10/20/2026
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐?
A good starting point is enough cash to cover three to six months of essential operating expenses. You'll also want to set aside money for taxes, based on what you expect to owe.
But the exact amount depends on how your business brings in money.
If you have predictable, recurring revenue (like monthly retainers or subscriptions), three months of expenses may be enough.
If you carry inventory, work on large projects, or experience big seasonal swings, you'll likely need closer to six months.
As for taxes, for most pass-through entities (LLCs, sole props), a good starting point is transferring ๐ฎ๐ฑ%โ๐ฏ๐ฌ% ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ถ๐ into a dedicated tax account to cover both income and self-employment taxes.
Remember, the IRS expects quarterly estimated payments, so you'll be emptying that reserve four times a year. (We can help you dial in your exact percentage.)
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ?