Float

what is float?

In financial terms, the float is money within the banking system that is briefly counted twice due to time gaps in the registering of a deposit or withdrawal, usually due to the delay in processing paper checks. A bank credits a customer’s account as soon as a check is deposited. However, it takes some time to receive a check from the payer’s bank and record it. Until the check clears the account it's drawn on, the amount it's written for "exists" in two different places, appearing in the accounts of both the recipient’s and payer’s banks.

How to Calculate Total Float

Total float is calculated using a network diagram.  Although there are a few steps, network diagrams are not very difficult to produce and a simple step by step process is not hard to remember.

Step 1: Divide the Project into Tasks

Step 2:  Determine the Network

Step 3:  Enter Task Durations

Step 4:  Perform Forward Pass

Step 5:  Perform Backward Pass

Step 6:  Determine Task Floats