Ask for a cash flow report in Xero and you could mean four different things: a formal statement of cash flows, a cash summary by account, a bank summary, or a forecast of where your bank balance is heading. Each answers a different question. Here's what each one shows, where to find it and what it can't do. We checked the reports in Xero's Demo Company in October 2026.
Quick answer
| Question | Xero report |
|---|---|
| Where did cash come from and go, in statement form? | Statement of Cash Flows - Direct Method |
| How much cash came in and went out, account by account? | Cash Summary |
| What moved through each bank account? | Bank Summary |
| Where will the bank balance be in a few weeks? | Short-term cash flow |
All four are under Reporting in Xero; the first three are in All reports.
Does Xero have a cash flow statement?
Yes. Xero's Statement of Cash Flows - Direct Method lists operating cash flows, such as receipts from customers and payments to suppliers and employees, then the net cash flow and the cash at the beginning and end of the period. You can choose the date range, compare with earlier periods, edit the layout and export it.
As the name says, it uses the direct method. If your accountant or lender expects the indirect method, which starts from net profit and adjusts for non-cash items and changes in working capital, Xero doesn't produce that as a standard report; people build it in a spreadsheet from the profit and loss and two balance sheets, or Reportpost can build and email one from your Xero figures.
Cash Summary
The Cash Summary shows money in and out on a cash basis, laid out by account: income, then expenses. By default it compares the period with your monthly average for the year to date and shows the variance, which makes unusual months easy to spot. Xero's common format for it is called "Working capital with other cash movements".
Use it when you want to know which accounts the cash actually went through, rather than a formal statement.
Bank Summary
The Bank Summary is the simplest of the four: for each bank account, the opening balance, cash received, cash spent and closing balance for the period. It's the one to send someone who just wants to know what happened in the bank accounts. More in our Bank Summary guide.
Short-term cash flow
Under Reporting > Short-term cash flow, Xero projects your bank balance forward, 30 days by default, from the invoices you're owed and the bills you have to pay. Overdue invoices and bills only count once you give them expected or planned payment dates, so it's worth updating those first. The projection is broken down by week and by contact.
It's a useful early warning, but it only knows about invoices and bills already in Xero. Costs that don't have a bill in Xero yet, such as upcoming wages or tax payments, won't be in it.
Things that trip people up
- The statement doesn't match the bank. Unreconciled bank lines aren't in your Xero accounts yet, so reconcile before running cash reports.
- Cash vs accrual. By default the Profit and Loss counts invoices when they're raised; cash reports count money when it moves. A profitable month can still be a bad cash month.
- Forecasting further ahead. For more than a few weeks, or for scenarios, you'll need a forecasting tool or a spreadsheet.
Getting cash figures emailed
Xero can't email these reports on a schedule. Reportpost can send the Bank Summary on a schedule, plus the Executive Summary, which includes cash received, cash spent and the cash surplus alongside the profitability figures. Xero's own Statement of Cash Flows and the Cash Summary aren't available through Xero's API, so we can't send those; our own indirect cash flow statement, built from your profit and loss and balance sheets, can be sent. A weekly Bank Summary plus lists of unpaid invoices and unpaid bills covers what most owners want to know about cash. You can try the demo with sample data.
Related: emailing the bank summary every week, the debtors report and a Xero month-end checklist.