What cash buffer should small service teams maintain?

Aim for 3 weeks of fixed costs (van payments, insurance, wages, subscriptions) in cash reserves. For £6,000/month in costs, that's roughly £4,500.

How do deposits help with cash flow?

Requiring 30-50% deposits on jobs over £300 means cash arrives before you buy materials, reducing the gap between spending and getting paid.

What's the best payout schedule for field service businesses?

Match payouts to your cash cycle—daily instant payouts for fuel-heavy operations (Mon-Thu), or twice-weekly BACS for stable payroll timing.

Cash flow basics for 1–10 person service teams

When you run a service company with one to ten people, cash gaps hurt faster than slow lead weeks. This guide walks through the deposits, payout settings, and Toolfy reports that keep vans fuelled and wages paid without loans.

1. Establish your minimum viable runway

List fixed costs: van payments, insurance, software subs, rent, wages. Add them inside Toolfy by tagging jobs as “Overhead” so you can generate an automatic monthly total.
Decide a buffer: aim for 3 weeks of those costs in cash. If fixed costs are £6,000/month, your minimum runway is ~£4,500.
Pick a daily check time: review Toolfy’s Cash Snapshot at 8am so surprises don’t wait until Friday.

2. Force deposits and milestone payouts

Quote templates: set 40% deposit on all Toolfy invoice templates where materials exceed £200. Customers confirm via link; Toolfy allocates the deposit to the job.
Milestone scheduling: clone the job into phases (survey, install, handover). Attach an invoice trigger to each status change so cash lands before parts leave the depot.
Auto-reminders: enable the “Deposit overdue” reminder (SMS day 1, email day 3) so you don’t chase manually.

3. Choose payout rails that match your cycle

Scenario	Toolfy + payment provider setup	Why
Daily fuel/material needs	Enable instant payouts (Stripe or Toolfy Pay) only Mon–Thu. Use policy template to add 1% fee to urgent jobs.	Keeps fuel cards topped up without eating every payment.
Stable weekly cadence	Default to next-day ACH/BACS; schedule payouts Tues + Fri.	Reduces fees and still hits payroll.
Weekend-heavy work	Toggle “Saturday batch” in Toolfy so Friday completions pay out before banks close.	Avoids Monday cash crunch.

Document your payout policy in Toolfy Documents so anyone covering admin knows when to press the “instant” button.

4. Track cash-in vs cash-out daily

Dashboard widgets: add “Collected today” and “Scheduled next 14 days” to your Toolfy home screen.
Cost tagging: every time you buy materials or subcontractors invoice you, log the cost against the relevant job so margin reports reflect real costs.
Same-day reconciliation: connect your bank feed (QuickBooks/Wave) and match payouts each evening. Schedule a calendar block labeled “10-minute money check.”

5. Playbooks for common crunches

Issue	Toolfy move	Result
Customer slow to approve quote	Use “Fast-track” quote template with pre-filled financing option + limited-time expiry	Forces decision inside 72 hours so jobs don’t clog pipeline.
Material spikes mid-job	Add change-order line item in Toolfy invoice and send via SMS from the job card before you leave site.	Customer signs digitally; payment link fires immediately.
Crew idle day	Open “Flex Slot” on the scheduling board and blast dormant leads with an automated “We have a cancellation tomorrow” text.	Keeps revenue flowing without discounting everybody.
Payroll due, cash short	Trigger a “Collections sprint” reminder sequence: same-day reminders to every overdue invoice, prioritized by value.	Typically releases 30–50% of stale receivables within 24 hours.

6. Reporting rhythm (save these views)

Weekly Monday: Jobs → Margin view → last 7 days to catch underpriced work.
Wednesday: Invoices → Aging report and call anything >10 days past due.
Friday: Cash Forecast (scheduled jobs + deposits) vs Expense schedule to confirm next week’s runway.
Month-end: export Lead source vs Revenue to see which channels deserve more spend.

Store each export in Toolfy Documents /Finance/2026 so year-end is painless.

7. 30-day cash discipline sprint

Week 1: Update templates with deposits + milestone invoices, connect instant payout policy.
Week 2: Tag every cost for seven days (fuel, parts, subs). Review margins and adjust prices where under 40%.
Week 3: Build the “collections sprint” reminder workflow and test it on one overdue client.
Week 4: Document cash rules (buffer target, payout schedule, escalation steps) in Toolfy and share with the crew.

Do these for one month and you’ll know your real burn rate, which jobs float you, and how fast you can pay yourself. For help wiring the dashboards or workflows, ping support@toolfy.io and we’ll drop the templates into your workspace.