Cash Flows - RightCapital Help Center

Frequently Asked Questions

Need assistance with the Retirement > Cash Flows? RightCapital is here to help! Please use the common questions and answers below to assist you in generating financial plans. For additional assistance use the link to our support team at the bottom of the article.

What does the 'Net Flows' column in the Cash Flows > Summary table represent?

The Net Flows column represents the client's total inflows for a given year, minus their total outflows. In other words, did they make more than they spent? Or spend more than they made?

If the Net Flows are positive for a given year, that surplus will be saved and reinvested into the client's taxable investments.
If the Net Flows are negative for a given year, that deficit will be funded by withdrawing from a client's investments in a set order (according to your Withdrawal Sequence setting).

Depending on your chosen Planning Method setting, you may also see a 'Spend Unsaved Cash Flows' column to the left of the Net Flows. See the next FAQ for more.

What does 'Spend Unsaved Cash Flows' mean?

"Spend unsaved cash flows" represents a cash flow surplus at the end of a given year that is being spent off, rather than saved. This column will only appear in the Cash Flows > Summary table when using a Modified Cash Flow Based planning method (see below).

Whether or not excess cash flows are saved and reinvested (positive net flows) or spent off (spend unsaved cash flows) depends largely on your Planning Method setting. You can view and adjust this setting within the Gear Icon > Settings > Methodology tab.

Cash Flow Based will automatically save and reinvest all excess cash flows into the client's taxable investments. The ability to add taxable savings manually is removed.
Modified Cash Flow Based will assume all excess cash flows are spent off at the end of each year, unless otherwise indicated within the plan. You can add taxable savings cards to specify any surplus you'd like to save and reinvest.

Are employer matches included in the Cash Flows > Summary > Planned Savings column?

They are not- the Planned Savings column will only reflect client contributions. You can find employer matches within the Invested Asset table > Employer Match & Other column:

Why don't I see savings occuring for a certain account type?

There are a few reasons why savings entered into the Profile may not be occurring within the cash flow projections:

When savings appear to be missing, we first recommend double-checking the data card within the Profile > Savings section. In particular, you will want to double check the amount, owner, and start/end dates within the savings card to make sure all of the inputs are correct.
Contribution limits (individual and shared) for each account type are built into RightCapital. If the savings entered into the Profile are in excess of the contribution limit for a given account type, savings will be automatically capped at the contribution limit within the cash flow projections.
Income phase-outs are also built into RightCapital- if clients are ineligible to contribute to certain account types based on their income and tax filing status, these savings will not occur.
Certain types of savings, such as taxable and bank savings, can only occur in years where clients have the available cash flow. In years with cash flow deficits, these savings types may not be able to occur in full (or at all).
Other types of savings, such as IRA and 529 savings, won't be made in years with cash flow deficits unless you've checked the 'Use taxable account to fund IRA and 529 saving when current year cash flow is inadequate' plan setting.

If you're unable to pinpoint the cause of missing savings in the Cash Flows, you can always reach out to the RightCapital support team for assistance.

Where can I see Roth conversions occuring in the Cash Flows?

The best place to see Roth conversions occurring is within the Accounts tab, by viewing the Net Cash Flows table. You will be able to see the converted dollars leaving the 401(k) / IRA account buckets, and entering the Roth IRA bucket in the years that conversions are occurring: