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Cash Flow Calculator

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Enter your operating, investing, and financing cash flows to find your net cash flow for the period - the actual cash your business generated or consumed.

Cash Flow Calculator

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Net cash flow
$20,000.00
Use positive numbers for cash coming in, negative for cash going out, in each category.

The formula

Net cash flow = Operating cash flow + Investing cash flow + Financing cash flow
Example

$50,000 from operations, -$20,000 spent on equipment (investing), -$10,000 on loan repayment (financing): net = 50,000 - 20,000 - 10,000 = $20,000 positive net cash flow for the period.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Enter operating cash flow - cash generated from core day-to-day business activities.
  2. Enter investing cash flow - cash spent on or received from long-term assets like equipment or property (usually negative for a growing business).
  3. Enter financing cash flow - cash from loans, investment, or repayments and dividends (can go either direction).
  4. Read the net cash flow - positive means cash reserves grew for the period; negative means they shrank.

Why profit and cash flow are not the same thing

A business can be profitable on paper (revenue exceeds expenses) while still running out of cash, and vice versa - this happens because accounting profit includes non-cash items (like depreciation) and counts revenue when earned, not necessarily when cash actually arrives (think of a large unpaid invoice). Cash flow tracks the literal movement of money in and out, which is why a growing, profitable business can still face a cash crunch if customers pay slowly or inventory ties up too much cash.

Common mistakes

Treating profit and cash flow as interchangeable - a profitable quarter can still have negative cash flow if receivables pile up or inventory purchases outpace collections.
Miscategorizing an activity into the wrong cash flow type - a loan payment's principal is financing, but the interest portion is typically operating, a distinction that matters for detailed analysis.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the three cash flow categories?

Operating covers day-to-day business activity (sales, payroll, supplier payments). Investing covers buying or selling long-term assets like equipment or property. Financing covers raising or repaying capital - loans, owner investment, or dividends.

Is negative investing cash flow always bad?

Not necessarily - a growing, healthy business often shows negative investing cash flow because it's actively purchasing equipment or expanding, which is a normal and often positive sign rather than a red flag on its own.

Why do investors watch operating cash flow so closely?

It reflects whether the core business itself generates cash without relying on outside financing or asset sales - consistently strong operating cash flow is often viewed as a sign of underlying business health.

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