See money in and out and forecast cash

Money in and out explains how your profit turned into cash. The 13-week forecast looks ahead: it shows the cash you should have each week from what customers owe, what you owe and what you plan.

Before you start

• Reading needs View Books and reports. Classifying cash movements needs Set up Books and lock periods; cash plans need Manage banking.

Money in and out (cash flow)

1. Open Books → Cash flow (indirect).
2. Choose From, Through (up to 36 months) and a Branch, and select Show.
3. If Books asks, prepare the summaries and wait until they finish.
4. Open Cash movements to classify. For each journal, split its cash between operating, investing, financing, exchange effects and internal transfers, give a Reason and select Save.
5. When nothing is left to classify, read operating, investing and financing activities from profit to closing cash. Download it as CSV or Excel.

13-week cash forecast

1. Open Books → Banking and cash → 13-week cash forecast.
2. If Books asks, select Prepare daily balances for each account listed.
3. Read Cash and bank today, Estimated cash after 13 weeks and the card for each week.
4. Under Cash plans, add money Books cannot know: type a Name, choose Planned payroll or Cash plan, the Direction, Amount, Date, how often it repeats, and select Save.

Good to know

• The forecast assumes every invoice and bill is paid on its due date. Overdue amounts fall in week one. Negative cash stays negative.
• It counts open invoices and bills, upcoming recurring invoices, recurring expenses, scheduled journals and your cash plans. Customer credit and supplier advances are shown apart, not as new cash: apply them first.
• Payroll is not taken from HR & Payroll. Enter pay dates as cash plans, and pause or change a plan once its bill is recorded, so it is not counted twice.
• Viewing or editing the forecast never posts entries or pays anyone.
• The cash-flow statement only shows figures when every cash movement in the chosen and comparison periods is classified. There are no automatic rules: transfers between your own cash accounts and opening balances are the only movements classified for you.
• Older journals are classified using today's account types. Ask your accountant to confirm them.
• The cash-flow statement is a worksheet for your accountant, not a statutory filing. There is no PDF.
• Daily balances are prepared once per month and account. Preparing them changes no figures.