HVAC revenue in Louisiana doesn't move in a straight line. Summer cooling season carries a lot of contractors through the year, and the months after it, especially heading into winter, tend to be leaner. If you haven't built a cushion during the busy months, the slow season is when that catches up with you.

A cash reserve isn't the same as having money in the bank. Plenty of contractors have cash sitting in their operating account that's already spoken for, whether that's an upcoming tax payment, a truck note, or payroll for the next two weeks. A real reserve is money set aside specifically to cover the gap when revenue slows down, separate from your day-to-day operating cash.

The general target we recommend is somewhere between one and three months of fixed operating expenses, meaning payroll, insurance, loan payments, and rent, not counting materials tied to specific jobs. Where you land in that range depends on how seasonal your specific business is and how much your revenue actually swings between your busiest and slowest months.

Building that reserve starts with knowing your real numbers. You need an accurate month-by-month picture of the last year or two to see exactly how much your revenue drops in the slow months, and you need a current P&L to know what you can realistically set aside right now without starving the business you're trying to protect.

This is where a lot of contractors get stuck, not because they don't want to save, but because their books aren't organized enough to tell them how much they can actually afford to set aside without creating a different problem next month.

September, while things are still moving but starting to ease up, is a good time to look at this seriously before the slow season arrives on its own schedule instead of yours.

Jeremy Brewer is the founder of 911 Bookkeepers LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He worked in the field as an HVAC tech before building books for the trades, and he serves as a licensed paramedic in EMS. He is a Xero Certified Advisor.