The movement of money into and out of a business over time; positive cash flow means more is coming in than going out.
Cash flow is the timing of money moving in and out of your business — not how much you earn, but when it actually arrives and leaves. You can be profitable on paper and still unable to pay rent if a big client is on net-60 and your bills are due now.
For sellers, cash flow is the thing that quietly sinks otherwise healthy freelance businesses. The defenses are structural: deposits up front, shorter payment terms, milestone payments on big projects, and not letting unpaid invoices pile up. For buyers, paying small vendors promptly is a real kindness — for a freelancer, a two-week delay can mean a scramble.
The distinction that matters: profit is a scorecard, cash flow is oxygen. A business can survive a bad month of profit; it can’t survive running out of cash. Keeping a buffer and watching what’s coming due beats reacting after the account runs low — start with tracking your numbers.