[GNC] Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Report

doncram doncram at gmail.com
Wed Feb 10 23:57:53 EST 2021


"GnuCash does have a Cash Flow report, but it is more general...."  *No,
GnuCash does not have anything like the normal Statement of Cash Flows*
expected by financial statements users.  A statement of cash flows is
supposed to identify sources and uses of what would otherwise be "cash"
(liquid funds) during a given period.  Operations, vs. Financing, vs.
Investing.  So that a potential investor or lendor or whomever could
understand better what is going on with the firm.  With a standard type of
report that would show, in the Operations area, how much went into building
inventory, or reducing accounts payable, or allowing accounts receivable to
increase (presumably to support sales revenues).  Or how much "cash" was
derived from reducing inventory (selling down stock without replacing it),
increasing accounts payable (causing future problems), or forcing an
increase in collections from customers (driving down sales), for example.
What GnuCash offers is something total different, which I don't see as
useful for any financial statement users that I know, which is a report on
totals of transactions in vs. out of any group of balance sheet accounts
(so I think one could get it to report on total $ inflows and outflows out
of a group.

But, it simply doesn't capture many (most?) transactions that matter.
Suppose the firm acquired $100k amount of inventory by a new line of credit
with a supplier.  That should show as $100k usage of cash in operations,
and $100k source of cash in financing.  Which GnuCash simply won't show;  I
don't know what GnuCash's report would be useful for at all.

I think it would be fairly simple for GnuCash to be adapted to provide
normal Statement of Cash Flows reporting, but it simply does not do that.
Calling what GnuCash does as "more general" is misleading.

Hope this helps
Don Cram

On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 11:38 AM Adrien Monteleone <
adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:

> You are in the right place.
>
> Let's take these in order:
>
> #1 Categories/Accounts
>
> GnuCash uses Accounts, not Categories, but you can think of them as
> roughly equivalent for what you are likely using them for in CheckBook Pro.
>
> #2 QIF Import
>
> I don't use this import myself, but I *think* if you don't have an
> account created, you either get the option to, or it is done for you.
> Perhaps someone who regularly uses QIF can shed more light.
>
> I'd advise that the import will probably go a bit smoother if you create
> your Accounts when you first set up your GnuCash book. (if you miss a
> few no big deal, but try to get that done first if you can)
>
> #3 Balance Sheet
>
> Yes, you can produce a Balance Sheet report. This report is not for a
> date range, but as a snapshot in time. (this is not particular to
> GnuCash, this is part of the definition of Balance Sheet) But you
> certainly can produce a Balance Sheet for every month if you like. (that
> is, different reports as of the last day of each month) There is also an
> experimental Multi-Column Balance Sheet report that may be useful but it
> is not presently 'comparative' with variance columns, but you can always
> export any report to a spreadsheet and make your own modifications.
>
> #4 Cash Flow
>
> GnuCash does have a Cash Flow report, but it is more general than most
> are used to (maybe more accurately titled 'Asset Flow') and is not
> predictive without some extra work. It does report over a date range,
> but for the entire range, not by period. (you'd need to run reports for
> separate periods)
>
> Regards,
> Adrien
>
> On 2/10/21 12:20 PM, E. Nick Henery wrote:
> > Team
> > I am new at this, so please bare with me as I learn the correct process.
> >
> > I am not sure If this the place to ask these questions.  If not would
> you please direct me to the right location?
> >
> > I use an iMac and I use CheckBook Pro from the Apple Store to do my
> accounting for personal and a small business.
> >
> > I can export a QIF file from CheckBook Pro.  My question is:  If I
> import the QIF file from CheckBook Pro into GNUCash, will GNUCash set up
> the account in GNUCash and use the categories I have used in CheckBook Pro?
> >
> > Apple Support directed me to look at GNUCash, and it looks like it will
> do what I need.  That is; if the import of the QIF file into GNUCash is
> successful, can I produce a Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Report by month
> over a set period (Yearly)?
> >
> > If I am in the wrong place to ask these questions; I apologize for any
> inconvenience I cause.  Thanks Nick
>
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