Cash deposits for small businesses: a practical guide

Why cash matters to small businesses

Despite the rise of digital payments, cash is a crucial part of our economy, particularly for small businesses.

From shopkeepers taking loose change to hairdressers receiving a crisp £20 note for the perfect trim, over 71% of the 500 small business owners surveyed for Post Office agree “cash is king.”

Here are some of the key findings from the research:

• 40% think it’s important to continue to offer customers the choice to pay in cash
• 36% believe cash keeps their business more accessible to a wide range of customers
• 31% say their customers expect or prefer to pay in cash
• 25% think they would lose business if they stopped taking cash
• 23% praise cash’s reliability (eg if there’s a power cut or tech outage that sees card machines go down)

Despite all this, it can be tricky to know where they can deposit cash, especially while juggling the pressures of running a small or medium sized business.

We can help with that. Post Office is committed to keeping cash accessible for everyone in the UK, including the thousands of small business owners across the nation.

Why small businesses continue to accept cash

For many businesses, accepting cash is less about choosing cash over card and more about giving customers different ways to pay.

Cash is great in emergency situations like power cuts or internet outages, when card machines may not necessarily work. Cash also keeps your business accessible to people who may not have access to banks.

Offering a mix of cash and card payment options is increasingly popular, giving customers the best of both worlds.

The overwhelming majority of business owners we asked (71%) prefer offering cash and card payments, compared with just 9% who favour cards and 11% who favour cash only. It shows how both payment methods can work in harmony.

How much time does managing cash take?

Small business owners spend an average of 3.4 hours a week on cash-related admin, including counting takings, storing cash, travelling to deposit it and getting change.

Over the course of a year, this is equivalent to 7.3 days. Time that could be spent doing something more fulfilling.

• Businesses that travel to deposit cash do so around twice a week on average
• The average round trip to deposit cash takes around 30 minutes
• 60% agree depositing cash can be inconvenient when juggling it around their business needs
• 70% have delayed depositing cash because they couldn't find the time

Balancing cash admin while running a business

Being a small business owner means keeping lots of plates spinning at once. The typical working day rarely fits into the 9 to 5. And, depositing cash into a business bank account is one of many time demands to factor into an already busy day.

• 36% have extended their working day to travel before or after work to pay in cash
• 33% have skipped a lunch or coffee break
• 15% have left their business short staffed
• 13% have shut their business temporarily while travelling to deposit or withdraw cash

For small business owners, having a convenient and easy place to deposit cash is a huge time saver, freeing up extra time to:

• Take proper breaks (28%)
• Catch up on paperwork (27%)
• Reduce overtime (25%)
• Grow the business (22%)
• Spend time with family (21%)

Where can I deposit cash for my business?

Finding a convenient place to deposit cash can make it easier to fit cash admin around the day-to-day demands of running a business.

If your business bank is one of the many banks who’ve partnered with us, you can deposit cash into your business bank account at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. This gives you another way to manage your takings without needing to travel to a bank branch.

Before making a deposit, check that your bank supports business cash deposits at Post Office and whether any deposit limits or requirements apply to your account.

Read more about business cash deposits at Post Office

How to deposit cash at a Post Office branch

Depositing cash with Post Office is an easy and simple way to get money directly into your bank account.

The exact process and amount you can deposit will depend on who you bank with. Before visiting a branch, check:

• Whether your business bank account supports cash deposits at Post Office
• How much cash you can deposit
• What you'll need to make your deposit
• Whether any fees or charges apply through your bank 

Start by visiting our banking services page and using the drop-down to search for your bank. If you have further questions, contact your bank directly.

Making cash work harder for your business

For many small businesses, cash continues to play an important role in giving customers choice and keeping their business accessible.

Making it easier to manage that cash could also give business owners more time to focus on their business. More than two thirds of those we asked (69%) believe easier, more local access to cash deposit services would help their business grow, while 67% say it would give them more opportunities to trade.