Cash Flow Statement in Odoo 18 Accounting — Complete Overview
By Braincuber Team
Published on February 24, 2026
Helix Digital Agency runs a 32-person creative studio in Denver. Their bank account balance looked healthy — $187,000 at the end of Q3. But when the finance director, Carla, tried to explain where the money came from and where it went, she could not get a clear answer. Revenue was $420,000 for the quarter, expenses were $310,000, and somehow the bank balance only grew by $23,000 instead of $110,000. The gap was buried in unpaid client invoices, a $48,000 equipment purchase, and a $35,000 loan repayment — none of which showed up on the profit-and-loss statement because the P&L tracks accrual, not cash.
That is the problem a cash flow statement solves. It tells you exactly how cash moved through the business during a specific period — separated into operations (day-to-day transactions), investing (buying or selling assets), and financing (loans, equity). In Odoo 18, this report is built into the Accounting module, updates automatically as you post journal entries, and uses account tags to classify every transaction into the right section. Carla set it up in an afternoon. Now she reviews it weekly, and quarter-end surprises are a thing of the past. This guide covers every step.
What You Will Learn: How to access and read the cash flow statement in Odoo 18, what each section represents (Operating, Investing, Financing), how account tags control transaction classification, how to post journal entries that appear in the report, how advance payments from customers and vendors are tracked, and how to keep the statement accurate over time.
Cash Flow Statement Structure
The cash flow statement in Odoo 18 breaks cash movement into four sections. Here is what each one covers using Helix's Q3 numbers as an example:
Opening Balance
Cash and bank balances at the start of the period. Helix started Q3 with $164,000 across two bank accounts. This is your baseline — every other line item explains the change from this number to the closing balance.
Operating Activities
Cash from daily business operations. Client payments received, supplier bills paid, salaries disbursed, tax payments. Helix collected $362,000 from clients and paid $256,000 in expenses — net operating cash flow of +$106,000.
Investing & Extraordinary
Asset purchases, equipment sales, currency exchange gains or losses. Helix bought $48,000 in editing workstations. This cash left the bank but does not appear on the P&L as an expense (it is an asset), which is why P&L alone is misleading.
Closing Balance
The final cash position. Opening ($164,000) + Operating (+$106,000) + Investing (-$48,000) + Financing (-$35,000 loan repayment) = Closing ($187,000). Now the $23,000 net increase makes sense.
Viewing the Cash Flow Statement
The report opens with the current fiscal period selected. You can change the date range using the filters at the top. Here is what Helix's Q3 statement looked like:
CASH FLOW STATEMENT — Q3 2025
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Opening Balance $164,000
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Cash received from customers $362,000
Advance payments received from customers $8,500
Cash paid for operating activities ($241,000)
Advance payments made to suppliers ($15,000)
Cash flows from unclassified activities ($8,200)
────────────────
Net Operating Cash Flow $106,300
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING & EXTRAORDINARY
Purchase of editing workstations ($48,000)
────────────────
Net Investing Cash Flow ($48,000)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Business loan repayment ($35,000)
────────────────
Net Financing Cash Flow ($35,000)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Closing Balance $187,300
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Account Tags: The Backbone of Classification
How does Odoo know which section a transaction belongs to? Account Tags. Every account in your Chart of Accounts can be tagged with a cash flow classification. When a journal entry uses that account, Odoo automatically places the amount in the corresponding section of the report.
| Tag | What It Covers | Helix Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Operating | Daily business cash flows | Client payments, freelancer invoices, rent, utilities, salaries |
| Investing | Asset purchases and sales | Editing workstations ($48,000), sale of old MacBook ($1,200) |
| Financing | Loans, equity, dividends | Business loan repayment ($35,000/quarter) |
Open any account and look for the Tags field. Assign the appropriate tag (Operating, Investing, or Financing). Accounts without tags will have their transactions fall into "Unclassified Activities" on the cash flow statement.
Missing Tags = Wrong Report: If you see a large amount in "Unclassified Activities," it almost always means an account is missing its tag. Carla found $8,200 sitting in unclassified during her first review — it was the tax payment account, which she tagged as Operating. The unclassified balance dropped to $0.
Posting Journal Entries
Only posted journal entries appear in the cash flow statement. Entries left in Draft status are invisible to the report. Here is how to post one:
Create the Journal Entry
Go to Accounting > Accounting > Journal Entries > Create. Add the debit and credit lines. For example, if Helix paid $5,000 to a freelance motion designer:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer Expenses (Operating tag) | $5,000 | — |
| Bank Account (101401) | — | $5,000 |
Post the Entry
Click Post to move the entry from Draft to Posted. The $5,000 now appears in the "Cash paid for operating activities" line of the cash flow statement. If you leave it as a draft, the report ignores it entirely.
How Advance Payments Work
Advance payments — money received before an invoice is issued, or money paid to a supplier before a bill arrives — have special handling in the cash flow statement.
Customer Advance Payments
Helix received a $10,000 advance from a client for a video campaign. Before the invoice:
STEP 1: Client pays $10,000 advance → Cash Flow: "Advance Payments received from customers" = $10,000 STEP 2: Invoice issued for $8,625 ($7,500 + $1,125 tax) → Apply the advance using the "Add" button on the invoice → Invoice status changes to "In Payment" STEP 3: Cash flow statement updates: → "Advance payments received from customers" drops to $1,375 → "Cash received from operating activities" increases by $7,500 → "Cash flows from unclassified activities" records $1,125 (tax) Same logic applies to vendor advances — just on the outflow side.
Why This Matters: Advance payments sit in a holding category until an invoice is applied. This prevents double-counting. If you received $10,000 and then also recorded $10,000 in operating cash from the same project, your report would overstate cash inflow by 100%. Odoo's advance tracking prevents this automatically.
Keeping Your Cash Flow Statement Accurate
Reconcile Bank Accounts Weekly
The cash flow statement pulls from posted journal entries. If your bank feed has unreconciled transactions, they are not in the report yet. Carla reconciles every Friday afternoon — it takes 15 minutes and prevents month-end scrambles.
Tag Every Account on Day One
When you create a new account in the Chart of Accounts, immediately assign the correct tag (Operating, Investing, or Financing). Tagging retroactively is tedious and error-prone. Helix has 47 accounts, and every one has a tag. Their "Unclassified" line shows $0.
Never Leave Entries in Draft
A draft journal entry is invisible to every financial report. If you enter a $48,000 equipment purchase but forget to click Post, your cash flow statement shows $48,000 more cash than you actually have. Helix has a policy: entries are posted the same day they are created.
Review Trends, Not Just Snapshots
Carla compares the cash flow statement across quarters. If operating cash flow is strong but investing outflows are rising, it signals the team is growing and capital expenditure needs a budget. Looking at a single period tells you where you are; comparing periods tells you where you are headed.
Set Up Payment Follow-Ups
Late customer payments shrink operating cash flow. Configure automated payment reminders in Odoo so clients are nudged before receivables age. Helix reduced average collection time from 38 days to 22 days after setting up follow-up schedules, adding $14,000/month in faster cash inflow.
Summary
Key Takeaways: The cash flow statement in Odoo 18 shows how cash actually moves through your business, separated into Operating, Investing, and Financing activities. Account tags on the Chart of Accounts control which section each transaction appears in — without tags, amounts end up in Unclassified. Only posted journal entries appear in the report; drafts are invisible. Advance payments from customers and to vendors are tracked separately and reclassified when invoices are applied. Reconcile bank accounts regularly, tag accounts immediately upon creation, post entries the same day, and compare cash flow trends across periods to make informed financial decisions.