Cash Flow Gap Calculator

How it is calculated

You enter total cash inflows and total cash outflows for the same period. The tool calculates net position = inflows − outflows, gap = max(0, outflows − inflows) and coverage = inflows ÷ outflows × 100. A gap appears only when more cash leaves than arrives; if inflows are higher, the gap shows $0.00 and the net position is positive (with inflows of 60,000 and outflows of 56,500 the net position is $3,500.00 and coverage 106.19%). Coverage below 100% means inflows do not pay for outflows. If outflows are zero, coverage is shown as a dash because the ratio is undefined. Amounts are in US dollars, and a negative inflow or outflow gives no result. Use actual cash movements, not invoiced or accrued amounts.

Common mistakes

• Using sales invoiced in the period as inflows when customers have not paid yet. Only cash actually received counts.
• Leaving out irregular outflows such as taxes, loan repayments or insurance premiums that fall due in the same period.
• Mixing periods, for example monthly inflows against a quarterly outflow total, which produces a gap that is not real.
• Reading a $0.00 gap as comfortable: coverage just above 100% leaves almost no buffer for late payments.
• Entering outflows as negative numbers. Both fields expect positive amounts, and a negative value returns no result.