Reserve targets for owners who check the bank daily
A practical reserve rule that separates tax-held cash from money you can actually spend.
Checking the bank balance multiple times a day usually signals uncertainty about what that number really means. A single operating account mixing GST, payroll, and discretionary spend makes every dip feel like crisis.
Three-bucket thinking (without three accounts)
You do not always need multiple bank accounts to think in buckets:
- Tax and compliance held — GST, PAYG, super not yet remitted.
- Operating reserve — minimum to survive a slow fortnight without new borrowing.
- Available to deploy — what remains after buckets one and two.
Estimate bucket one from your last BAS cycle and payroll schedule. Bucket two is often one to two payroll cycles for labour-heavy businesses. What is left is bucket three — the only portion safe for hire, stock, or equipment decisions.
Write the rule down
“If balance minus tax estimate minus reserve is below zero, we pause discretionary spend and run the weekly cash check.” Owners who adopt a written rule report less compulsive balance checking because the decision path is pre-agreed.
Advisory support
We build reserve guidance into every cash flow planning engagement and revisit it monthly under stability advisory.