Cash Flow in Power BI: Cash Flow Statement Report
Where the money came from and where it went, month by month. The report shows operating, investing and financing cash flows, changes in receivables, inventory and payables, all compared with last year. Next to it, the Balance Sheet shows which assets the cash is tied up in, along with the group's debt metrics.
What a cash flow statement is and why profit is not cash
A cash flow statement shows how much cash actually came in and went out during a period. In the Progresia report it is built with the indirect method: from P&L net profit to net cash flow through three flows. You see not only the amount but the reason there is more or less cash than profit.
Operating cash flow
Profit for the period plus non-cash depreciation, adjusted for changes in receivables, inventory and payables. Shows how much cash the core business generates and how much gets stuck in working capital.
Investing cash flow
Capital expenditure on equipment, vehicles and premises. Shows how much the business invests in growth and whether operating cash flow covers it.
Financing cash flow
Loans raised and repaid, dividends paid. Shows how the company is funded: by its own cash or by debt.
What is inside the Cash Flow report
Cash Flow is one of four pages in the financial report, next to the Overview, P&L and Balance Sheet. All pages run on one data model, so cash, profit and the balance sheet always reconcile.
Year and group company selection
Year buttons switch between the current and previous years. Company buttons show cash flow for one entity, several selected ones or the whole group. The filter applies across all report pages.
Monthly cash flow, indirect method
12 lines: profit for the period, depreciation, change in receivables, inventory and payables, operating cash flow, capital expenditure, investing cash flow, loans, dividends, financing cash flow and net cash flow. Columns are months.
Working capital in view
Changes in receivables, inventory and payables have their own lines, so you can see at once which of the three ate into operating cash flow in a given month and company.
Highlighted YoY % variance
Every line is compared with the same month last year, and a data bar next to the percentage shows the direction and size of the change. Sharp swings in working capital stand out immediately.
Monthly Balance Sheet
Fixed assets, inventory, receivables, cash, payables, loans, share capital and retained earnings, with totals for assets, liabilities and equity. Month-end balances with the change against last year.
Liquidity and debt on the Overview
Group cash, net debt / EBITDA LTM and a net debt map by company. You can see which entity carries most of the debt and which holds more cash than loans.
What the Cash Flow report helps you do
A cash flow statement answers questions the P&L does not: where the money is, why there is less of it than profit, and how much can be spent safely.
Explain why there is profit but no cash
The receivables and inventory lines show how much profit turned into customer debt and stock. The conversation with the owner moves from "where is the money?" to "which receivables do we collect first?".
Manage working capital
Inventory or receivables growing faster than revenue shows up every month, not on the year-end balance sheet. You can revise payment terms, purchasing schedules or customer limits in time.
Keep leverage under control
Loans on the balance sheet, repayments in financing cash flow and net debt / EBITDA LTM on the Overview show whether the business can carry its current debt and has room for new funding.
Plan capex and dividends
Comparing operating cash flow with capital expenditure and loan repayments shows how much free cash the business generates and how much can go to growth or to the owners.
Compare liquidity across the group
One entity may generate cash while another consumes it. The company filter and the net debt map show who funds the group and who needs support.
Reconcile cash, profit and balance sheet
Cash Flow, P&L and Balance Sheet come from the same data, so the change in cash on the balance sheet matches net cash flow. No more three versions of the truth from three files.
Who needs a Cash Flow report in Power BI
Anyone responsible for the cash of a company or a group who still builds cash flow and the balance sheet by hand.
CFO and treasurer
Sees how profit turns into cash, where working capital is stuck and what debt each company carries. Prepares funding decisions on current data.
CEO and business owner
Understands how much free cash the business generates and what can safely go to investment or dividends, without a separate request to finance.
Heads of group companies
Get access to the cash flow and balance sheet of their own entity and see how their receivables and inventory affect the cash of the whole group.
Where the Cash Flow report gets its data
The indirect method is built from P&L and balance sheet data, so accounting data is enough and no one has to classify every bank transaction by hand. The Progresia team sets up which accounts feed each balance sheet and cash flow line and reconciles the result with closed periods.
Accounting systems
Account turnovers and balances from BAS, 1C and other accounting systems: the basis for both the balance sheet and working capital changes.
Dynamics 365 and ERP
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Finance and other ERPs connect natively: receivables, payables, inventory and fixed assets come straight from the system.
Excel and SharePoint
Loan agreements, repayment schedules and management adjustments kept in Excel connect through Power Query and refresh with the rest of the report.
Several entities in one model
Companies with separate accounting databases are brought into one model, giving you a consolidated group cash flow and a fair comparison between companies.
Frequently asked questions
How is Cash Flow different from the P&L?
Why is cash flow built with the indirect method?
Can a cash gap forecast be added?
What does net debt / EBITDA LTM show?
Can I view cash flow for each entity separately?
How often is the data refreshed?
Want to see the Cash Flow report on demo data?
Know where the cash is and why
The Cash Flow report in Power BI shows how each company's profit turns into cash, where it is stuck in working capital and how much debt the group carries, without manual consolidation from several accounting databases.