Calculating the Smallest Safe Customer Deposit Using Integer Cents

A developer explains a deterministic method behind a free Deal Safety Calculator that finds the minimum upfront deposit needed to keep a business's cash above its reserve until payment. The approach stores all money as integer cents and sorts every dated cash movement, such as costs, payroll, and rent, to find the lowest balance before payment. The minimum deposit equals the gap between the reserve floor and that lowest point, capped at the order value, since a day-zero deposit raises every later balance equally. The author illustrates this with a $40,000 order where a $25,000 deposit, or shorter payment terms, would keep the balance safe. The post argues that money decisions should yield consistent, explainable results rather than varying chatbot-style answers.