What is this module for?
This screen answers one question: over this year, how much money came in, how much went out, and is the gap growing or shrinking? It uses the direct method to add up actual cash movements. It is not the formal business statement found under Reports, which uses profit and adjustments.
How do I open the screen?
- In the sidebar, under Personal finance, press Cash flow.
- Use the year dropdown at the top right to choose a financial year.
- Leave it on the current period if you want to see the year so far.
How do I read the summary cards?
- Check Money in for total cash received and Money out for total cash paid.
- Look at Left over to see if you kept money (green) or spent more (red).
- Read the percentage under Left over to see your savings rate.
What does the monthly chart show?
- Look at the green bar for money in and the red bar for money out each month.
- Follow the purple line to see your running balance since the year started.
- Note that this line is not your bank balance and restarts at zero each year.
How do I find my biggest expenses?
- Check Where it came from to see your largest income sources.
- Check Where it went to see your largest spending categories.
- If Other is large, go to Cash In & Out to categorise those rows.
What this does to your books
This screen writes nothing and holds no ledger of its own. It adds up the same cash rows as the business Cash In & Out screen, from the same company file, so a business payment recorded in this file is counted here as household money. Keep household and business money in separate company files.