Maintaining a business cash reserve is analogous to maintaining a personal savings account. Just as your personal savings can act as a hedge against unforeseen financial problems (such as job loss or the death of a spouse), a business's reserve cash can help the business get through changes in market demand and pay for unexpected business expenses. A cash reserve can also help your business be prepared for new business opportunities. Although maintaining a cash reserve is important, you should always bear in mind the opportunity cost of leaving cash idle.

Cash flow is a measurement of the amount of cash flowing into and out of a business during a specific time period, such as a week or a month. At the end of the designated time period, if a business has received more cash than it has spent, it will have a positive cash flow. Particularly in the beginning stages of a business, cash is often the most important factor for ensuring success. If a company runs out of cash and can't afford to meet current expenses, the business may go under. Unless your business has a positive cash flow, it can be difficult to establish a cash reserve savings account.

Your business's ability to maintain a cash reserve will depend on its overall cash flow and the business life cycle stage at which it finds itself. Typically, businesses pass through four stages: start-up, growth, maturity, and decline. Start-up companies generally have very high expenses, and little or no cash flow and cash reserves, because the business has yet to make sales. If your business is at this stage you may not be able to afford much of a cash reserve at first, but you'll definitely want to establish one as soon as your firm starts to generate sufficient cash.

During the growth and maturity stages, maintaining a cash reserve will be very important, both to hedge against unforeseen problems and to finance expansion through capital reinvestment. After consulting with your financial advisors, you should consider establishing a separate cash reserve account at a financial institution. Many commercial banks will offer a variety of cash reserve vehicles as well as some limited assistance with the cash management process.

Cash reserve accounts are most often established at commercial banks. When considering various investment vehicles, you'll need to balance accessibility to the money with interest rates. However, accessibility to the money should really be your primary consideration when choosing account types for your cash reserve funds.

If your cash reserve is relatively small, you'll want to be able to access it when necessary without incurring a penalty. In the case of larger cash reserves, you may be able to place part of the money in accounts offering higher interest rates. Basically, there are three types of accounts that are most often used for holding the cash reserve funds of small businesses: (1) money market deposit accounts, (2) certificates of deposit and other term deposits, and (3) money market mutual funds or marketable securities. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Tip: It's also possible to use credit as a source of emergency cash funds. However, the need to repay such loans, combined with high interest charges, should make this alternative less desirable than the cash reserve account. Nevertheless, it's advisable to have a line of credit available for use when you need it.

The interest rates offered by money market deposit accounts are somewhat better than those offered by ordinary savings accounts, but are still fairly low. These accounts are FDIC-insured and provide immediate accessibility to funds. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 increased the FDIC coverage limit. At a given institution, the FDIC now insures up to $250,000 per single-owner account, up to $250,000 per co-owner for joint accounts, and up to $250,000 per owner per each beneficiary (subject to specific limitations and requirements) for trust accounts. The coverage limit for retirement accounts also is $250,000 per owner per institution.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) and other term deposits provide better interest rates than do money market deposit accounts. However, the funds are not as easily accessible. More specifically, you need to wait until the term of the CD has expired before you can withdraw funds without incurring a penalty. Bank CDs are also FDIC-insured up to $250,000.

Caution: Remember that a CD is included when calculating a bank's total FDIC coverage for an given owner. For example, if you have a money market deposit account and a CD at the same bank, both of which list you as the sole owner, the combined holdings would only be covered by the FDIC up to $250,000.

Money market mutual funds and marketable securities frequently allow immediate access to funds, although you often must maintain a minimum balance in the account. If you go below the minimum balance, a penalty will be charged.

Caution: Unlike money market deposit accounts, money market mutual funds are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Although money market mutual funds strive to maintain a $1 per share net asset value, there is no guarantee that they will do so. However, as of September 29, 2008, publicly offered money market mutual funds are eligible to participate in the U.S. Treasury's temporary guarantee program. For funds that participate and pay a fee to do so, the Treasury will guarantee a $1 per share price for any assets in the fund as of the close of business on September 19, 2008 or the amount in the fund as of the date that a guarantee payment is made, whichever is less.

Non-interest bearing transaction accounts are often used by businesses for functions such as managing payroll. Such accounts qualify for unlimited coverage by an FDIC-insured financial institution that chooses to participate in the FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. The program became effective on October 23, 2008 and is now scheduled to run through June 30, 2010. Institutions were given the ability to opt out of the program within 30 days after it was launched, and were able to opt out again in November 2009, so check with your bank or savings institution to determine your coverage under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

There are a number of ways to build a cash reserve. For instance, you can deposit a portion of the excess cash generated by your business into this account on a systematic basis. In addition, you can add a portion of the earnings from your business's other investments to the account. You can also reduce spending and add the money saved to the reserve account.

It's wise to vary your investments and to ladder maturity dates. For example, instead of investing all of your money in one-year certificates of deposit, invest in CDs with different maturity dates so they will come due at different times. Combine your CD investments with some marketable securities investments to obtain higher interest rates. Use a multitiered investment approach by combining a number of different cash reserve vehicles with a line of credit and perhaps a cash value life insurance policy. (This type of policy allows you the opportunity to build up cash that you can later withdraw for other uses. Keep in mind that loans or withdrawals will decrease the final payout.) Be sure to review your cash reserve account periodically and to adjust the balance of the account as needed.

Maintaining a cash reserve is as vital for a business as your own personal savings account is for you. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind the one great disadvantage: the opportunity cost involved when your cash remains relatively idle. Ideally, excess cash should be reinvested in your business or invested in long-term vehicles to obtain top interest rates. Maintaining a cash reserve bank account deprives you of capital reinvestment money and probably generates a much smaller return than could be obtained otherwise.