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Cash Flow

The cash flow statement shows how cash actually moved — across operating, investing, and financing activities — for a date range, using the indirect method that reconciles net income to net cash from operations. Unlike the income statement, it reflects real cash movement, which is why a profitable business can still run short on cash. A cash-story header up top translates the numbers into burn rate and runway, and you can switch between a single-period total and a month-over-month view.

Key capabilities

  • Operating / Investing / Financing breakdown using the indirect method
  • Two views: Total (single period) and Month over Month (period columns)
  • Cash story header with Net Cash from Operating (vs prior period), Ending Cash, Monthly Burn, and Runway, plus a plain-English summary
  • Where the Cash Went tile — top 5 outflow categories and counterparties with % of total
  • Total-view summary cards: Beginning Cash, Net Change in Cash, Ending Cash, Net Income
  • Supplemental disclosures: cash paid for interest and income taxes, net-income-to-operating-cash reconciliation, and non-cash investing/financing activities
  • Expand any line for a counterparty breakdown and drill into transactions
  • Month-over-month tables with per-period Net Cash totals and a consolidated Summary table
  • Reconciliation check (Beginning + Net Change = Ending) and any data warnings
  • Excel export (single-period and monthly variants) and a link to the 13-week forecast

How it works

The three activity categories combine into the period's net change in cash, which bridges beginning cash to ending cash. Operating cash is derived by reconciling net income (indirect method).

flowchart TD
  ni["Net Income"] --> op["Net Cash from Operating (indirect)"]
  op --> net["Net Change in Cash"]
  inv["Investing activities"] --> net
  fin["Financing activities"] --> net
  begin["Beginning Cash"] --> end_["Ending Cash"]
  net --> end_

How to use it

  1. Open Cash Flow (/books/cash-flow) and set a Date Range (defaults to the last 12 months).
  2. Read the cash story header — net operating cash with a vs-prior trend, ending cash, monthly burn, and runway.
  3. Use the View selector to switch between Month over Month and Total.
  4. In Total view, scan the summary cards, then the Operating, Investing, and Financing section cards; in Month over Month, read each section's period columns and Net Cash totals plus the consolidated Summary table.
  5. Check Where the Cash Went to see your largest outflow categories and counterparties.
  6. Expand a line item to load its counterparty breakdown and click an amount to drill into transactions.
  7. Confirm the reconciliation badge (Beginning + Net Change = Ending), click Excel to export, or follow 13-week forecast for the forward CFO view.

Pro tips

  • A profitable business can still run out of cash — watch Net Cash from Operating and the burn/runway tiles, not just net income.
  • Runway shows as ∞ when operations are self-funding, or 24+ mo when there's plenty of cushion; under ~3 months it turns red.
  • Use Where the Cash Went monthly to catch a category or vendor quietly consuming more cash.
  • Compare net operating cash to net income via the indirect reconciliation in supplemental disclosures to understand the gap between profit and cash.
  • If the reconciliation badge flags a difference or a warning appears, investigate transactions dated near the period edges or accounts missing a cash-flow classification.
  • For forward-looking planning (projected AR/AP timing), use the 13-week forecast or the Cash Flow Forecast in the Reports catalog rather than this historical statement.

In-depth guide

Report structure and views

View What you see
Total Summary cards (Beginning, Net Change, Ending, Net Income), one card per activity section with line items and cash impact, supplemental disclosures, and a reconciliation badge
Month over Month A table per section with account rows and one column per month, per-period Net Cash totals, and a Summary table tying it all together

The Summary table (monthly view) lays out Net Income, Net Cash from Operating / Investing / Financing, Net Change in Cash, Beginning Cash, and Ending Cash across the period columns.

How figures are computed

Cash flow uses the indirect method: net income is the starting point and is reconciled to operating cash by adjusting for non-cash items and working-capital changes. Each ledger is mapped to a cash-flow class (operating, investing, or financing); when a ledger has no explicit class, one is derived from its type, sub-type, and name. Amounts are integer cents, and the statement reflects actual cash movement rather than accrual revenue and expenses.

Cash story: burn and runway

The header computes monthly burn as the average net operating outflow over the number of months in the range, and runway as ending cash divided by that burn. When operations generate cash (no net burn), runway is shown as effectively unlimited. A vs-prior trend compares net operating cash to the immediately preceding period of equal length.

Supplemental disclosures

When present, the disclosures card surfaces cash paid for interest, cash paid for income taxes, the line-by-line reconciliation from net income to net cash from operating, and any non-cash investing/financing activities (each tagged with a category).

Drill-down, reconciliation, and exports

  • Drill-down: expanding a line loads its counterparty breakdown (counterparty, entry count, % of line); clicking an amount drills into the transactions behind it.
  • Reconciliation: the badge requires exact integer-cents equality of Beginning + Net Change = Ending.
  • Excel export: a single-period workbook in Total view, or a month-by-month workbook in Month over Month view.

Start free and never get surprised by a cash crunch.