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August 13, 2025 HOw To

How to maximize seasonal revenue for your business

By Alex Lopes, Machias Savings Bank

Summer in Maine brings a surge in activity for many businesses across the state — from restaurants and tourism-based seasonal companies to commercial real estate firms managing high tenant turnover or property improvements.

If your business sees a significant uptick in revenue during the warmer months, now is the time to take proactive steps to ensure your finances support your long-term growth strategy.

Alex Lopes Of Machias Savings Bank
Photo / Courtesy of Machias Savings Bank
Alex Lopes

Put surplus cash to work

For businesses managing large deposits or prepayments — such as commercial real estate operations holding tenant deposits or seasonal businesses collecting upfront payments — summer often means a temporary surplus of cash on hand. If those funds are sitting idle in a standard checking account, you’re missing out on an opportunity to earn a return.

A sweep account links your bank account to an investment account and is set to automatically transfer funds between the two when you hit a specified threshold. You can establish the amount of cash reserves that you’d like to have in your bank account at all times to cover business expenses.

When your account exceeds that threshold, any excess funds will automatically be transferred to your investment account where they’ll start earning interest.

There are typically fees associated with sweep accounts, but the benefits often outweigh the costs — especially for businesses with significant, predictable cash flow. A commercial banker can help evaluate whether this tool aligns with your financial strategy.

Ensure your funds are fully insured 

One of the additional benefits of a sweep account is Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection for the balance in that account. As a business owner, you should be protecting your business by taking the necessary steps so that all of your funds are appropriately insured.

All deposits up to $250,000 are automatically insured by the FDIC, but for larger operations, talk with your business banker about additional coverage.

Upgrade cash management with technology

In the past, it might have been common for a business with multiple locations to send all checks to a central location where an accountant would consolidate and prepare them to be deposited.

These days, there are systems in place to make regular deposits easy and maximize interest income by getting money into the bank as soon as it comes in.

Additionally, digital tools can provide real-time visibility into account balances, automate transfers and simplify reconciliation. That is especially helpful for organizations managing multiple bank accounts or business entities.

If your financial operations haven't evolved in the past few years, consider a tech audit with your bank to identify modern, scalable solutions.

Proactively manage fraud risk

Be sure you have measures in place to monitor accounts and mitigate any risk of fraud. For example, your bank probably offers 'positive pay" or a similar tool to authenticate checks written by your business.

With this system, your accountant provides the bank with check information (such as the check number, dollar amount, date and payee) cross-referenced at the time of deposit. If anything doesn’t match up, the check will not be deposited and your business will be notified to confirm or deny authenticity.

Business owners have plenty to navigate this time of year, but taking these steps now will avoid mishaps down the road and set you up for success for the rest of the season. 

About the author

Alex Lopes, a senior vice president at Machias Savings Bank, is the bank's southern Maine regional market manager. He can be reached at alopes@machiassavings.com.

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