What this screen is for
This is the formal statement of cash flows. It is prepared on the indirect method, meaning it begins with net income for the period and applies adjustments to reconcile that figure to the actual movement in cash, grouped into operating, investing and financing activities. You set the start and end dates and apply them.
When to use it
Use it at a period end, or when reporting to a lender, investor or accountant who expects a cash flow statement alongside the profit and loss and balance sheet. Where you want the day-to-day pattern of receipts and payments instead, the in and out report is the plainer view.
What you see on this screen
The statement is headed with the period it covers and is set out in three blocks:
- Cash Flows from Operating Activities — opens with Net Income for the period, then the adjustments that reconcile it to cash, being the changes in current assets and current liabilities, and ends on Net Cash from Operating Activities. Where there is nothing to adjust, the screen says so rather than leaving the section blank.
- Cash Flows from Investing Activities — movements from buying and selling long-term assets such as property, equipment and investments, ending on Net Cash from Investing Activities
- Cash Flows from Financing Activities — movements from debt, equity and dividends, such as loans drawn or repaid, ending on Net Cash from Financing Activities
A Summary follows with Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash — the three net figures added together — then Cash at Beginning of Period and Cash at End of Period. Where the statement reconciles, it says so; where it does not, a Reconciliation Difference is stated with its amount rather than hidden.
Cash and Cash Equivalents closes the report with Account Code, Account Name and Current Balance for each cash and bank account, totalled. An explanatory panel sets out what each of the three activity groups covers and notes that the indirect method is being used.
Filters and actions
Start Date and End Date set the period and Apply Filter loads it. The report only reads the books; nothing on this screen posts.
Related
- Cash Flow In/Out — daily inflows and outflows, without the reconciliation
- Profit & Loss — the net income this statement starts from
- Balance Sheet — the position at the end of the period