Cash Flow is a practical way of showing whether you have enough money coming in to cover the money going out. It helps us to gauge how much extra cash we might need over time, and whether we are at risk of running out of funds. In theory it’s easy, but when we actually do it, maybe not so much.

How Do You Calculate Cash Flow in Excel?

1. Write the cash inflows in columns on the left and the cash outflows on the right. You might want to split the balance sheet into two parts: one for sale of your own products, and another for money coming from customers.

2. Add up all the totals, so that you have an overall total of cash flow. Some companies might analyse their cash flow as a percentage of revenue. Others will use a different measure, like sales growth or EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation).

3. Divide your total annual cash outflow by 12 to get your average monthly figure (for example $12,000 divided by 12 gives $600). This will then be your annual average.

4. Now divide the monthly average by 30 to get a monthly minimum cash outflow ($600 divided by 30 gives $20). This is the minimum level you need to be able to pay every month. Obviously if you are in business for only one month rather than 12 months, then this figure would be one-twelfth of the 12-month minimum (or $6).

5. Divide your total annual cash inflow by 12 and multiply it by your monthly minimum (total annual inflow times monthly minimum gives you the total amount of money you need to cover this each month).

6. What is left over after subtracting the monthly minimum from the total cash inflows is your extra cash. This is very useful when it comes to forecasting and planning for the future, as well as monitoring and reviewing your cash flow.

Here are some additional tips for analysing your cash flow.

7. The more sales you have (or the more your products cost to make), the more cash you will be receiving and therefore the less cash you will need also. So consider these figures as a guide only, not a rule of thumb.

8. As you grow your business, your cash flows will increase too, because you will be selling more and earning more money in the process. Have a look at your cash flow in several periods of the business, like when you are first starting and then compare it to further down the line.

9. If you are planning for a period of time where you might not have enough money coming in, it’s worth building that into your cash flow plan by including a buffer fund. This will help you to overspend but hopefully only just enough.

10. If a large payment is due to come in at some point, try to support this by thinking about the cash flow earlier on so that the balance won’t be too low during this time period (and therefore unable to meet all of your other bills).

11. Jot down any large, unexpected payments that you need to make, especially if these are related to your business, like paying for new equipment or covering a VAT bill.

The annual cash flow calculation is not difficult. All you need to do is add up all your sales figures, subtract any payments or expenses, and then divide your cash income by 12 to get your average monthly amount.Each of the cells in this example is covered in more detail below. We have added some extra information on the right-hand side too – for example, we have added year, month, date and time.

This template is designed to be a very simple cash flow analysis for a one-person company with annual turnover of $2,000 and monthly sales of $5,000. You should complete the cash flow analysis for similar sized businesses if you want to use it as a starting point. We obviously make no representations or promises that this will be suitable for your business; it’s just our experience that you need to start somewhere.

To survive, you are going to have to make some tough decisions about how much you can spend and how much you need to put aside for the future.

We’ve tried to make this template as simple as possible. Most of it is completed for you already. The only columns that are left blank are the ones relating to your sales totals, so that you can fill in your own figures and totals in these cells as required (for example, if your sales completely vary from month to month).

Conclusion

This should give you a good basis for calculating your cash flow for your business. In the next chapter we will look at how to calculate profit and loss, and how to prepare your monthly cash flow forecast.

The article will discuss in detail what “business law” is and how it’s relevant to everyday life. It also covers the differences between criminal and civil law.
Introduction

In today’s world, it isn’t easy to think about anything without running into business law at some point. Business Law is a branch of legal theory that deals with the laws of business corporations, partnerships, or other organizations that are not governments or countries. The primary task of the lawyer practicing in this field is to ensure that all business transactions adhere to the governing regulations set forth by these laws.  A concise definition for Business Law would be: “The study of legal principles applied specifically to businesses. It also deals with corporate law, corporations and partnerships, contracts, torts, and other legal topics pertaining to businesses.”

Business Law is something that we are taught in high school.  But the truth is, most people don’t know what it truly entails.  This article will cover the basics of business law and its relevance to our daily lives. This article will also compare the difference between criminal and civil law.

What is Business Law?

The field of law that covers the legal aspects of business and corporate organizations, called “business law,” deals with legalities regarding the formation, conduct, and operations of those businesses in which there is a profit motive.  The primary focus of business law is to ensure that a corporation or organization adheres to the regulations outlined in its operating agreements. Those rules are established by governmental and private bodies that have been granted this authority through legislation or by charter.

From A-Z Dictionary:

Business –  a person, group of persons, or establishment engaged in commercial activity.
Law –  a set of rules of action established by custom or authority.

Corporation –  An organization or association formed and authorized by the state to act as a single person.

Criminal Law –   The branch of law deals with the detection, prosecution, and punishment of those guilty of crimes.

Criminal Law vs. Civil Law

Business law deals with legal issues concerning the formation, operation, and transactions between business entities and individuals.  On the other hand, criminal law relates to disputes between private citizens and public authorities (government officials). Criminal cases are generally brought where an individual’s actions have affected another person physically, emotionally, or financially.  For example, if a man steals a car, he has been charged with a criminal act.  On the other hand, if the same man borrows your vehicle and doesn’t bring it back, you would be forced to pursue him through civil court.  A civil case is brought against an individual or business where no physical harm has occurred.

Civil lawsuits are generally filed for monetary damages due to breach of contract and personal injuries.  In contrast to criminal cases, civil cases are initiated by the plaintiff (the party being sued) and may lead to monetary damages or compensatory relief such as an injunction (injunctions will be discussed later in this article).

Civil lawsuits often take longer to resolve, and there are usually no jail sentences involved as with criminal cases.  Criminal cases also require more significant procedural safeguards such as the right to an attorney, a speedy trial, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty (these will be discussed later in this article).

Civil vs. Criminal Law

Business Law deals with legal issues concerning businesses.  The primary concern is regulating business conduct.  Companies operate under agreements and charters that are set forth by either private or public organizations.  Civil law deals with issues that involve the legal rights of individuals.  Criminal law is concerned with both private and public disputes. Example: if the same man who borrowed your car and didn’t return it decides to punch you in the face, he has committed a criminal act.

Business Law

Business law encompasses nearly every legal issue that a business may come up against.  Those issues include, but are not limited to:

Corporate formation, organizational structure, employment issues, real estate purchases & sales, working capital needs, and expansion capital needs. These issues are regulated by state and federal laws governing business entities’ conduct. Businesses operate under charters (or articles of incorporation) granted by private or public organizations (governments).

Also, businesses are governed through contracts.

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties that is enforceable under law.  Businesses enter into contracts for their various services, such as electricity and telephone.  These agreements spell out the terms of their respective obligations.

Contracts may be written or verbal, but both are enforced by law so long as they are reciprocal (both parties have agreed to the contract).  If a person signs a contract and doesn’t perform their obligations, it is considered a breach of contract.  That person may be liable for monetary damages.

Contracts are generally outlined in writing but can also be oral (spoken and agreed to) if both parties want it.  Because most agreements are established verbally, they are not written down. One of the most critical aspects of business law: accounting

Final Verdict

Accounting is the science that records and interprets information about money and assets.  The goal of accounting is to reliably measure the financial status of a business or organization so that it will have an accurate picture of its liabilities and assets at any given time.

Cash flow is routinely calculated by taking all cash receipts from operating activities and subtracting the expenses for that period. The difference between these two values is interpreted as the change in cash-on-hand at the end of an accounting period or how much money a business has left over (or not) at the end of each month. In addition to determining its available funds, there are several other ways managers can look at their company’s cash flow statement to better understand how it operates about other factors within a company.

How Cash Flow is Calculated

Cash Receipts

cash receipts are the amount of cash a company receives due to its operations or sales. In other words, this information is exactly what it seems to be: How much money did you take in? However, it is important to note that this information does not include any income from loans or changes in accounts receivable, as these are future values that have not yet been received. Identifying the source of cash receipts is easy if you know where to look. In most businesses, income is generated through sales; therefore, sales can be subtracted from cash receipts to determine the source of your company’s receipts (i.e., cash sales). Another common source of cash receipts is operational activities or service fees.

Pay Ground Rent(s)

Paying ground rent is a regular monthly expense necessary to keep the business open and to operate. This value is subtracted from cash receipts because it is an expense for the period, not an increase in funds. Paying interest payable is periodic interest accumulated from past debt/loans and must be paid in installments. Similar to paying ground rent, the interest payable is subtracted from cash receipts because it’s a paid-for value, not addition of funds. Other bank charges include all amounts received from other business or investment ventures (i.e., dividends), bank fees, and fines for overdraft accounts or late payments.

Cash Payments

Cash payments are the amount of actual cash spent on goods and services, internally or through payment of debts or other expenses. This represents a decrease in cash receipts, which is equal to the number of dollars paid out on goods sold, accounts receivable (credit card purchases), loans, notes receivable, or any other type of expense. If there are no outstanding debts, then this value is zero.

Changes in Accounts Receivable

Changes in accounts receivable is a reduction in the accounts receivable balance owing to the receipt of money from a customer for an item that had been previously paid for and was still unpaid at the end of each period.

Cash receipts are the amount of cash a company has during a period, but this is not the only value to focus on. Paying expenses is equally essential for any business. These expenses are subtracted from cash receipts, such as the cost of goods sold or stock bought in the period. You will also see the total payroll added at the bottom of the Cash Flow Statement. Cash expenditures are subtracted from cash receipts to determine how much money was spent throughout the period; however, this does not include any amount loaned or given as a gift (i.e., advances, interest payable).

Any amount that is paid in advance and will be billed later .increase in cash is equal to the combined cash receipts from operations and changes in account receivables. Cash at the end of a period is similar to the combined cash expenditures, namely payments for goods and services as well as interest payable. The difference between cash on hand at the beginning of a period and the cash on hand at the end of a period is calculated by adding up all increases and subtracting all decreases to determine the net change in cash during a period (i.e., increase minus decrease).

Cash flow is precisely what it sounds like – the amount of cash in a company at any given time. It’s also much more and can provide valuable information about how the business is running. This analysis can be extended to represent present and future changes in cash flow by comparing a particular period’s Cash Flow Statement to previous statements; this approach calculates the net difference over time. Suppose an increase in net change shows up consistently over successive periods. In that case, this can be interpreted as an indication that the business is growing and that its profits are increasing relative to expenses over time, which indicates a sustainable growth rate.

Final Verdict

Cash Flow is routinely calculated by taking all cash receipts from operating activities during a period and subtracting the total of cash expenses for that period. The difference between these two values is interpreted as the change in cash-on-hand at the end of an accounting period, or how much money a business has left over (or not) at the end of each month.

What are the ethics of business, and why are they important? Let’s face it; the business world is cut-throat, deceptive, and often downright ruthless. There needs to be some code to follow, or else everyone will focus on their gains at the cost of everyone else. From a moral viewpoint, there are things we can and cannot do as well as things that are right or wrong in most circumstances. These ethical principles help us understand how we should behave in a given situation to know what is right and wrong. When you understand what is right and wrong in the business world, you can protect yourself from people who might try to take advantage of you.

What Are the Business Ethics Principles

Before diving into the different business ethics and what they mean, let’s first cover what ethics are. Ethics are the principles that govern the way people behave in a social or professional setting. Ethics are more than just rules you must follow; they are a code you must follow because it’s the right thing to do. The most important thing to remember about ethics is that they are contextual. What is right in one situation may be wrong in another. And vice versa.

Honesty in Communication

One of the essential business ethics principles is honesty when communicating with people. Communication is one of the most important aspects of human relationships in general, and it plays a crucial role in business. For example, when negotiating with a client, you have to be honest about your product or service and your terms. You must also be honest about your skills and what you can or cannot accomplish. You could lose a potential deal if you are too modest and understate your worth.

In the same way, if you are too boastful, you may scare away a client who would otherwise be interested in your work. When you talk with your employees or colleagues, you should also be honest and direct with them.

Fairness and Transparency

Another essential business ethics principle is fairness and transparency. In a competitive business world, you will likely find yourself in a situation where you are competing with other businesses for clients. Therefore, you need to be as fair and transparent as possible. This means that you should only offer a product or service that you can deliver and are proud of. It would be best if you only charged a price that reflects the actual value of your work. It would be best if you were as transparent as possible when dealing with clients. All this will help ensure you keep your reputation as a business that provides excellent value for a fair price. If you are transparent and honest, you will gain the trust of your clients.

Environmental Stewardship

Another essential business ethics principle is environmental stewardship. An increasing number of businesses are aware of the negative impact that their actions have on the environment. Therefore, they are actively taking steps to reduce their impact on the planet. When working with clients, you should follow this business ethics principle by using eco-friendly products and services with a small carbon footprint. You should also select environmentally responsible clients, so you do not have to worry about the negative impact of working with them. This will help to ensure that you leave the planet in better shape than you found it.

Fair Employment Practices

Finally, another essential business ethics principle is to ensure that you follow fair employment practices. This means that you should make sure that your company treats its employees fairly. It would be best if you were sure to pay them a fair wage and offer them health benefits. It would be best if you also provided them with enough vacation time to relax and rejuvenate. It would be best if you also were sure to treat all your employees as equals, regardless of their position. It would be best if you did not treat your managers better than your other employees.

Conclusion

The ethics of business are what separate a good businessman or woman from a great one. To succeed in the business world, you need to understand what is right and wrong. The only way to do this is by following the business ethics principles. And if you want to follow these principles, you must learn what they are.