3.5.1

Cash Flow

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Cash Flow

Cash is the money that a business can spend immediately (it doesn't include money that a business owes or is owed). Cash flow is the amount of money that is coming in and out of a business and the timings of these cash transfers.

Cash inflows

Cash inflows

  • Cash inflows is the cash coming into the business.
Cash outflows

Cash outflows

  • Cash outflows is the cash going out of the business.
Net cash flows

Net cash flows

  • Net cash flows is equal to cash inflows minus cash outflows.
Opening balance

Opening balance

  • Opening Balance is the amount of cash that the business starts to trade with.
  • A negative net cash flow may not create a liquidity problem if the business has a high opening cash balance.
Closing balance

Closing balance

  • Closing balance – the amount of cash that a business finishes trading with.

Cash Flow Forecasts

Cash flow forecasts are a business’ prediction of how much money will come in and out of the business in a given amount of time.

Cash flow forecasts

Cash flow forecasts

  • Businesses will estimate all the possible sources of cash inflows (e.g. sales) and cash outflows (rent, salaries, costs of production).
  • They may be able to forecast these inflows and outflows using past data on sales and costs, as well as using market research.
Forecasting liquidity problems

Forecasting liquidity problems

  • It is important for businesses to forecast this accurately to avoid liquidity problems.
    • A liquidity problem is when a business runs out of cash in the short-term. They won’t have enough cash to pay rent and peoples’ wages.
    • To solve a liquidity problem, a business has to reduce (or delay) cash outflows and increase (or get sooner) cash inflows.

Consequences of Cash Flow Problems

A business having persistent negative cash flows is unlikely to be sustainable. The business will eventually run out of money and will not be able to pay for salaries, rent or raw materials. In the short-term, negative cash flows can cause problems with stakeholders:

Employees

Employees

  • If a firm runs out of cash, it may be unable to pay its employees.
  • If employees are worried about cash, this can have a negative impact on employee motivation and they may leave the firm.
Suppliers

Suppliers

  • If a business runs out of cash, it may not be able to pay its suppliers.
  • This could create a temporary halt (stop) in production. It may also damage the relationship between the business and suppliers.
Creditors

Creditors

  • Creditors are organisations (or people) that have loaned a business money. If a business runs out of cash, it may not be able to repay these loans.
  • If this happens, the business may not be able to get loans (finance) in the future or it may pay a higher interest rate.
Jump to other topics
1

Business Organisation & Environment

1.1

Introduction to Business Management

1.1.1Why Businesses Exist & Sectors
1.2

Types of Organisation

1.2.1Sole Traders1.2.2Limited Liability1.2.3Non-Profit1.2.4Franchising1.2.5End of Topic Test - Franchising
1.3

Organisational Objectives

1.3.1External Environments1.3.2Business Mission & Corporate Objective1.3.3Mission, Corporate Objectives & Strategy1.3.4SWOT Analysis1.3.5End of Topic Test - SWOT Analysis
1.4

Stakeholders

1.4.1Stakeholders
1.5

External Environment

1.5.1Social & Technological Environment1.5.2Lifestyle & Technological Environment1.5.3Corporate Social Responsibility1.5.4Economic Environment1.5.5Political & Legal Change
1.6

Growth & Evolution

1.6.1Growth & Retrenchment1.6.2Challenges of Growth1.6.3Growth Models1.6.4End of Topic Test - Diseconomies of Scale1.6.5Internationalisation1.6.6Sourcing Resources & Entering Markets1.6.7End of Topic Test - Internationalisation1.6.8Managing Internationalisation1.6.9Impact of Internationalisation
1.7

HL Only: Organisational Planning Tools

1.7.1Organisational Planning Tools
2

Human Resource Management

2.1

Functions & Evolution of Human Resource Management

2.1.1Setting Human Resource Objectives2.1.2Human Resource Management2.1.3Labour Turnover & Retention2.1.4Labour Productivity
2.2

Organisational Structure

2.2.1Organisational Structures
2.3

Leadership & Management

2.3.1Managers2.3.2Management Theories2.3.3End of Topic Test - Management
2.4

Motivation

2.4.1Motivating & Engaging Employees2.4.2Taylor's Theory2.4.3Maslow's Theory2.4.4Herzberg's Theory2.4.5Different Incentives2.4.6Evaluating Incentives
2.5

Organisational (Corporate) Culture

2.5.1Managing Organisational Culture2.5.2Organisational Structures
2.6

HL Only: Industrial/Employee Relations

2.6.1Improving Employer-Employee Relations2.6.2Case Study - The Winter of Discontent
3

Finance & Accounts

3.1

Sources of Finance

3.1.1Internal Sources of Finance3.1.2External Sources of Finance3.1.3Factors for Financing3.1.4End of Topic Test - Debt
3.2

Costs & Revenues

3.2.1Costs & Revenues
3.3

Break-Even Analysis

3.3.1Profit3.3.2Break-Even Analysis
3.4

Profitability & Liquidity Ratio Analysis

3.4.1Profitability Analysis
3.5

Cash Flow

3.5.1Cash Flow3.5.2Solutions to Cash Flow Problems3.5.3Improving Cash Flow & Profits
3.6

HL Only: Investment Appraisal

3.6.1Investment Appraisal
3.7

HL Only: Budgets

3.7.1Cash-Flow & Budgets
4

Marketing

4.1

The Role of Marketing

4.1.1Setting Marketing Objectives4.1.2Market Calculations
4.2

Marketing Planning

4.2.1Marketing Mix4.2.2Segmentation4.2.3Niche & Mass Markets
4.3

Market Research

4.3.1Market Research4.3.2Market Mapping4.3.3Methods of Market Research
4.4

The 4 Ps

4.4.1Product Decisions4.4.2Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming4.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration4.4.4End of Topic Test - Pricing & Competition4.4.5Promotional Decisions4.4.6Promotional Decisions 24.4.7Promotional Decisions 34.4.8Digital Marketing4.4.9Evaluating Digital Marketing4.4.10Case Study - The Marketing Mix & Promotion4.4.11Place & Distribution
4.5

HL Only: The Extended Marketing Mix

4.5.1The Extended Marketing Mix
4.6

HL Only: International Marketing

4.6.1International Marketing
4.7

E-Commerce

4.7.1E-Commerce
5

Operations Management

5.1

The Role of Operations Management

5.1.1Setting Operational Objectives
5.2

Production Methods

5.2.1Production Processes Overview5.2.2Production Processes5.2.3Production Efficiency5.2.4Technology & Production
5.3

HL Only: Lean Prodution & Quality Management

5.3.1Importance of Quality5.3.2Measuring & Identifying Quality5.3.3Total Quality Management5.3.4Evaluating Total Quality Management5.3.5Case Study - Toyota Production System
5.4

HL Only: Production Planning

5.4.1Capacity5.4.2Productivity & Efficiency5.4.3Technology & Efficiency5.4.4Improving the Supply Chain5.4.5Inventory5.4.6Outsourcing
5.5

HL Only: Research & Development

5.5.1Organisational Planning Tools

Practice questions on Cash Flow

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What is closing balance?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    How can businesses solve liquidity problems?Fill in the list
  3. 3
    What can businesses avoid by forecasting cash flow accurately?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    How can businesses forecast cash inflows and outflows?Fill in the list
  5. 5
    If a company runs out of cash, who might they be unable to pay?Fill in the list
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Profitability Analysis

Solutions to Cash Flow Problems