What is operating cash flow?
submitted by Mark Rumsfield

cassandra

Operating cash flow is the amount of cash a company makes from its main business, like selling products or services. It's different from profit because it only looks at actual cash going in and out, not things like depreciation or loans.

yolanda

Operating cash is the cash that a business earns from its day to day work. You can look at operating cash flow to see how a business is doing with its main activities, like a fruit vendor selling strawberries or a mechanic repairing a motorcycle.

jemmy

To clarify the other answers, business have their main operations, and they could also have secondary things, like investing. A contractor might build a home and get paid. That would be operating cash flow. That contractor might take some of the leftover income and invest it, making a small side profit over time. That would still be income for the business, but it's not from the main company activities. It's more like a side income, so it wouldn't be considered operating cash flow.