Cash Flow Statement
This guide explains the Cash Flow Statement report of MyCloudBook: how to open it, how the report explains the change of the cash from the net income, how to check the result, and how to print the report or download it as an Excel file.
Overview
The Cash Flow Statement explains how the cash of the company changed in a period. A company can make a profit and still have less cash, for example when its customers have not paid yet. The report shows why the change of the cash differs from the Net Income.
MyCloudBook uses the indirect method: the report starts with the Net Income of the period, and then adds or subtracts the change of every balance sheet account that is not a cash account. The result is the Net Increase/Decrease in Cash, the change of the cash accounts in the period. A cash account is an asset account with the option Is Cash (see the Chart of Accounts guide).
How to open the report
- In the left navigation, click Reports. The Reports tab lists the reports in four groups.
- In the group Standard Accounting Reports, double click Cash Flow Statement.
- The report opens in its own tab and is created at once with the default settings. When the tab is open already, it becomes the active tab and keeps its settings.
A report tab can be closed with its x. The next double click opens the report again with the default settings.
- 1The Reports tab. It is always the first tab of the Reports page.
- 2Standard Accounting Reports: Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement. A click on the title of a group hides or shows its reports.
- 3Aging Reports: A/R Aging Summary, A/R Aging Details, A/P Aging Summary, and A/P Aging Details.
- 4Sales Reports: Sales Summary.
- 5Tax Reports: Sales Tax Liability.
- 6A report, here Trial Balance. A double click opens it.
The report screen
The report screen has two parts. The center shows the report as a Portable Document Format (PDF) document in the PDF viewer of the browser. The Report Setting panel at the right holds the settings of the report. After a change of the settings, click Reload to create the report again. The arrow in the header of the panel hides the panel, so the report gets more room.
The example shows the first nine months of 2026 of the example company Bright Bean Coffee Co.
- 1The Cash Flow Statement tab. The x closes it.
- 2The download and print buttons of the PDF viewer of the browser.
- 3The title of the report, CASH FLOW STATEMENT, the period, and the name of the company.
- 4From Operating Activities. The Net Income, the change of each account, and Net Cash from Operating Activities.
- 5From Investing Activities, with Net Cash from Investing Activities.
- 6From Financing Activities, with Net Cash from Financing Activities.
- 7Net Increase/Decrease in Cash. The sum of the three sections: the change of the cash accounts in the period.
- 8Report Setting. The panel with the settings of the report.
- 9From Date. The first day of the period. It starts with January 1 of the current year.
- 10To Date. The last day of the period. It starts with today.
- 11Display By. Total Only, Years, Quarters, or Months.
- 12Reload. Creates the report again with the settings of the panel.
- 13Download Excel. Downloads the report as the Excel file Cash Flow Statement.xlsx.
The settings
| Field | Required | Purpose and rules |
|---|---|---|
| From Date | Required | The first day of the period. It must not be after the To Date. Both dates are part of the period. |
| To Date | Required | The last day of the period. |
| Display By | Required | Total Only (the default) shows one column. Years, Quarters, and Months show one column for each period, and a Total column at the right. |
How to read the report
| Line | How MyCloudBook computes it |
|---|---|
| Net Income | The income minus the expenses of the period, the same figure as in the Income Statement for the same dates. |
| An asset account that is not cash | The change of the account in the period, with the opposite sign. When Accounts Receivable grows, the amount is negative: the sales are booked, but the money is not received yet. |
| A liability or equity account | The change of the account in the period. When Accounts Payable grows, the amount is positive: the bills are booked, but the money is not paid yet. |
| Net Cash lines | The total of each section. The operating total includes the Net Income. |
| Net Increase/Decrease in Cash | The sum of the three sections. It equals the balance of the cash accounts at the end of the period minus their balance at the start of the period. |
| Rows that are not listed | The cash accounts, because their change is the result of the report. The income and expense accounts, because the Net Income line holds their result. An account without a change in every column. |
In the example, the Net Income from January to September is 3,489.00. The customers still owed 4,176.25, so this amount is subtracted. The company still owed 980.00 to suppliers and 434.70 of sales tax, so these amounts are added. The equity account 303 Retained Earnings changed by -128.40. The cash therefore grew by 599.05, which is the balance of the checking account on September 30.
To check the result, open the Balance Sheet for the day before the From Date and for the To Date. The difference of the cash accounts equals the Net Increase/Decrease in Cash.
Several periods
With Display By Years, Quarters, or Months, the report has one column for each calendar period from the From Date to the To Date, and a Total column at the right. Each column shows the cash flow of its own period.
Printing and Excel
- To print the report, click the print button of the PDF viewer. To keep it as a PDF file, click the download button of the PDF viewer.
- To work with the figures in a spreadsheet, click Download Excel. MyCloudBook creates the report with the settings of the panel and downloads it as Cash Flow Statement.xlsx. The Excel file has the same rows, a header that stays visible, and a print setup with page numbers.
- The report shows the posted data at the moment of the Reload. After new documents are saved, click Reload again.
Messages and their meaning
Questions and answers
Why does the cash change differ from the Net Income?
The Net Income counts a sale when the invoice is posted and a cost when the bill is posted. The cash changes only when the money is received or paid. The Cash Flow Statement lists these differences, for example the money that customers still owe.
Which accounts are cash accounts?
The asset accounts with the option Is Cash, for example the bank accounts and the petty cash. The option is set in the Chart of Accounts.
Why is Accounts Receivable shown with a minus sign?
An increase of Accounts Receivable means that sales were booked but not paid yet. The Net Income includes these sales, but the cash does not, so the report subtracts the increase.
How do I check the result of the report?
Compare the cash accounts in the Balance Sheet on the day before the From Date and on the To Date. Their difference equals the Net Increase/Decrease in Cash.
Can I open the Cash Flow Statement in Excel?
Yes. Click Download Excel. MyCloudBook downloads the report with the same settings as Cash Flow Statement.xlsx.