Project Cash Flow in Dynamics GP

How can I project cash requirements for the coming week in Dynamics GP?

 

Dynamics GP has a little-used feature, Cash Flow Calendar, that looks at all open AR and AP transactions and projects net cash flow based on the terms due date. When it comes to customers, they don’t always pay on time. The Cash Flow Calendar has an option to project cash receipts by the customers’ average days to pay.

During times of tight cash flow, it becomes necessary to project cash flow requirements for the coming weeks. This starts with projecting customer and vendor invoice payments based on currently entered transactions. If you are using terms on your invoices, you can get a quick daily calendar for net AR and AP cash flow.

If I had to run a company on three measures, those measures would be customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and cash flow. - Jack Welch, Former General Electric CEO, author and chemical engineer

The solution?  The Cash Flow Calendar in Dynamics GP

Projecting Cash Flow is more than just what is in Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, however, it does start there with these 2 fundamental questions:

• What customer cash receipts are due this week?
• What vendor payments are due this week?

In Dynamics GP, the Cash Flow Calendar gives you a quick projection along with detail transactions that make up the projected Net Daily Outflow or Inflow.  The Cash Flow Calendar is not a fully comprehensive Cash Flow projection, but it does provide good insight into the Cash Requirements for the next few days.

To start using Dynamics GP Cash Flow Calendar:

Go to Tools>>Setup>>Financial>>Cash Flow Forecast. Select the options to use in the forecast.

To run the Cash Flow Calendar:

Go to Inquiry>>Financial>>Cash Flow Calendar.

The Cash Flow Calendar relies on the use of terms. Often, terms are accurate in AR but not in AP. You can restrict the Calendar to just project either AR or AP and gain a quick and accurate projection.

Depending on your situation and industry, using the customers’ average days to pay may be more accurate than Due Date based on your terms.  You can setup multiple forecasts that can be used to project cashflow using the different selections.

This is just one of the many tools to help companies manage their cash flow, however, it is often where managers start when looking at cashflow.  Combining this forecast tool with the many cash flow reports in Dynamics GP, Aged Receivables for AR, Cash Requirements for this Friday’s check run, and others, can help you better project and manage cash flow in your business.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]