Walkthrough: Making Cash Flow Forecasts by Using Account Schedules

This walkthrough describes how you can use account schedules to make cash flow forecasts. Account schedules perform calculations that cannot be done directly in the chart of cash flow accounts. In the account schedules, you can set up subtotals for cash flow receipts and disbursements. These subtotals can be included in new totals that can then be used in making cash flow forecasts.

About This Walkthrough

This walkthrough describes the following tasks:

  • Setting up a new cash flow account schedule name.

  • Setting up account schedule lines.

  • Setting up a new column layout.

  • Assigning a column layout to an account schedule.

  • Viewing and printing the cash flow forecast.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV with the CRONUS International Ltd. demonstration database installed.

  • The cash flow worksheet lines are registered.

Roles

This walkthrough demonstrates tasks that are performed by the following user role:

  • Controller

Story

Ken is a controller at CRONUS International Ltd. who makes monthly cash flow forecasts. He includes finance, sales, purchase, and fixed assets in the forecast, and then he presents it to CFO Sara for business insight.

Setting Up a New Account Schedule Name

An account schedule consists of a cash flow account schedule name with a series of lines and a column layout.

To set up a new account schedule name

  1. In the Search box, enter Account Schedules, and then choose the related link.

  2. In the Account Schedule Names window, on the Home tab, in the New group, choose New to create a new cash flow account schedule name.

  3. In the Name field, enter Forecast.

  4. In the Description field, enter Cash Flow Forecast.

  5. Leave the Default Column Layout and Analysis View Name fields blank.

Setting Up Account Schedule Lines

After an account schedule name is set up, Ken defines each line that appears in the cash flow account schedule. Ken defines lines that can be shown in reports in addition to lines that are only for calculation purposes.

To set up account schedule lines

  1. In the Account Schedule Names window, select the new Forecast account schedule name that you have created. On the Home tab, in the Process group, choose Edit Account Schedule.

  2. In the Account Schedule window, enter each line exactly as shown in the following table.

    Note

    Using the Insert CF Accounts function, you can quickly mark the cash flow accounts from the chart of cash flow accounts and copy them to account schedule lines.

    Row No. Description Totaling Type Totaling Row Type Amount Type Show

    R10

    Receivables

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0010

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Open sales orders

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0020

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Rentals

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0030

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Financial assets

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0040

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Fixed assets disposal

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0050

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Private investments

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0060

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Miscellaneous receipts

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0070

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R10

    Open service orders

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    0080

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R20

    Total Cash Receipts

    Formula

    R10

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Payables

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1010

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Open purchase orders

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1020

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Personnel costs

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1030

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Running costs

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1040

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Finance costs

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1050

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Investments

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1070

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Private consumptions

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1090

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    VAT due

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1100

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R30

    Other expenses

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    1110

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R40

    Total cash disbursements

    Formula

    R30

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R50

    Surplus

    Formula

    R20+R40

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R60

    Cash Flow Funds

    Cash Flow Entry Accounts

    2100

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    R70

    Total Cash Flow

    Formula

    R50+R60

    Net Change

    Net Amount

    Yes

    Note

    The row number R10 is used to capture the account totals for receivables. The row number R20 is used to calculate the sum of all cash receipts. The row number R30 is used to capture the account totals for payables. The row number R40 is used to calculate the sum of all cash disbursements. The row number R50 is used to capture the sum of cash surplus. The row number R60 is used to capture the liquid funds. The row number R70 is used to calculate the forecasted cash flow.

  3. Choose the OK button.

Setting Up a New Column Layout

Before Ken can print the cash flow forecast, he needs to create the column layout for the numerical information. In the columns, he defines the information that he wants to use from the lines.

  • The first column has the number C10 with the title Amount and contains the Net Change.

  • The second column has the number C20 with the title Balance at Date and contains the transactions for the period.

  • The third column has the number C30 with the title Entire Year and contains the net change in the balances for the entire fiscal year.

  • Finally, he assigns the column layout as the default column layout for the account schedule Forecast.

To set up a new column layout

  1. In the Account Schedule Names window, select the new Forecast account schedule name that you have created. On the Home tab, in the Process group, choose Edit Column Layout Setup.

  2. Create a new column layout with the name Cash Flow.

  3. Enter each line exactly as shown in the following table.

    Column No. Column Header Column Type Ledger Entry Type Amount Type Show

    C10

    Amount

    Net Change

    Entries

    Net Amount

    Always

    C20

    Amount until Date

    Balance at Date

    Entries

    Net Amount

    Always

    C30

    Entire Fiscal Year

    Entire Fiscal Year

    Entries

    Net Amount

    Always

  4. Choose the OK button.

Assigning the Column Layout to the Account Schedule Name

Ken is now ready to assign the column layout to the account schedule name.

To assign the column layout to the account schedule name

  1. In the Account Schedule Names window, select Forecast in the Name field.

  2. In the Default Column Layout field, choose the column layout Cash Flow to assign as the default column layout.

To view and print the cash flow forecast

  1. In the Account Schedule Names window, on the Home tab, in the Process group, choose Overview to view the cash flow forecast.

  2. In the Acc. Schedule Overview window, you can select an amount and then view the cash flow forecast entries that make up the amount. In addition, you can view the formula that is used to calculate the amount. You can also filter the amounts by date and dimension.

  3. On the Actions tab, in the Functions group, choose Print to print the cash flow forecast.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Create New Account Schedules
How to: Set Up Account Schedule Rows Manually
How to: Set Up Account Schedule Columns Manually
How to: Assign Predefined Column Layouts to Account Schedules
How to: Create Account Schedule Columns That Calculate Percentages
How to: Set Up Account Schedules with Overviews

Other Resources

Account Schedule Names
Account Schedule