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How to Use
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A quick guide to filling in your statement of cash flows.
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Who this is for
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This template works for a small business, a startup, a freelancer, or anyone who needs to show where cash came from and where it went over a period, including a lender-ready view. Rename or delete any line that doesn’t fit.
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How to fill it in
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• Enter your time period at the top. This statement covers the same stretch of time as your income statement.
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• Enter data only in the cream-colored cells, working through Operating, then Investing, then Financing activities.
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• Watch the signs. Cash coming in is a positive; cash going out is a negative. The note on each line tells you which.
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• The section totals, the net change, and the ending cash balance calculate automatically. The Example tab shows a finished statement for XYZ Company.
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Where the numbers come from
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• Net income comes straight from your income statement, and so does depreciation.
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• The working-capital changes are the difference between this period’s balance sheet and the last one, how far accounts receivable, inventory, payables, and the rest has changed over time.
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• Investing and financing come from what you bought, borrowed, invested, or drew during the period.
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Common mistakes to avoid
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• Getting the signs backwards. An increase in what customers owe you uses cash and is negative; an increase in unpaid bills frees up cash and is positive.
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• Leaving depreciation out. It lowered your net income but no cash left, so you add it back.
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• Putting owner’s draws in operating. Draws are financing, not a business expense.
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• Skipping the check. Your ending cash here must equal the cash on your balance sheet. If it doesn’t, a change has the wrong sign or is missing.
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This Statement of Cash Flows template provided free courtesy of Leadership-Tools.com.
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