If you are a business owner, you need to know what a cash flow system is not only because it is a mandatory potion of your financial report, but also because you can use it to better manage your business solvency. A cash flow statement can help you forecast future cash flow and budgets, and also give your investors a clear picture of your company’s financial health.
A cash flow statement documents the amount of incoming and outgoing cash (and its equivalents). Only cash sales are recorded in a cash flow statement – all future sales (including those made on credit) are not declared. The biggest bulk of your cash flow is usually from your core operations. Document the movement of your receivables and payables, inventory and depreciation.
Record the receivables from an earlier accounting period and then compare it to the subsequent period. If the receivables decrease, this means your business has more cash because your clients have paid. If receivables increase, remember to subtract the amount of increase from your net sales; because while they are technically sales, they are not cash and have no bearing on your cash flow statement.
The same standard applies when you are computing for cash flow as it relates to inventory and depreciation. If your inventory escalates, for example, this may mean you spent more cash buying them. Record this movement in your cash flow statement. If you paid for the new inventory in cash, subtract the value from your net sales. If you bought the new inventory on credit, record the movement as an account payable. If your company bought appreciating investments (such as a new office), this is recorded as “cash in.”
If your cash flow statement is negative (meaning your cash inflow is less than your outflow), don’t panic. This does not automatically mean that your business is failing. A negative cash flow is perfectly understandable if you are expanding and therefore need to spend money on more equipment, wages, etc.
Cash Flow provides detailed information on Cash Flow, Cash Flow Notes, Cash Flow Statements, Cash Flow Business and more. Cash Flow is affiliated with Dealing With Collection Agencies.
Source: www.ezinearticles.com
