The Hidden Cash Sitting in Your Shop

Most owners think cash problems start with revenue. Sometimes they start with a folder.

If checks sit for days before deposit, you are financing your own gap. At scale, a 5 to 7 day deposit lag can mean $200K to $300K of cash that exists but cannot be used.

This is one of those problems that does not look like a problem. Deposits happen. Checks get to the bank. But when happens means Thursday instead of Monday, the cash sitting in that folder is cash you cannot use. You cannot pay vendors with it. You cannot cover payroll with it. You cannot invest it. It exists on paper but not in your operating reality.

How to Think About the Math

Say you are running $1.2M a month across three locations. That is roughly $40K a day in revenue. If your average deposit lag is 5 to 7 days, you have $200K to $300K of real cash sitting in folders, glove compartments, and I will drop it off on my way to the other shop purgatory.

That is not a rounding error. That is your next equipment purchase. That is the float you are borrowing against on your line of credit and paying interest on.

The Fix Is Not Complicated

Daily deposits. One-day lag is fine. Same-day is better.

Track deposit lag like a KPI. If you are running multiple locations, you need to know the gap between repair invoiced and check deposited at each shop. Some shops will surprise you.

And stop relying on whoever is driving between locations as your bank process. That is not a system. That is a hope.

Why This Matters Beyond Cash

Deposit discipline is also a data integrity issue. If your deposits are lumpy, your daily revenue reporting is lumpy. Your cash balance is unreliable. Your bank reconciliation takes longer. And if you are submitting monthly financials to a lender, inconsistent deposit timing makes your cash flow statement harder to read.

Clean deposits, clean data, clean reporting. It starts with a folder.

A Place to Start Looking Forward

If you want a practical starting point, I built a 13-week cash flow forecast template that shows you, week by week, what cash is coming in and going out over the next 90 days. I originally wrote it up in the context of what acquirers look for when they diligence a shop, but the same tool is exactly what an operator needs to stop being surprised by their bank balance.

If your bank balance keeps surprising you, this is one of the first places I would look. And if you want help building a working capital process that catches this kind of thing, that is what I do.