Demand at a counter is not flat. Salary days, the first of the month and the days before a festival carry two to three times an ordinary day. If the float covers only the ordinary day, the counter closes early exactly when it could earn most.
A workable rule
Take your busiest recorded day in the last three months. Hold enough to cover that day and a half. For most small counters that lands between 60 000 and 120 000 taka, and it is almost always more than the owner first guessed.
| Day type | Transactions | Cash needed |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary weekday | 90—120 | 35 000 |
| First of the month | 200—260 | 80 000 |
| Before a festival | 250—320 | 110 000 |
Holding that much has its own cost and its own risk, which is why the next question is where it sits between the busy days.
Where it sits
Not all in one place and not all at the counter. Split it, keep the working portion in the drawer and the rest somewhere that takes twenty minutes to reach. Twenty minutes is slow enough to be safe and fast enough to save a busy afternoon.