Because the cash flow for financial transactions forms the basis for all trading, administrative and evaluation activities within Treasury, the flows are particularly important. They are generated by financial mathematics from the general data on the transaction, the structural characteristics and the conditions assigned to the transactions. The flows contain both the payment data and their calculation bases, as well as all data required for posting.

The single flow records, from which the cash flow is made up, can be generated in various ways:

• By flows entered manually, such as investment amounts, charges or special repayments.
• By automatically generated flow records that are usually generated from the Conditions. These include, for example, interest or regular repayments.
• By derived flows that appear here automatically if you have made the relevant settings in Customizing and in the standing instructions.
• By Accrual/deferral flows that arise from the periodical assignment of expenses and revenues from the transaction.
• As a result of transaction valuations, for example, with regard to price gains and losses (Valuation flows).

You use the SAP List Viewer to display the cash flow.

You can use the following functions:

• Choose to display the details of a flow.

• The Set filter function enables you to display the just the lines in a column or several columns that fulfill certain criteria. You only usually see the structural characteristics. You have the option of displaying accrual/deferral flows, valuation and transfer flows.

• By double-clicking a record, you can display the flow details, such as the details for an FI document related to a flow.

• Using the Select layout pushbutton, you can select one of the following predefined display variants:

• Basic view: This is set up as a standard view and contains information on payment dates, payment amounts, currencies, flow types with names, posting keys and activities.
• Due date view: This view displays information on the due dates.
• Posting view: Entries for the payment date, payment amount, currency, flow type, posting status, posting date, document number, year and assignment.

• Calculation view: This view displays information on the interest rates, the calculation methods and the relevant calculation periods that were used to calculate the amount of the flow.

• Local currency view: For transactions in a foreign currency, you see an entry for the amounts in the local currency as well as the payment amount in the transaction currency. This view displays the foreign and local currency amount and the exchange rate for flows that have not yet been posted. The exchange rate is taken from the current rate table and has "Current rate" status.

• You can edit the flows. You can set either the exchange rate or the local currency amount here, for example, to avoid rounding off an amount when the exchange rate is fixed. When you double-click a line in the cash flow, an entry screen appears on which you can change the corresponding condition.
• If you want to set the exchange rate, enter the rate and select "Rate set". You set the local currency amount in a similar way.
• In the local currency view of the cash flow, you can see any changes that have been made and you can see whether the translation was carried out based on current rates or manual rates that were set.

• Payment view: This view displays data relevant to payments for the house bank and house bank account, payer/payee, partner bank details and different payment methods.
• Posting view: This view shows you the data, such as posting date, flow type, payment amount, payment currency, posting status (name), document number and year (year for the document).

The cash flow forms the basis for:

• the effective interest rate calculation,
• the accrual/deferral of expenses and revenues
• triggering payments
• updating the flows in Cash Management
• updating Financial Accounting using flexible account determination
• updating positions
• interest accruals/deferrals
• foreign currency valuations
• yield calculations.