The Liquidity goal in Kerdora helps you figure out how much cash reserve a client needs — typically an emergency fund or short-term liquidity cushion. You set two inputs, the calculator does the math, and you get a target amount you can track against the client's actual liquid assets.
To find it, go to Planning → Goals for any client, then click the calculator icon on a Liquidity goal row — or click into the goal's detail page where the calculator is always visible on the left.
The Two Calculator Inputs
The Liquidity calculator is the simplest of the three goal calculators. It has just two fields:
Months of Expenses
This is how many months of living expenses the client should have set aside. Enter a whole number.
Common starting points:
3–6 months for a dual-income household with stable W-2 jobs
6–9 months for a single-income household
9–12 months (or more) for self-employed clients, business owners, or clients with variable income
There's no universal right answer — use your judgment based on the client's income stability, job security, and risk tolerance. This is a great conversation starter in client meetings.
Monthly Expenses
This is the client's average monthly spending. It works in two modes:
Derived (default): Kerdora automatically calculates this from the client's total spending data entered in Profile → Cashflow. If you've entered the client's annual expenses, the calculator divides by 12 and uses that number. You'll see a small link icon indicating the value is being pulled from client data.
Manual override: Click the link icon to switch to manual mode and type in a custom number. This is useful when the client's recorded spending doesn't reflect their actual burn rate, or when you want to model a different scenario.
You can toggle back to derived mode at any time by clicking the link icon again.
How the Calculator Works
The math is straightforward:
Months of Expenses × Monthly Expenses = Target Liquidity Reserve
For example, if you set 6 months and the client spends $8,000/month, the target is $48,000. The calculator displays this as a sentence below the inputs:
Based on your inputs, you need a liquidity reserve of $48,000 to cover 6 months of expenses.
That target amount automatically flows up to the goal row on the main Goals page.
Reading the Results on the Goal Row
Once the calculator is set, the Liquidity goal row on the Goals page shows two progress bars:
Balance Progress (green bar)
This compares the client's current liquid assets (from accounts you've assigned to the goal) against the target amount from the calculator. If the client has $30,000 assigned and the target is $48,000, you'll see the bar at 62.5%.
The target amount field on the goal row shows the calculator's output by default (in derived mode, indicated by a link icon). You can override it manually if needed — just click the link icon and type a custom number.
Cash Flow Progress (blue bar)
This tracks how much the client is currently saving per month toward this goal versus a target monthly savings amount. Unlike Retirement and Education goals, the Liquidity goal doesn't automatically calculate a target savings amount — you enter it manually on the goal row.
This is useful when a client needs to build up their emergency fund. Set a target like $500/mo or $1,000/mo, assign accounts, and track whether the client is hitting that contribution rate.
If the client's current savings exceed the target, you'll see a green "over" indicator. If they're under, it shows in red.
Assigning Accounts
To track progress against the target, you need to assign accounts to the goal. Click the bank icon on the goal row (or scroll down on the goal detail page) to open the account assignment panel.
Typical accounts to assign to a Liquidity goal:
Savings accounts
Checking accounts (if earmarked for emergency reserves)
Money market accounts
Click Assign Accounts and check off the relevant accounts. Each account can be assigned as "rest" (the full balance counts toward this goal) or a specific dollar amount (if only part of the account is earmarked for liquidity).
Tips for Client Conversations
Start with the number of months. Ask the client how many months of expenses they'd feel comfortable having set aside. Most people haven't thought about this explicitly — the question itself is valuable.
Use it as a gut check. The Liquidity goal isn't about complex projections. It's a simple benchmark: does the client have enough cash on hand? If the progress bar is green and full, move on. If it's low, that's a Change to Be Made.
Adjust for life changes. A client switching from W-2 to self-employment? Bump the months up. A couple going from one income to two? You might lower it. The calculator makes it easy to model different scenarios in real time.
Compare to what they have. The power is in the gap. If the target is $48,000 and they only have $15,000 in liquid assets, that's a clear action item you can add as a Change to Be Made and include in their Guide.