Waterfall Chart for Cash Flow — Operating, Investing & Financing Bridge
A cash flow waterfall chart decomposes period liquidity movement from Beginning Cash to Ending Cash ($Cash_{end} = Cash_{start} + OCF - CapEx \pm Financing$) using floating variance pillars.
Tip: Paste Excel or Google Sheets rows (Ctrl+V / ⌘V) directly into any cell.
| # | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
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| 7 |
Free Cash Flow (FCF) = Operating Cash Flow - CapEx. Ending Cash = Beginning Cash + OCF + ICF + FCF = sum_{i=1..n}(Step_i).
Chart Design & Use-Case Tips
- 01Free Cash Flow (FCF) = Operating Cash Flow - CapEx. Ending Cash = Beginning Cash + OCF + ICF + FCF = sum_{i=1..n}(Step_i).
- 02Place Beginning Cash in Row 1 and enter cash outflows (CapEx, taxes, debt paydown) as negative numbers.
- 03The final Net Total pillar automatically equals your Ending Cash Balance on the balance sheet.
- 04Ideal for monthly CFO liquidity packs, board decks, and covenant compliance reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Free Cash Flow visualized in a cash flow waterfall?+
Operating inflows step upward from Beginning Cash, while working capital increases, taxes, and CapEx step downward to reveal net free cash generation before financing.
How do I represent a cash outflow like CapEx?+
Enter a negative number (e.g., -220) in Series A; the chart renders a downward crimson bridge bar.
Does the final pillar match Ending Cash?+
Yes, the automatically generated Net Total pillar equals the exact sum of Beginning Cash plus all net cash flows.