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What should be entered as a Cash account

The following should be added as a Cash asset:
- Every day cash transaction account
- Savings accounts that don't have a restriction on withdrawals
Cash accounts can be owned by an Individual, couple, SMSF or Trust.
Do not enter under Cash:
- Mortgage offset accounts - These should be entered with the Secured loan that the offset account is attached to. For more see How to enter an offset account.
- Fixed term accounts - These should be entered as a Fixed interest (term deposits, government bonds) asset so that the withdrawals are only allowed when the term ends.

How to add a Cash account

To add a cash account owned by an individual or couple:

Go to the Current situation step (top menu), then click the Assets & Loans sub-step
On the left menu, click Add assets and then choose Cash

To add a cash account owned by an SMSF or Trust:

Add the SMSF or Trust
Within the entity, add the cash account

Modelling options for cash accounts

If an Individual or couple has several bank accounts with the same ownership and interest rate, you can conflate them to a single Cash account in Pathfinder; just add up the balances of the accounts and put the total in the Balance field.

Keep a cash reserve for emergencies (outside super only)	See Cash reserve goal.
Increase or decrease assumed interest rate year-by-year	You can change the interest rate using the series builder in the Interest rate field. For more information, see How to increase or decrease a value in the series builder
Run a scenario with a higher or lower interest rate	This is useful if you would like to see the impact of higher or lower interest rates: Add a new scenario (for more, see How to make another scenario for comparison) Go to the Cash flows & Goals step (top menu), then the Review assets & loans sub-step. Scroll down until you find the cash account In the Change interest rate field, enter your new interest rate. The value you enter will override the value you entered for the cash account at the Current situation > Assets & loans step.
Additional options	Page: How to enter an offset account

Results for Cash

See Cash and offset account results.

Related items

Strategy Development Service (SDS) options

If the case includes complex analysis that you are not able to do in Pathfinder yourself, it may need to be submitted to the Optimo Financial SDS. Complexities include, but are not limited to:

Keeping open several cash accounts with specific balances (e.g. keep $1,000 in account 1, keep $2000 in account 2). But note that with the web solve you can set a minimum amount to keep in cash with the Cash reserve goal.
Keeping a cash reserve in proportion to another asset (e.g. 20% cash to 80% shares).
Cash accounts in Trusts.