Cash Flow Calculator for Businesses

The Cash Flow Calculator is designed to help accounting and business professionals accurately calculate their cash flow. Simply enter your starting cash, income from various sources, and expenses, and let our calculator do the rest.

By understanding total income and expenses, a business can make more informed decisions that save on costs and drive growth.

Tipalti’s Cash Flow Calculator

Cash Inflows

Cash Outflows


Report

Total Cash at the Beginning of Period:

Total Cash In:

Total Cash Out:

Cashflow:

Cash at the End of Period:

What is the Cash Flow Calculator?

A cash flow calculator is a simple and powerful tool that helps you quickly calculate cash flow by subtracting total expenses, from total income. 

This figure can generally be found on a cash flow statement and is used for all sorts of things, from cash flow forecasts on monthly expenses to facilitating accounts receivable/payable, operating activities, and calculating working capital and loan repayments.

A cash flow calculator can be used to estimate and analyze the cash inflows (sales revenue, loans, investments) and cash outflows (operating expenses, loan payments, capital expenditures) over a specific period of time. 

This gives you a clearer picture of a company’s health and helps you make more strategic financial decisions. Using a calculator to calculate net cash flow gives a clearer understanding of how money is moving in and out of a company.

How Does the Cash Flow Calculator Work?

The cash flow formula used in the Cash Flow Calculator is straightforward and easy to understand. The formula used by the calculator is simple but effective. Here’s how it works:

Formula

Cash at the End of Period (EndCash) = Starting Cash (StartCash) + (Total Cash In (TotalInflows) - Total Cash Out (TotalOutflows))

Formula Key

StartCash: The total cash you have at the beginning of the period.

TotalInflows: The sum of cash received from various sources, including operations, property sales, investments, borrowing, stock issuance, and capital contributions.

TotalOutflows: The sum of cash paid out for expenses and expenditures, including inventory, insurance, rent, advertising, payroll, other payments, interest paid, capital expenditures, purchases, loan repayments, dividends paid, and other paid cash items.

Using the Calculator

To use the calculator effectively, follow these steps:

  1. Enter your starting cash.
  2. Input cash inflows from various sources, such as sales and investments.
  3. Enter your cash outflows, including expenses and payments.
  4. Click the “Calculate” button to get your cash flow and ending cash balance.
  5. Review the report to understand your financial position.

Cash Flow Examples

PeriodCash Flow InCash Flow OutCash Flow Balance
Month 1$10,000$7,000$3,000
Month 2$12,500$9,000$3,500
Month 3$15,000$10,500$4,500
Month 4$11,500$8,000$3,500

Understanding the Cash Flow Calculator

Tipalti’s Cash Flow Calculator is designed to help gain greater insight into a company’s financial position.

Here’s how it works:

Step #1: Starting Cash

Begin by entering the total cash you have at the beginning of the period. This sets the initial point for your financial assessment.

Step #2: Cash Inflows

Input the cash received from various sources, such as customers, other cash receipts, property sales, investments, borrowing, stock issuance, and capital contributions. The calculator sums up these positive cash flows.

Step #3: Cash Outflows

Enter your expenditures, including inventory, insurance, rent and lease, advertising, payroll, interest paid, capital expenditures, purchases, loan repayments, dividends paid, and other paid cash items. The calculator totals these negative cash flows.

Step #4: Calculation

Using your inputs, the calculator subtracts total cash outflows from total cash inflows to determine your free cash flow for the period. It then adds this cash flow to your initial cash at the beginning of the period, providing you with the cash available at the end of the period.

This calculator enables you to make informed financial decisions, ensuring that your business remains financially stable and successful. Start using it now to gain a clearer understanding of future cash flow dynamics.

What is a Cash Flow Calculator Used For?

Cash flow calculators are commonly used for all sorts of calculations. This includes:

Loan and Debt Management

Companies use cash flow calculators to evaluate their monthly cash flow and the ability to repay loans and manage liabilities. Lenders will also use a cash flow analysis to assess a borrower’s capacity to service the loan as well.

Business Planning

Companies use cash flow calculators to project future cash flows based on expenses, sales, and other financial activities. This helps in budgeting, identifying potential cash shortfalls or depreciation, forecasting capital contributions, interest rates, and more.

Investment Analysis

Investors can use cash flow calculators to assess the potential risks and returns of investment opportunities. By analyzing the projected cash flow and balance sheet of an investment, they can determine if it aligns with financial goals.

Additional Uses

  • Risk Assessment: Cash flow analysis helps identify potential risks by forecasting cash shortages or surpluses of available cash.
  • Personal FinancePeople use cash flow calculators to track income (revenue, savings accounts, etc.) and expenses (like mortgage payments and car notes), as well as to set budgets.
  • Decision-making: Companies (especially small businesses) use cash flow analysis to make more informed financial decisions. For example, extending lines of credit, calculating the rate of return, and other accounting metrics.

Why is Calculating Cash Flow Important?

Calculating cash flow is important for a multitude of reasons, like:

Operational Viability

For organizations, maintaining positive cash flow is important for day-to-day operations. It ensures a business can pay everyone from employees to suppliers, on time.

Assessing Financial Health

Cash flow analysis helps a business assess financial health and provides a clear picture of how much cash is coming in or going out. This is essential for evaluating the liquidity and maintaining operations of a business.

Strategic Decision-Making

Companies use cash flow data to make more strategic decisions like expanding operations, launching new products, and acquiring new companies. A healthy cash flow position indicates an ability to fund additional business growth.

Debt and Risk Management

A cash flow calculator helps with debt and risk management. Managing debt obligations requires a clear understanding of cash flow. This enables timely repayment. It also helps to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities.

Additional Benefits

  • Tax Planning: Accurate cash flow data is critical for effective tax planning, ensuring funds are available to meet tax obligations.
  • Negotiating Power: Demonstrating consistent positive cash flow can leverage an organization’s negotiating power with suppliers, investors, and creditors.
  • Budgeting: Provides insights for effective budgeting and financial planning, helping to allocate resources more effectively, anticipate cash shortfalls, and make adjustments to spending.

Cash flow is calculated by subtracting total expenses from total income.

Cash flow is the movement of cash in and out of your business. It’s vital because it indicates liquidity and ability to meet financial obligations.

Positive cash flow means more cash coming in than going out, which is crucial for covering expenses, investments, and growth. Negative cash flow can lead to financial

While this calculator is designed for larger businesses, it can be used for personal finance to understand your income and expenses.

This calculator is designed for a single-period assessment. To project cash flow for multiple periods or the future, you’ll need to manually input data for each period and repeat the calculation for each. For more advanced forecasting, consider using specialized financial software.

Yes, Tipalti’s Cash Flow Calculator is free to use.

Input your sources of cash inflows and cash outflows into the calculator. The tool will calculate your net cash flow. This can be a positive (more inflows than outflows) or a negative cash flow (more outflows than inflows)

There are three main types of cash flow:

  • Operating cash flow (core business activities)
  • Investing cash flow (buying/selling assets)
  • Financing cash flow (borrowing/repaying loans, issuing/repurchasing stock)

Net cash flow is the difference between the total cash inflows and cash outflows during a specific time period. This will indicate whether an entity has surplus or deficit cash.

Profit (also called net income) is the total revenue minus total expenses over a certain period. Cash flow focuses on the actual movement of cash, regardless of when revenues or expenses are recognized.

Cash flow calculations can be performed on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, depending on your business needs and the frequency of financial activities.

If your cash flow is consistently negative, it’s crucial to take action. Consider the following steps:

  • Review your expenses and look for areas to reduce costs
  • Increase your sales efforts to boost cash inflows
  • Explore financing options like loans or lines of credit to cover short-term gaps
  • Develop a cash flow management plan to ensure consistent positive cash flow in the long run

Remember that understanding your cash flow is the first step in making more informed financial decisions.