Inspiration
Small business owners often have access to accounting data, but still struggle to answer practical questions such as:
- How much cash will the business have in the coming months?
- Can we afford to hire, invest, or increase spending?
- What happens if customers pay late?
- Which financial risks require attention now?
Accountants and financial advisers face a similar challenge when supporting multiple clients. Important insights are often spread across accounting systems, reports, and spreadsheets, making proactive financial advice time-consuming.
We created Finoya to turn complex financial data into clear forecasts, useful insights, and practical next steps.
What it does
Finoya is an AI-powered cash flow management platform for small businesses, accountants, and financial advisers.
It helps users:
- Understand their current cash position
- Forecast future cash flow
- Identify financial risks earlier
- Test business decisions through scenario planning
- Ask financial questions using an AI assistant
- Receive clear, data-informed recommendations
- Monitor multiple businesses from one dashboard
Instead of only showing what happened in the past, Finoya helps users understand what may happen next and what actions they can take.
How we built it
Finoya was built as a cloud-based web application with a modern frontend and an API-driven backend.
The frontend uses React, JavaScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS, and React Router to create a responsive and user-friendly experience.
The backend is built with Python and FastAPI. Azure OpenAI supports Finoya’s AI capabilities, while Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Blob Storage are used for data storage and processing.
Finoya also integrates with services including Xero for accounting data, Stripe for payments, and PostHog for product analytics.
Financial information is processed and presented through dashboards, forecasts, reports, scenario-planning tools, and AI-generated guidance.
Challenges we ran into
One of the biggest challenges was translating complex financial data into information that is accurate, useful, and easy to understand.
Financial data varies across businesses, industries, and accounting systems. Useful recommendations must reflect the context of each business rather than provide generic advice.
Another challenge was balancing advanced financial analysis with a simple user experience. Many small business owners are not finance experts, so forecasts and recommendations need to be clear without oversimplifying the underlying information.
We also needed to ensure that AI responses remained relevant to the user’s financial data and business question.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud to have created a platform that makes cash flow forecasting, scenario planning, and financial guidance more accessible to small businesses.
Finoya brings together accounting data, forecasting, AI-powered insights, and multi-client monitoring in one platform.
We are also proud that the product supports both business owners and professional advisers while keeping the experience practical, clear, and action-focused.
What we learned
We learned that businesses do not necessarily need more reports or dashboards. They need clearer answers to three questions:
- What is happening now?
- What is likely to happen next?
- What should we do about it?
We also learned that financial AI works best when it supports human decision-making rather than replacing professional expertise.
For accountants and advisers, the greatest value comes from identifying issues earlier, reducing manual analysis, and making proactive client conversations easier.
What's next for Finoya
We plan to continue improving Finoya’s forecasting, scenario planning, AI guidance, and multi-client experience.
We also aim to provide more tailored insights for different industries and business situations, helping users receive recommendations that are more relevant to their specific cash flow challenges.
Our long-term goal is to make proactive financial management more accessible to small businesses, including those without access to a full-time CFO.
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