Quick start for CFOs and finance leaders

Quick start for CFOs and finance leaders

Business Summary: Nimbus gives finance leaders predictable AI spend, audit-ready approvals, and specialist agents for reporting and variance analysis — without ungoverned chat tools on sensitive data.

How this fits in Nimbus

Finance leaders care most about spend predictability, approval evidence, and specialist output quality — three areas Nimbus connects through NTUs, governance, and Finance agents.

flowchart LR
  ERP[ERP data]
  Conn[Connectors]
  Agent[Finance agent]
  WS[Workstream]
  Approve[CFO approval]
  Out[Board outputs]

  ERP --> Conn --> Agent --> WS --> Approve --> Out
Business need How Nimbus helps
Predictable AI spend NTU quotes before every run; monthly pools and ceilings
Audit trail Every run, approval, and connector write is recorded
Specialist quality Finance agents for cash position, variance, board packs — not generic chat
Control Approvals required before numbers leave Nimbus or write to ERP

Your first week — daily playbooks

Day 1 — Understand NTU spend

  1. Open Settings → Billing & Usage (or read the usage docs if demo data shows).
  2. Read how Confirm & run quotes NTUs before each governed execution.
  3. Note your plan's monthly pool and per-run ceiling defaults.

Deep guide: What are NTUs?

Day 2 — Connect ERP or data warehouse

  1. Open Connectors from the sidebar.
  2. Search for your ERP or warehouse (for example NetSuite, Snowflake, or Google Sheets).
  3. Toggle on → Continue → complete OAuth in the popup.
  4. Confirm Connected on the card.

Deep guide: Connecting a connector

Day 3 — Browse Finance agents

  1. Open Workstreams.
  2. Filter Domain to Finance.
  3. Open two agents — read mandate, governance tab, and connector requirements.
  4. Note which Intelligence sources each agent needs.

Deep guide:

Day 4 — Scope a board or variance workstream

  1. Click New Workstream from Overview or open Workstreams hub.
  2. Name the goal (for example Q3 variance narrative for board).
  3. Assign a Finance agent and bind GL or ERP connectors.
  4. Commit the workstream when the stepper is complete.

Deep guide: Creating a workstream

Day 5 — Run with approval gates

  1. Open the workstream chat → Plan mode.
  2. Describe the deliverable and request a Hard checkpoint before export.
  3. Click Confirm & run after reviewing the NTU quote.
  4. Approve at the checkpoint when Needs you appears.

Deep guide: Checkpoints and approvals

Finance use cases to try first

  • Daily cash position summary — Intelligence connectors read treasury/ERP data; agent produces a morning brief
  • Board variance narrative — Plan mode with HITL Hard checkpoint before any export
  • Forecast accuracy review — Workstream scoped to a territory or product line with Activity history for audit

Governance and spend controls

  1. Set per-run NTU ceilings so no single agent run exceeds budget — Run budget limits
  2. Configure Hard or Critical checkpoints before Action connectors write to ERP — Human-in-the-loop
  3. Plan chargeback visibility by business unit — NTU budgets and chargeback

What to watch for

  • Billing dashboard may show demo data in some workspaces — see What works today
  • Action connector writes always require explicit approval — never silent ERP posts

Example scenario

Your FP&A team scopes Monthly board pack — EMEA, connects the GL and wiki policy vault, and runs the Finance agent in Plan mode. The CFO receives a Hard checkpoint before export; approved slides land in Outputs with matching Activity events for the audit committee.

FAQs {#faqs}

Q: Can Nimbus replace our FP&A platform? A: No. Nimbus orchestrates governed AI work against your systems of record — it complements ERP and planning tools via connectors.

Q: How do we prevent runaway AI spend? A: NTU quotes at Confirm & run, monthly pools, per-run ceilings, and governance spend thresholds. See Billing and usage.

Q: Will auditors accept Nimbus outputs? A: Nimbus records runs, checkpoints, and decision commits. Pair with your retention policy and Audit and history.

Q: Which finance agents should we start with? A: Browse Finance domain in the Workstreams — Daily Cash Position and variance analysis agents are common starting points.

Q: How do we charge back NTU spend to business units? A: Use governance NTU budgets and workstream attribution on the usage dashboard — see NTU budgets and chargeback.

Q: Can we block runs over a dollar-equivalent threshold? A: NTU ceilings at Confirm & run and monthly pools enforce spend before execution — see Run budget limits.