How to set up a cash flow statement

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What is a cash flow statement?

A cash flow statement tracks all the money flowing in and out of your business. Use it to find payment cycles or seasonal trends when you need additional cash for payments. This can help you plan ahead and make sure you always have money to cover payments.

Create your cash flow statement

Create a cash flow statement by listing all your incoming and outgoing cash items. At the end of the incoming and outgoing sections, add a row for total incoming and for total outgoing.

You’ll add the dollar amounts for each item for the next 12 months.

Use the outline below as your starting point for your cash flow statement for each month.

Open all

Opening balance

Cash incoming

Total incoming

Cash outgoing

Purchases (stock etc)
Accountant fees
Solicitor fees
Advertising and marketing
Bank fees and charges
Interest paid
Credit card fees
Utilities (electricity, gas, water)
Telephone
Lease, loan payments
Rent and rates
Motor vehicle expenses
Repairs and maintenance
Stationery and printing
Membership and affiliation fees
Licensing
Insurance
Superannuation
Income tax
Wages (including PAYG)

Total outgoing

Monthly cash balance

Closing balance

Cash flow statement template

An alternative spreadsheet version of this list is available to download and edit.

Complete your cash flow statement

For each year, you'll need to fill in actual or estimated figures against each item. If you use estimated costs, you’ll need to label them clearly.

You’ll also need to clearly state on your cash flow statement whether your figures are GST inclusive or exclusive.

For each month, calculate the:

total incoming
total outgoing
monthly cash balance
closing balance for the month