The obvious answer to such a question is of course “all”. And as you might guess, it’s obviously the right answer, but there’s a little more to it. Whilst counting all is a “must”, surely you can see that for practical reasons the smaller the amount, the better.

When we say practical reasons, we mean the saving of time, resources (i.e. people and expenses to extra work time) and reducing any risks. Risks which arise are obvious – exposure to temptations that money creates, human error that occur when counting etc.

So to save all the hassle, make sure your risks are as minimal as possible, make sure the cash amount to be counted is as little as possible – transfer it to the bank, pay off creditors etc. Reduce the physical amount to as low as practicable to your business model (i.e. shops need certain amount of free cash for an example).

It’s needless to say that excessive cash also creates third party interest. And we are not talking about good spirited parties. Yes, having loads of cash creates a good feeling, but do you really want to risk losing it? Give the risk to someone else and you’ll be able to sleep sounder.

To summarize, the right answer to the above questions is “all, but as little as possible”. Having fewer risks and being able to save resources is always a winner.