Issue
When reviewing your Cashflow Report, you're either picking up unexpected cashflow movements OR are realizing that some of your accounts are not moving at all i.e. not appearing in your Cashflow Report.
Castaway's Cashflow Report is based on accounting logic, so the calculated numbers should always make sense. We briefly covered this HERE using the Fixed Asset element as an example, but this article will expand on other examples that most of our users encounter.
Explanation
Remember, Castaway has Element Partners that you need to understand in order to use Castaway as it was designed. We commonly see unexplained movement in the Cashflow Report when the elements are not set up properly with their corresponding partner elements.
Below are some elements that you particularly need to pay attention to:
- Fixed Assets
- Prepayments & Accruals
- Inventory
- Wages
- Provisions
These elements work well when used correctly with their partner elements.
Solution
For example, you might've created your provision account as an Other A/L in the Liability section of your Balance Sheet. Once you've entered your forecast and Actuals, you might notice that your provisions balance is not moving and there is no reported cash movement in your Cashflow Report. This is because there is now a disconnect between the provision in the Balance Sheet and the provision expense in the Profit & Loss. You'll need to set up your provision account as a Provision element from your Profit & Loss instead. Once you've done this, a corresponding partner element will be created for you in the Balance Sheet. Essentially this now creates a connection between the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet so that any incurred Provision expense will reduce the Provision Liability as expected.
The same principle applies to the other elements as well. So remember, if your accounts' Cashflow is not appearing as you expect, inspect your setup.
If this issue stems from your Actuals, review how you've mapped or imported your Actuals. Check that the Actuals are entered in the appropriate partner element.
If you need further guidance to specific lines in your report, please reach out to our Customer Success team with accompanying screenshots of your setup.