Cash Flow Report

Run this checklist to create a quarterly cash flow report

Introduction:

Preparation:

Gather financial documents

Calculate changes in the balance sheet

Analyze cash activities:

Determine the sources and uses of cash accounts

Create the worksheet:

Create the header and columns

Label the rows

Populate the worksheet:

Compute total cash receipts

Compute total cash disbursements

Calculate net cash flow

Prepare the final cash flow statement

Approval: Final cash flow statement

Sources:

Related checklists:

Introduction:

The cash flow report is an essential part of business accounting.

The cash flow report, along with the income statement and balance sheet, is one of the documents which makes up the financial statement or annual report.

The primary concern of the cash flow report is to present an overview of the financial activity in the company over the designated period.

In this checklist, you'll be guided through the structure and method of creating a quarterly cash flow report.

Watch the short video below for a brief overview of the cash flow statement.

A brief overview of the components of a cash flow statement

Preparation:

Gather financial documents

First, you need to gather important financial records needed for the preparation of the cash flow statement.

You should obtain at least the following documents:

1

Balance sheets - as at the end and beginning of the current reporting period
2

Income (profit and loss) statement for the current reporting period
3

Statement of changes in equity for the current reporting period
4

Statement of cash flow for the previous reporting period
5

Information about significant transactions in your company during the current reporting period

Will this cash flow statement require the creation of a new worksheet?

Calculate changes in the balance sheet

Before beginning to put the cash flow statement together, it's essential to review the current and preceding balance sheets to identify and calculate the changes in current assets and liabilities.

A simple way to do this create a spreadsheet with 3 columns (as seen in the example below)

Note down the changes in the form field below.

Analyze cash activities:

Determine the sources and uses of cash accounts

Identify and examine cash revenue sources from where you have received cash during the period that will be covered by your cash flow statement.

Record these sources using the form field below

Cash revenue sources

Similarly, identify and analyze all types of cash disbursements for the relevant period and list them in the form field below.

Cash disbursements

Create the worksheet:

Create the header and columns

Fill out the initial worksheet details using the form fields below.

You can download a free worksheet template below.

Integrate them with your worksheet to automatically shift over the data. Read more about how you can integrate Process Street with Excel or Google Sheets. For some inspiration on how to get started, check out these zaps.

Company name

Reporting period

First month opening cash balance

Second month opening cash balance

Third month opening cash balance

Example:

Label the rows

Use the lists of sources of cash receipts and disbursements to label the rows of the worksheet.

Cash revenue sources: {{form.Cash_revenue_sources}}

Cash disbursements: {{form.Cash_disbursements}}

Group cash receipts and disbursements into two, label the first group as cash receipts and the second group as cash disbursements. Each group should have its own sub-total.
The Net Cash Flow will be posted in the final row for each period covered.

Example:

Populate the worksheet:

Compute total cash receipts

The next step is to calculate total cash receipts for the quarter.

First month total cash receipts

Second month total cash receipts

Third month total cash receipts

Add the beginning cash balance to the sub-total of cash receipts to calculate total cash receipts.

Compute total cash disbursements

Next, sum up all itemized cash disbursements.

First month total cash disbursements

Second month total cash disbursements

Third month total cash disbursements

Once you've calculated your totals for cash receipts and disbursements, your worksheet should look something like the example below.

Calculate net cash flow

To calculate Net Cash Flow:

Subtract the total amount of cash disbursements during the quarter from the total amount of cash receipts during the same period.

Net cash flow

Net Cash Flow represents the final ending cash balance of the quarterly accounting period. As the ending cash balance, net cash flow becomes the beginning cash balance of the following period.

Prepare the final cash flow statement

Verify all calculations made over the course of building the statement. Save it in the computer and come up with a corresponding print-out.

Prepare a copy of the final statement and upload it to the form field below.

Final cash flow statement

Verification involves double-checking the figures posted on the cash receipts and disbursements. Checking the computations on arriving at the cash balances is another area of the verification process.

Using the Members form field below, assign the individual who will approve the final cash flow statement.