Cash Flow Comparison Analysis

What This Cash Flow Comparison Measures

The tool compares 2 periods of 1–12 months and keeps opening cash separate from cash generated during each period. Net cash movement is operating cash plus signed investing and financing cash flows; closing cash is opening cash plus that movement.

The IFRS Foundation's IAS 7 summary uses the same 3 broad activity categories. This calculator uses them for planning and does not prepare an IAS 7-compliant statement.

Use Cash Received and Paid, Not Invoice Totals

Enter receipts when cash arrived and payments when cash left. GOV.UK's company-record guidance says company records include all money received and spent, which is the evidence this comparison needs.

A £10,000 invoice still unpaid at period end is not current-period cash received. Including it would overstate operating cash by £10,000.

Worked Example: Current Movement Improves by £18,000

For a 12-month prior period with £120,000 received, £100,000 operating payments and £10,000 net investing spend, operating cash is £20,000 and net movement is £10,000.

In the current period, £150,000 received, £115,000 paid, £12,000 investing spend and £5,000 financing inflow produce £35,000 operating cash and £28,000 net movement. The current period is £18,000 better, closing cash is £58,000, and operating margin rises by 6.7 percentage points from 16.7% to 23.3%.

How to Read the Stress Tests

The scenario table recalculates Period B with receipts 10% lower, operating payments 10% higher, and operating payments 5% lower. These are transparent planning assumptions, not forecasts or official thresholds.

If £150,000 of receipts falls by 10%, cash in drops by £15,000. Every other entered amount stays fixed so the result isolates that one change.

Operating Margin and Runway

Operating margin is operating cash divided by cash received, so it is unavailable when receipts are £0. Runway appears only when operating cash is negative.

A £25,000 operating deficit over 12 months is a monthly burn of £2,083.33, and £10,000 closing cash covers 4.8 months at that rate. The 6-month red band is a CoryVu warning choice, not a universal business standard.

Separate Trading Performance from Funding

A higher closing balance does not always mean operations improved. If Period B operating cash is -£10,000 but financing contributes £30,000, net movement is still +£20,000. The financing row reveals that the positive movement came from new funding rather than receipts covering operating payments.

Investing cash can tell a different story again. A -£25,000 investing figure may represent equipment bought for future use, while +£25,000 may come from selling an asset. The calculator preserves that signed amount but does not judge the transaction; read the 3 categories together before acting on the headline change.

Make the Two Periods Comparable

Use the same 1–12 month length, cash basis and category rules for both periods. Comparing a 3-month quarter with a 12-month year would make £90,000 and £240,000 of receipts look directly comparable even though their monthly rates are £30,000 and £20,000.

Move one-off items into the appropriate investing or financing field rather than hiding them inside operating payments. If classifications changed between periods, restate the earlier period from the underlying records before using the percentage and movement comparisons.

Sources

• IFRS Foundation — IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows (cash-flow activity categories; checked 2026-09-28)
• GOV.UK — Company and accounting records (records of money received and spent; checked 2026-09-28)