Float Calculator (Average Daily Float)
Calculate collection, disbursement and net float, average daily float and weighted delay from your checks, and what the float costs in interest.
Float is money caught in transit between payer and bank. Checks you have deposited but cannot use yet are collection float; checks you have written that have not cleared are disbursement float. This calculator turns a list of items and their delays into average daily float, the weighted delay, the net position and what the collection float costs you in lost interest.
How to use this tool
- List the checks you received, one per line: the amount and the days until the money is available.
- Optionally list the checks you wrote and the days until they cleared.
- Enter the number of days in the period, such as 30 for a month.
- Enter an interest rate to put a yearly cost on the float.
Formula
Average daily float = Σ(amount × days delayed) ÷ days in the period
Weighted average delay = Σ(amount × days) ÷ Σ amount, so average daily float also equals average daily receipts × weighted average delay. Net float = disbursement float − collection float, which equals the available balance minus the book balance.
Example
In a 30-day month a business deposits $18,000 that takes 2 days to become available, $9,500 that takes 4 days and $6,000 that takes 7 days. That is 36,000 + 38,000 + 42,000 = $116,000 dollar-days, so the average daily collection float is $3,866.67 and the weighted delay is 3.46 days. Checks it wrote add $1,450 of disbursement float, leaving a net float of −$2,416.67. At 5% a year, the collection float costs about $193.33.
Frequently asked questions
How can a business reduce collection float?
Ask customers to pay electronically, deposit checks the day they arrive, use remote deposit capture and, at high volumes, a bank lockbox. Saving one day on every delayed item frees its average daily receipts; delays below one day are capped at zero. The model assumes a recurring flow or that all delay-days fall in the stated period.
Is disbursement float a good thing?
It lets you keep cash a little longer, but relying on it is risky: if the account is short when a check clears, it bounces. Electronic payments clear quickly, so this float is shrinking.
What is the difference between book balance and available balance?
The book balance is what your own records show after every deposit and payment. The available balance is what the bank lets you use. The gap between them is the net float.
Last updated: 2026-10-30