Cash advice in twenty minutes, with rates checked at the moment you advise

Many clients hold large cash balances. Deposit rates move constantly. Building evidenced cash savings recommendations by hand takes hours, and the result can be out of date the moment it is printed. So cash rarely gets the attention it deserves, even though it is one of the simplest ways to make a visible difference for a client.

This guide covers why cash is worth an adviser's time, where the hours go in a defensible recommendation, the FSCS checks that matter, and how to check the finished report.

Why cash savings deserve attention

The FCA has looked hard at cash. In its 2023 action plan it found that nine large providers passed on 28% of base rate rises to easy access deposits between January 2022 and May 2023, against 51% for notice and fixed accounts, and it asked firms to "prompt their customers in lower paying savings accounts or non-interest bearing accounts to consider alternatives". A September 2024 update noted that "the largest firms continue to pay below average for easy access products".

Clients hold a lot in cash. The FCA's Financial Lives 2024 survey found "61% of adults with £10,000+ in investible assets held all or at least three-quarters of these assets in cash (58% in 2022)" (Financial Lives 2024). AJ Bell, using Bank of England data, puts the amount in accounts paying no interest at almost "£306 billion" (AJ Bell).

Rates can also move. Bank Rate is 3.75%, last changed on 18 December 2025, and the next decision is due on 5 November 2026 (Bank of England). A recommendation built on last month's rates may already be stale. For the wider case, see cash savings advice for advisers.

Where the three hours go

A defensible cash recommendation means:

• searching the market for suitable accounts;
• checking each provider's FSCS position and how it applies to the amount;
• weighing the client's priorities, such as access, branch use and bonus rates;
• writing it up with a clear rationale and a comparison the client can follow.

Our estimate is around three hours a recommendation by hand.

A worked example

A client has a large balance sitting in a current account and wants some of it available at short notice and the rest fixed. By hand, the adviser or paraplanner has to:

1. search for easy access, notice and fixed term accounts that will accept the amounts involved;
2. check which brands share a banking licence, so the client does not exceed the FSCS limit without realising;
3. take account of whether the client wants a branch, is comfortable managing accounts online, and how often they expect to withdraw;
4. rank the options, write the rationale and build a comparison table;
5. recheck the rates before the report goes out, because some may have changed.

The last step is the one that tends to slip, and it is the one that decides whether the recommendation is still right on the day the client reads it.

The FSCS checks that matter

Since 1 December 2025, the FSCS protects "up to £120,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union" (FSCS). Brands sharing a banking licence are treated as one bank, and the £120,000 limit applies to the total across them. Temporary high balances can be protected "up to £1.4 million for six months". We go through these in detail in the FSCS limit and cash advice.

What Reckoner does

Reckoner produces a properly evidenced savings recommendation, with rates verified at the moment it is built.

• A short guided flow. Capture the client and the signing adviser, choose from fifteen product categories across 239 FSCS-protected products, and enter the amount. Unfundable products are ruled out and FSCS limits are flagged as you type.
• Suitability shapes the ranking. A brief questionnaire records what matters to the client, covering branch access, digital comfort, withdrawal needs, bonus rates and FSCS protection. Every answer re-weights the ranking, so the shortlist reflects the client rather than the headline rate.
• Checked, then written up. Reckoner verifies rates, terms and FSCS status against the live market, then builds a ranked recommendation with a clear rationale, access terms and the FSCS position for each product.

The result is a nine-page branded client report, signed and dated by the adviser, plus an Excel comparison. Every report carries the date its market data is current to, and a history keeps every comparison the firm has produced.

How to check the recommendation

Before the report goes to the client, run through a short check:

1. The client's answers. Do the suitability answers reflect what the client told you about access, branches and withdrawals?
2. FSCS exposure. Look at the FSCS position for each product, and think about any other money the client already holds with the same banking group.
3. Dates. Check the date the market data is current to, and rebuild the comparison if the client takes time to decide.
4. Rationale. Read the reason for the lead recommendation. Would you give the same reason in your own words?
5. Sign-off. The report is signed and dated by the adviser, so the adviser should be the one who checks it.

The client report, the Excel comparison and the comparison history together give a clear record of what was recommended, on what data and when. That helps with record-keeping, and it shows the client the reasoning in plain terms, which supports the consumer understanding outcome under the Consumer Duty. Responsibility for the advice stays with the firm.

The numbers

By our estimate, a recommendation drops from around three hours to around twenty minutes, roughly two and a half hours back each time. That changes what is practical: cash becomes an advice area your firm can offer across the client bank, not just for the few clients who ask.

Reckoner costs £69 per adviser per month, excluding VAT, with no contract. At the £150 charge-out rate our homepage calculator uses, a single recommendation saved more than covers it.

Frequently asked questions

Which products does Reckoner compare?

239 FSCS-protected products across 15 categories, covering direct deposit-takers only. A rates and data screen keeps the product universe current.

How current are the rates in a Reckoner report?

Reckoner checks rates, terms and FSCS status against the live market as the recommendation is built, and every report carries the date its market data is current to.

What is the FSCS deposit limit now?

Since 1 December 2025 the FSCS protects up to £120,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union, and brands sharing a banking licence count as one. Reckoner flags FSCS limits as you enter the deposit amount.

See Reckoner build a recommendation on a demo firm in twenty minutes on Microsoft Teams with Adam Booth, with nothing to prepare. Book a demo, or read more about Reckoner.