Christmas cash flow for business: the December timeline

Why does December need its own plan?

Because the calendar changes shape. The final weeks of the year bring some of the biggest outgoings — holiday pay runs, stock for the busy season, end-of-year bonuses — at the same time as the number of business days shrinks and customers slow down paying. Then January arrives with rent, supplier runs and wages as normal.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2026 list shows how compressed the period is:

Date	Day	Status
25 December 2026	Friday	Christmas Day — national public holiday
26 December 2026	Saturday	Boxing Day
28 December 2026	Monday	Additional public holiday for Boxing Day in ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, Vic and WA
1 January 2027	Friday	New Year’s Day

Check your own state’s list for local days. For finance and bank payments, what matters is that the last full week of December is short, and the week between Christmas and New Year has very few business days.

What goes out in December that doesn’t in other months?

• Leave. Staff taking annual leave over the break are paid as normal, sometimes with leave loading, and some businesses pay leave in advance.
• Super on every run. Under Payday Super, contributions must reach funds within 7 business days of each payday. The holiday period stretches that count in calendar terms, but the obligation doesn’t pause. See late super guarantee.
• Stock and staffing for the busy season in retail and hospitality — often paid for before the sales come in.
• Bonuses and gifts that feel small individually but add up.
• Suppliers who want to be paid before they close for their own break.

And what comes in more slowly?

Customer payments. Accounts teams go on leave, approvals wait until January, and invoices issued in mid-December may not be paid until mid-to-late January. Government and large corporate customers can be particularly slow over the period. If your business relies on a few large debtors, assume some December money will arrive in January.

Which dates in January and February matter?

The October–December quarterly BAS is due 28 February — the one quarter with a longer gap, and the ATO notes the online two-week extension doesn’t apply to it. That helps, but it isn’t spare money: the GST and withheld PAYG are still owed. Meanwhile January brings:

• rent and lease payments on the 1st;
• supplier runs for goods bought in December;
• the first pay runs of the year, with super following each one.

Map December through February on one page and the pressure point usually becomes obvious — often mid-January.

When should you arrange funding?

Early December. By the week of Christmas, many businesses — including the ones you need to sign documents, value property or process payments — are running with fewer people. A funding need identified on 1 December is routine. The same need on 23 December is a race against the calendar.

Unsecured and cash-flow options typically run from $5,000 to $500,000 for trading businesses, sized on turnover and bank statements; a line of credit suits a gap that opens in December and closes in February. Property-secured loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000, with up to $5m possible within 24–48 hours when everything lines up. If you’re mapping the break now, start the enquiry early and use the time to get it right.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. A marketing agency with 18 staff closes from 24 December to 11 January. Its December pay run, including leave for the closure, comes to $96,000 plus super. Two corporate clients owing a combined $140,000 tell the agency their accounts teams won’t process invoices until mid-January.

On 2 December the director maps December to February and finds a low point of −$70,000 in the second week of January. An unsecured line of credit sized on the agency’s turnover is set up in the first week of December. It’s drawn in the new year for the first pay run and cleared by early February when the corporate payments arrive.

What can you do in November to make December easier?

The best December plans start a month early. Try these while there’s still time:

• Invoice work in progress before the break rather than after it.
• Ask your biggest customers when their final payment run for the year is, and invoice in time to make it.
• Talk to suppliers about their closure dates and whether terms can stretch over the break.
• Agree leave early so the December pay runs are known, not guessed.
• Set up any facility in November or the first days of December, when everyone involved is still at their desks.

Each step either brings money in earlier or pushes a bill later — both shrink the January gap.

What about businesses that are busiest in December?

Retail, hospitality and tourism businesses often have the opposite problem: December is flush, but they paid for stock and staff in October and November, and January to March is quiet. For them, the pressure point is before the peak and after it. The same approach works — map it, and arrange any facility well before the season starts.

Get the break sorted early — see if you qualify

Nobody wants to be chasing finance on Christmas Eve. Tell us what’s due over December and January, when it’s due, and what’s likely to arrive late. Asking doesn’t involve any credit check, your enquiry stays with one team rather than being sent around to other lenders, and a real person reviews it and calls you — well before the office closes. Please fill in the form accurately so the facility we arrange covers the whole break.

See if you qualify →