Is Net Income the same as Cash?

No, Net Income is an item on a Profit/Loss statement. It is gross revenue minus all expenses. Depending on your type of business, you may have a Cost of Goods section, which would be subtracted from Gross Revenue, and an Expenses section, which is also subtracted from Gross Revenue to obtain Net Income.

Cash outlays like Equipment Purchases and repaying the Principal portion of a loan are not considered expenses and do not affect Net Income. These type of transactions will affect the Balance Sheet. The amount of Cash that you have is also a balance sheet item. When equipment is purchased, it will be depreciated according to a depreciation table (determined by the class of equipment, could be something like a 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, 30-year, etc.) The amount of depreciation taken each year does go on the Profit/Loss Statement as an expense. For the loan payment, the portion of the payment that goes towards interest is an expense and will affect Net Income.