What a consolidated total hides
When all cash is added up in the company's own currency, a shortfall in one currency and a surplus in another cancel each other out and the total looks fine. But dollar payments can't be made with pesos, or the other way round. That mismatch is exactly what you need to see early, so you can sell the currency you have too much of or buy the one you're short.
FLIQO splits the forecast by currency, without converting it, so the mismatch shows up.
The position in each currency
For each currency, FLIQO starts from the balance of the accounts held in it and adds the collections and payments forecast in that same currency. The curve shows how the position moves day by day and marks its lowest point.
Two figures are worth reading together: how much you're short at the worst moment and how much at the end of the period. They can be far apart. A position can go negative mid-year and recover with a large collection at the end; nothing is missing at the close, but those months still have to be paid.
Natural hedging, month by month
A monthly chart sets collections against payments in each currency. When a month's collections cover that month's payments, the business hedges itself and there's no need to buy currency. The month the running position turns negative is the month the currency has to be bought already.
How much of your payments is already hedged
For each foreign-currency payment, FLIQO shows what covers it: derivatives assigned to that payment, hedging derivatives that don't have payments assigned yet, cash available in that currency and collections that arrive before the payment. Whatever is left is the open portion, with the date of the first payment left uncovered.
Hedging the risk and having the currency aren't the same thing. A non-deliverable forward locks in the price, but on the payment date the dollars still have to come from somewhere. That's why FLIQO shows separately how much currency has to be bought and from what date, even when the exchange-rate risk is already hedged.
If a derivative could cover payments but isn't counting, because its role hasn't been declared or no payments have been assigned to it, the screen points it out.
From the mismatch to a quote
When you're short in one currency and long in another, FLIQO suggests the trade: what to sell or buy and roughly how much, as a reference. The quote request starts from there.
The quote keeps the whole competition on record: which banks were invited, what each one offered and when, who won and why. The result is measured against the day's official rate and against the second-best offer, which is what inviting several banks actually earned you. The person who awards the trade isn't the one who settles it.
FLIQO doesn't trade with the banks. Dealing happens the way it always has, by phone or through the bank's portal, and FLIQO keeps the record.
Rates with their source
Exchange rates are pulled from their official sources and each one keeps track of where it came from. To convert future flows, FLIQO works out the forward rate from each currency's interest rates instead of relying on a typed-in rate nobody can check. If a rate is missing, the screen says so and doesn't compare that currency against a made-up figure.
Ask Aria
You can ask Aria how much you're short in a currency and by when, how much of your foreign-currency payments is still unhedged, how much currency you need to buy, what today's rate is or which rate converts a future month. She answers with the same figures as the screen and, when she gives a rate, tells you where it came from: an official publication, a cross between two publications, a projected rate or one entered by hand.
Frequently asked questions
Does FLIQO buy or sell the currency?
No. FLIQO shows how much currency you're short and keeps the quote on record, but your team decides on the trade and executes it with the bank.
Does it take derivatives into account?
Yes. Forwards, swaps and options that cover payments are taken off the open exposure, and non-deliverable ones are handled separately when working out how much currency to buy.
Does it work with several currencies at once?
Yes. Each currency has its own position, curve and hedge coverage, and the screen flags when you're short in one and long in another.
Where do future rates come from?
They're worked out from the spot rate and each currency's interest rates. They aren't a market forecast: they're the forward price implied by today's rates.