CFO-Approved Tactics for Squeezing More From Company Reserves

Key Highlights

Most companies hold too much cash in low-interest accounts.
CFOs are reclassifying reserves to balance liquidity and return.
Simply opening a savings account with the best high yield can lift returns without risk.
Automation and segmentation make cash management more efficient.
Proactive reserve strategies compound long-term gains and financial stability.

The Lazy Cash Problem

Every business likes the comfort of seeing a healthy bank balance. It feels like security — a cushion against uncertainty. But for many companies, that same comfort hides a quiet inefficiency. The truth is, most business reserves are underperforming.

Cash left sitting in low-interest accounts does almost nothing. In today’s inflationary environment, it actually loses value over time. What looks like stability on paper is, in reality, eroding purchasing power.

CFOs call this “lazy cash” — money that’s working nowhere near as hard as it could be. And while the intention behind keeping reserves is sound, the execution often isn’t. Businesses build up cash for good reasons: future investments, payroll buffers, or tax obligations. Yet too often, that money just waits.

Forward-thinking CFOs are changing that mindset. They’re finding ways to make idle cash productive without putting liquidity or security at risk. For small and mid-sized companies, it starts with one simple question: how can your reserves do more than just sit there?

Why Cash Flow Strength Doesn’t Mean You’re Maximising It

A healthy cash flow is a good sign, but it can also create a false sense of comfort. When money keeps coming in steadily, it’s easy to overlook whether it’s actually being used effectively.

CFOs know that strong cash flow isn’t the same as strong cash management. Many companies still park their excess funds in standard business accounts that pay near-zero interest, assuming safety equals success. But over a year, even modest returns could have made a measurable impact.

The goal isn’t to take on risk — it’s to optimise liquidity. Every dollar in the business should have a purpose: to cover operations, to invest in growth, or to generate return until it’s needed. That’s the foundation of smarter financial strategy.

Understanding the New Role of Company Reserves

Reserves used to be treated as static — a safety net that stayed untouched. That’s changed. Today’s CFOs view cash reserves as active components of their financial ecosystem.

They now divide reserves into three layers:

Operational cash — What’s needed for payroll, bills, and short-term commitments. For operational spending, even small inefficiencies add up, which is why many CFOs also use no fee debit cards to prevent unnecessary charges from eroding everyday liquidity.
Strategic cash — Funds set aside for near-term opportunities such as supplier discounts, seasonal marketing pushes, or small equipment upgrades. This pool needs to stay accessible but not idle, so many CFOs place it in flexible accounts that offer a better return while keeping withdrawals simple.
Long-term reserves — Capital held for stability, future investments, or larger initiatives planned months or years ahead. These reserves don’t need rapid access, giving CFOs room to store them in higher-yield environments that steadily grow while still maintaining security.

Each layer has different liquidity needs. Operational funds must be instantly available. Strategic reserves can be flexible. Long-term reserves can safely earn interest for months or years. Knowing how to balance these layers helps businesses get the best of both worlds — access and return.

The Easiest Win: High-Yield Business Savings Accounts

For many finance teams, simply opening a savings account with the best high yield is the fastest way to make company funds more productive.

Traditional business accounts typically offer negligible interest rates, sometimes as low as 0.1%. High-yield business savings accounts, on the other hand, can return several percentage points more — without locking the money away. That difference compounds quickly, especially for organisations managing six or seven figures in reserve.

Beyond the higher return, these accounts are secure and accessible. Most are insured, offer easy transfers, and integrate seamlessly with business banking platforms. In practice, that means you can still access cash when needed, while it earns a return in the background.

For CFOs, this isn’t about chasing yield for yield’s sake. It’s about ensuring that even their most conservative assets perform at their best.

Smarter Cash Management Strategies CFOs Use

Top-performing finance teams don’t rely on one trick. They build layered strategies to keep reserves flexible yet productive.

They might split large reserves across multiple accounts with staggered access — daily, 30-day, and 90-day liquidity tiers — to balance returns and availability. They automate transfers between operating and savings accounts so funds don’t sit idle for months.

Some integrate accounting software to track interest income in real time, treating yield as an intentional revenue stream rather than a bonus. Others use these returns to offset inflation, improve quarterly reporting, or strengthen balance sheet ratios.

This level of cash management discipline used to be reserved for large corporates, but digital banking has made it accessible to any business willing to take control.

The Compounding Advantage of Proactive Cash Management

The compounding effect of even modest returns can be surprising. A $250,000 reserve sitting at 0.5% earns just over $1,250 in a year. The same reserve earning 4.5% generates more than $11,000 — with no added effort or risk.

That’s money that can fund new software, offset rising costs, or boost your next marketing campaign. Over time, that difference becomes a structural advantage.

Smart CFOs see this not as luck, but as discipline. Every optimisation, however small, strengthens long-term performance and resilience.

From Passive Cash to Active Capital

Cash sitting in the bank isn’t bad — but it’s only valuable when it’s working for you. The best CFOs have learned that liquidity and productivity aren’t opposites. With the right systems, you can have both.

Company reserves should protect the business, yes, but they should also participate in its growth. Whether you’re running a small agency or managing a nationwide operation, your approach to cash defines your ability to move, adapt, and scale.

Now is the time to treat your reserves like the asset they truly are.