Money & reports
Cash Flow explained
See the money that really came in and went out, and check it against your drawer and EcoCash.
For: Owner, Manager
Profit and cash are not the same thing. You can make a profit and still be short of cash, for example if customers bought on credit or you spent the month's takings on new stock. The Cash Flow Statement shows only money that actually came in and went out. Owners and Managers can open it from Reports → Cash Flow Statement.
Choose the period the same way as the Profit & Loss: This month, Last month, Last 3 months, This year, or your own dates.
Reading it
Operating activities: day-to-day trading
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| Received from customers for sales | What customers paid on every sale that wasn't Credit, after taking off any change on account they redeemed. |
| Change kept on customer accounts (held, owed back later) | Change you kept instead of handing over. The cash is in your drawer, but you owe it back later. |
| Change paid out to customers | Money you paid customers from their accounts. |
| Stock purchases | Every inventory purchase (delivery) in the period, at the cost you entered. |
| Operating expenses | All your expenses. |
| Net cash from operating activities | Cash in from trading, minus cash out for trading. |
Investing activities: setup spending
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| Startup costs (equipment, fit-out…) | One-off setup spending you recorded as startup costs. |
The last line, Net increase (or decrease) in cash, is trading and investing together: how much more (or less) cash the business has at the end of the period than at the start.
The cards at the top show Cash in, Cash out, From trading and Net change in cash.
Check it against your real money
The Cash in by payment method box splits the money in by how it was paid: Cash, EcoCash, Card, Bank Transfer, Other. Compare each one with the real thing:
- Cash with the cash in the drawer and the safe (plus anything banked or paid out in cash),
- EcoCash with your EcoCash merchant or wallet statement,
- Card and Bank Transfer with your bank statement.
If a figure doesn't match, look for sales recorded with the wrong payment method, missing expenses paid from the till, or sales that were edited or deleted (check the Audit Trail).
Run it for a single day at closing time to check the drawer. Pick today in both From and To.
What is not cash
The Not cash (for reference) box shows two things left out of cash in:
- Sales on credit: goods given now, to be paid later. No money has come in yet.
- Store credit redeemed: customers paying with change you already owed them. That money came in on an earlier sale, so it isn't new cash.
Cash flow or profit?
| Profit & Loss | Cash Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit sale | Counts when made | Not counted |
| Buying stock | Counts when sold (cost of goods sold) | Counts when bought |
| Startup costs | Left out | Counted under investing |
| Write-offs and stock take losses | Reduce profit | Not counted (no money moved) |
Read both together. The Profit & Loss tells you if the business is worth running. The Cash Flow tells you if you can pay next week's bills.