tax is paid long after the year it relates to, when the profit may already have been spent.
What Cadence does
VAT estimated each quarter
Standard scheme: the VAT in invoices raised in the quarter less the VAT in bills, at your rate, leaving out costs that carry no VAT such as payroll, loans and insurance. Flat Rate Scheme: your flat rate percentage of turnover. Shown as an estimate.
Every plan
On HMRC’s dates
Each VAT quarter is placed one month and seven days after it ends, PAYE and National Insurance on the 22nd of the following month, and corporation tax nine months and one day after your year end.
Every plan
Your figures for PAYE and corporation tax
Enter your monthly PAYE and National Insurance figure and your yearly corporation tax figure in Settings, and each appears on its payment date.
Every plan
Never counted twice
If you have already entered a matching bill near that date, the estimate is left out.
Every plan
A VAT quarter, worked through
A worked example.
- Quarter to 31 March, standard rate 20%: invoices raised £60,000 and bills raised £18,000, both including VAT.
- VAT in invoices: £10,000 (£60,000 × 20/120). VAT in bills: £3,000 (£18,000 × 20/120).
- Estimated VAT bill: £7,000, placed on 7 May, one month and seven days after the quarter ends.
Illustrative figures. The forecast uses HMRC’s standard deadline; the VAT payment deadline calculator shows when a weekend, a bank holiday or a Direct Debit moves it.
The facts
Checked against official sources on 7 November 2026.
- VAT returns and payments are usually due 1 calendar month and 7 days after the end of the VAT period.
- Employers who pay monthly must pay PAYE and National Insurance by the 22nd of the next tax month; a cheque sent by post must reach HMRC by the 19th.
- Corporation tax is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the end of the accounting period; companies with taxable profits of more than £1.5 million pay in instalments.
Short answers
How accurate is the VAT estimate?
It is an estimate from your invoices and bills, because accounting data does not carry the VAT return itself. When you know the real figure, enter it as a bill and the estimate for that quarter is left out.
Is a VAT refund forecast?
No. A quarter where you would be owed VAT back is not added to the forecast.
What if my company pays corporation tax in instalments?
Cadence places corporation tax as one payment, which is how most small companies pay. If yours pays in instalments, leave the yearly figure blank and add each instalment as a bill.
See your own next 13 weeks.
Connect Xero or import a spreadsheet, and the forecast builds itself. No card needed.