Small business owners love peak trading periods but they can put pressure on cash flow. Here are some ways to help keep the money moving before the end-of-year highs.
By Bella Brennan
While business owners can’t predict the future, they can prepare for periods they suspect will be busy. Now is the time to get your cash flow in shape before Black Friday sales and Christmas. To help you get started, we’ve broken down six key questions to ask yourself today. Think of it as a quick health check to see how ready you really are to ride the upcoming holiday wave.
First things first: do you actually know where your money is? Lielette Calleja, a director at business advisory firm business DEPOT, warns that a clear cash-flow forecast is non-negotiable if you want real visibility over what’s landing in your account and when. “Profit doesn’t automatically mean money is available. Timing is everything.” She recommends a rolling 13-week forecast covering sales, inventory, supplier payments, wages, super, rent, GST, loan repayments and marketing spend.
It’s a lesson Gabrielle Gardner (pictured) is learning firsthand. As the founder of Get Dressed, a natural salad dressing and organic topper brand launched this year, cash-flow visibility has become her top priority as the business scales. “Shopify has great systems in place in the back end for cash flow so I use that, plus a basic profit-and-loss sheet,” she says.
It sounds counterintuitive but booming sales can be your biggest hurdle. “One common misconception is that strong sales will automatically solve cash-flow challenges,” cautions Calleja. “But increased sales often require businesses to fund stock, labour and operating costs before they see the financial reward.”
Gabrielle is living that reality. “It’s hard to predict demand but planning ahead is what I’m working on,” she says. “It’s all about ensuring manufacturing slots to get production in time.” Get Dressed uses a co-manufacturer so securing production early is key. “If they have brands doing larger quantities, I can easily slip down the priority list,” she says.
“The gap is big because I’m in the start-up phase. It feels like I’m constantly spending and it takes time to see it returning.” To keep things lean and manage the strain, she’s spending selectively, running the business solo for now and leaning into distribution channels that pay upfront or on 30-day terms.
Inventory is a balancing act. If you’re a newer business, Calleja suggests mapping out three sales scenarios – conservative, expected and highly optimistic – while keeping an eye on supplier lead times, minimum order quantities and flexibility to reorder on the fly.
Gabrielle says Get Dressed is still in trial-and-error mode. “I have an indication of what stock I’m moving through. My forecasting is based on early signs of returning customers.” A potential distribution agreement can also change the equation. “Satisfying stock for distribution looks different to the direct-to-consumer business. There’s many moving parts right now.”
By now, Australian business owners are paying super at the same time as wages, with payments received by employees’ super funds within seven business days of payday. Experts say this regulatory shift, aptly named Payday Super, represents one of the biggest cash-flow changes employers have experienced in recent years.
“Essentially, that old quarterly buffer has disappeared,” says Calleja. To adjust, she recommends forecasting wages and super together, particularly when casual staff, overtime and penalty rates increase during peak periods.
We all love a big sales spike but holiday promotions can be a trap if you’re not careful. While discount periods are great for drawing in customers, Calleja says you must look at the hard numbers first. Before you sign off on a discount, wholesale deal or bulk order, you need a firm grasp on your margins, your break-even point and the working capital required to make it work.
“A promotion that drives strong sales can create financial pressure if the margin isn’t sufficient to absorb increased labour, freight, packaging or supplier costs,” she says, suggesting that owners model cost increases of five, 10 and 15 per cent to test whether a promotion is a safe move for the business.
Finally, remember you don’t have to white-knuckle it alone. A business overdraft may help cover the working-capital gap when manufacturing, stock, payroll and super costs rise before peak-season revenue reaches the account. “An overdraft can be a helpful tool to bridge timing differences between money coming in or out or putting growth plans into motion,” says Calleja.
One way Gabrielle is safeguarding Get Dressed is through wholesale. “I’m looking at distribution for cash flow because you get money upfront, order the stock and know that cash is coming back to you within 30 days.”
Use the Cash Flow tool in the business profile of the CommBank app to monitor income, expenses and trends, while prompt invoicing and convenient digital payment options may help reduce payment delays.
To learn about how CommBank backs small businesses, visit the CommBank small business hub.
Published: 12 October 2026
An earlier version of this article was published in Brighter magazine.
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