LiveFlow: Real-Time QuickBooks → Google Sheets FP&A & Multi-Entity Consolidation
Turns Google Sheets into a live financial reporting and consolidation hub, especially for QuickBooks-heavy and multi-entity environments.
LiveFlow is a QuickBooks ↔ Google Sheets (and now Excel) connector plus reporting layer that automates financial reporting, multi-entity consolidation, and live dashboards.
It's not a full-blown FP&A modeling engine — it's a reporting & consolidation automation tool that makes Sheets your "financial command center."
1. Snapshot
What LiveFlow is
- A tool that connects QuickBooks Online to Google Sheets (and Excel in newer messaging) and keeps report data synced in real time.
- Designed to automate:
- Financial reporting
- Multi-entity consolidation
- Dashboards and custom reports in Sheets
Market positioning
- Marketed as a way to turn spreadsheets into a live FP&A dashboard powered by QBO data.
- Strong traction among:
- Accountants & CPA firms
- Fractional CFOs
- Multi-entity operators (PE portfolios, franchises, multi-location orgs)
2. Who LiveFlow Is Really For (ICP)
Best fit
Companies & finance teams that:
- Use QuickBooks Online as their primary accounting system
- Rely heavily on Google Sheets (and/or Excel) for reporting and basic analysis
- Want to stop exporting CSVs and manually refreshing reports
Sweet spots:
- Multi-entity QuickBooks environments (50+ entities is explicitly referenced in third-party comparisons).
- CPA firms handling multiple client books
- Franchise groups, PE roll-ups, agencies, construction or project-entity structures
Less ideal for
- Non-QuickBooks ERPs (e.g., NetSuite/SAP users will be constrained)
- Teams wanting full FP&A modeling, scenario planning, and xP&A (Pigment, Causal, Drivetrain, etc.)
- Very large enterprises that require governance and workflows beyond Sheets
3. Product Overview & Key Use Cases
Core capabilities
1. Live QuickBooks → Sheets data sync
- Connect QBO to Google Sheets in a few clicks
- Pull reports (P&L, BS, CF, GL, AR/AP, etc.) directly into Sheets
- Keep them automatically updated instead of re-exporting each time
2. Prebuilt & custom report templates
Prebuilt templates for:
- P&L by month / class / location
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow
- Budget vs actual
- General ledger
"Template builder" concept inside the add-on to customize reports.
3. Multi-entity consolidation
- Can connect multiple QBO companies and consolidate data across them inside Sheets.
- Third-party reviews highlight LiveFlow's positioning around fast consolidation for 50+ entities.
4. Dashboards & FP&A-style reporting
- Allows creation of KPI dashboards in Sheets/Looker Studio using live data
- FinanceOS-type content positions it as turning sheets into a real-time FP&A platform.
4. Architecture & Approach
Connector + add-on model
- LiveFlow is installed as a Google Sheets extension
- You authenticate QuickBooks Online, then use the LiveFlow menu to create live reports.
Data sync
- Pulls QBO reports via API
- Pushes them into Sheets as structured tables that can be referenced by formulas, pivot tables, charts
- Keeps them updated on demand or with scheduled refresh
No modeling engine of its own
- The "modeling" is done via your spreadsheet formulas
- LiveFlow's value is in data sync, templates, and consolidation, not proprietary model logic
This is the opposite of Pigment / Causal — it's spreadsheet-first, connector-native.
5. Integrations & Ecosystem
Core focus:
- QuickBooks Online → primary system, deeply integrated.
- Google Sheets → primary front-end (with Excel support emerging via separate connectors).
From educational content and comparison articles, LiveFlow is positioned as: A specialist QuickBooks→Sheets automation and consolidation layer, not a broad multi-ERP platform.
6. Implementation & Time-to-Value
LiveFlow's value is near-immediate:
Setup flow:
- Open Google Sheets → Extensions → LiveFlow
- Connect QuickBooks
- Choose a report (e.g., P&L, BS, GL)
- Click "Create Live Report"
Within minutes, you have:
- A live QuickBooks report in Sheets
- Ability to tweak layout, formulas, charts
- A foundation for automated reporting
Public commentary from FP&A Reddit also highlights fast setup and solid UX vs alternatives like G-Accon.
7. Pricing & Commercial Model (Directional)
Exact pricing changes over time, but:
Positioned for:
- Small finance teams
- CPA firms
- Multi-entity QuickBooks shops (PE, franchise, etc.)
Third-party comments suggest pricing "aimed at small CPA offices, not enterprise" — i.e., accessible, mid-to-low hundreds per month per account (directionally, not quoting).
You can position it as: "LiveFlow is a relatively low-cost automation tool that can replace a lot of manual export/refresh work for QBO-heavy teams, especially with many entities."
8. Customer Outcomes & Reviews
Common benefits:
- Eliminates manual CSV export/import cycles
- Dramatically speeds up month-end reporting
- Makes multi-entity consolidation viable in Sheets
- Enables fully custom dashboards while staying in a spreadsheet environment
A Reddit FP&A thread notes LiveFlow as having the "best UX" among QBO→Sheets tools and suitable pricing for small firms.
9. Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- Best-in-class for QuickBooks → Google Sheets live sync
- Excellent for multi-entity QBO consolidation (50+ entities)
- Very fast setup and time-to-value
- Strong fit for accountants, fractional CFOs, and multi-entity SMBs
- Lets you stay fully in Sheets/Excel for modeling
Limitations
- QBO-centric: if you're on NetSuite, Intacct, SAP, etc., LiveFlow is not your primary tool.
- Not a true FP&A modeling engine:
- No governed multi-dimensional model
- No built-in scenario structures
- Governance, security, and workflow are "whatever Sheets gives you" vs a proper platform.
- For scaling mid-market/enterprise FP&A, you'll eventually outgrow it or pair it with a dedicated FP&A platform.
10. When LiveFlow Is a Great Fit vs When to Look Elsewhere
LiveFlow is great if:
- You run QuickBooks Online (single or many entities)
- Your finance and accounting teams live in Google Sheets
- You're drowning in manual exports/refreshes every month
- You want automated multi-entity consolidation and dashboards, without buying a full FP&A platform
Consider alternatives if:
- You want Excel-native FP&A with a data hub → Cube, Datarails
- You want AI automation & workflows → Runway, Drivetrain
- You need cross-domain, deep modeling → Pigment, Vareto, Causal
- You need statutory consolidation → OneStream, Tagetik
11. Demo Questions to Ask LiveFlow
QuickBooks coverage
- Which QBO reports are supported out of the box?
- How customizable are they once in Sheets?
Multi-entity
- How do you consolidate 10, 20, 50+ entities?
- How are FX, eliminations, and intercompany handled (if at all)?
Refresh & performance
- How often can we refresh data?
- What happens with large GLs and long histories?
Security & governance
- How is access controlled across different Sheets and entities?
Commercials
- Pricing model for multi-entity environments and/or CPA firms?
Evaluating LiveFlow for QBO Reporting & Consolidation?
CFO Shortlist can show where LiveFlow fits in a modern FP&A stack: when LiveFlow alone is enough, when you should pair it with a modeling platform, and when to skip connector tools and go straight to Gen-3 FP&A.
You get a vendor-neutral recommendation and a concrete architecture (Sheets + LiveFlow vs FP&A platform + QBO).
Book a 20-min Consultation