Having adequate cash flow is essential to keep your business running. If you run out of available cash, you run the risk of not being able to meet your current obligations such as your payroll, accounts payable and loan payments. Use this free cash flow calculation calculator to help you determine the cash flow generated by your business.
- Cash at beginning of period
- Total cash available at the beginning of the period.
- Cash at end of period
- Total cash calculated for the end of the period. If this amount is lower than your beginning balance, your business has a negative cash flow. If this amount is negative, you may need to increase your cash flow to maintain your current operations.
- Received from customers
- Cash received from your customers for the period. Make sure this amount is based on your actual receipts, not your booked sales. An increase in your accounts receivable may increase your profit on paper, but it does not change your cash flow.
- Other cash receipts
- Any other cash received during this period. Again, make sure this amount is based on the amount actually received.
- For inventory
- Total cash paid for the period to purchase inventory. Like your cash received, your cash paid during a period should be your actual cash payments.
- For insurance
- Total cash paid for insurance, advertising, rent payments and lease payments.
- For payroll
- Total cash paid for your payroll and employment taxes.
- Other payments
- Any other cash paid during this period for your operations. This may include one time expenses or incidentals such as postage, couriers, or office supplies.
- Interest paid
- Total interest expenses you paid during this period.
- Sale of property
- Include any cash received during this period from the sale of assets, including real estate, tangible assets and intellectual property.
- Sale
- Cash received from the sale of any investments held. This includes the sale of investments in other companies, the sale of stock and the sale of bonds. It does not include issuing new stock or bonds for your company. This source of income is included in the financing section of your cash flow statement.
- Other activity
- Any other cash received from your investment activities.
- Capital expenditures
- Cash used to purchase capital equipment or land for use in your business.
- Purchases
- Cash used to purchase new or increase the holdings of your investments. Like the sale of investments, only include the purchase of external investments. Stock buy back, and debt retirement are included in the finance section of your cash flow statement.
- Other Use
- Cash used for any other investment activity.
- New borrowing
- Net new borrowing for the period. Include new borrowing as well as the net increase in any line of credit borrowing.
- Stock issuing
- Net cash received from issuing stock. Make sure this is the net amount, after any fees have been taken into account.
- Capital contributions
- Any cash received from the owner(s) for the period.
- Loan repayments
- Total loan principal repayments for the period. Do not include interest. Interest is included in the operating expenses of the cash flow statement.
- Dividends paid
- Any cash dividends paid for the period.
- Other distributions
- Any other financial distributions made during this period.
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Free Cash Flow Calculation – Now It’s Easy to Know Your Accurate Cash Flow
Every business needs good cash flow to keep running successfully. Is your business generating enough cash flow to steer you through rainy days? Find out with our free cash flow calculation.
Now if you are wondering why you need to use the free cash flow calculation in the first place, picture this – if you ever happen to run out of cash, you will obviously be in an uncomfortable situation. There will be no way to meet current obligations like loan payments, accounts payable or even the payroll.
On the other hand, if you use free cash flow calculation, you will be aware of your cash flow from your business and will be able to plan accordingly. Most importantly, a clear idea of your cash flow enables you to make informed decisions about finance.
Now here are the explanations of some terms that you will find useful while using free cash flow calculation.
- Cash at the beginning of period: This term refers to the total amount of cash available during the beginning of the period under consideration.
- Cash at the end of period: This is the total cash received at the end of the period under consideration. If this cash amount at the end of period is lower than the cash balance in the beginning, it implies that your business is experiencing negative cash flow. In such cases, you may have to increase the cash flow to maintain your business operations.
- Received from customers: This amount refers to the total cash that you have received from your customers during the period under consideration. While entering this amount, make sure that you include only the amount in actual receipts and not the booked sales. This is because although a large amount of accounts receivable may look good on paper, it does not alter your cash flow.
- Other cash receipts: This refers to all other amounts of cash received during the period.