For most Australian businesses, December is meant to be a time to wrap things up, take stock, and finally exhale.
However, for small and medium-sized enterprises, it’s often the opposite. It’s a month where cash flow tightens, payments stall, and expenses pile up right before the holiday break.
Here’s why it happens seasonally every year and how smart businesses offset the crunch with the right invoice finance strategy.
The December Slowdown Is Real
Businesses Close, Payments Don’t Move
December is when whole industries hit pause. Clients shut down early, accounts departments go quiet, and invoices that were due on the 20th quietly slide into mid-January. It feels like your most reliable payers are ignoring you, but they’re simply just not open.
That delay can turn a healthy cash position into a scramble overnight.
Holiday Payroll and Bonuses Hit Early
While revenue slows, wages do the opposite. Extra shifts, public holiday rates, and early pay runs mean cash goes out faster than it comes in. Add supplier bonuses or Christmas orders to the mix, and even well-managed cash reserves can vanish quickly.
The ATO Doesn’t Take a Holiday
Quarterly BAS, PAYG, and super obligations still land right on schedule, just as your clients are switching on their out-of-office replies. The mismatch is brutal: expenses stay fixed, but income stops moving.
How the Best Businesses Prepare
The most resilient businesses survive December because they plan for it.
Map Out the Crunch Window
Forecast your inflows and outflows through December, January, and February. Identify invoices likely to be delayed and expenses that always land earlier than expected. That visibility helps you line up support before the gap opens.
Communicate Early
Remind customers about your payment terms and holiday closure dates before December hits. It’s polite, proactive, and can prompt earlier settlements.
Keep Liquidity Front of Mind
Hold off on non-critical spending and protect your working capital, December is the month to prioritise stability over extras.
Where Invoice Finance Comes In
This is where invoice finance makes a tangible difference, especially when used proactively, not reactively.
Invoice finance lets you unlock the cash tied up in unpaid invoices, giving you access to working capital now instead of waiting weeks or months.
That means:
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No more waiting for slow December payments.
You can bridge the delay without chasing clients or dipping into reserves.
No need to overextend your overdraft or credit lines.
You fund your operations using money you’ve already earned. -
You keep payroll, suppliers, and tax obligations covered.
Your cash flow stays predictable, even when your customers disappear for the holidays.
The Payoff: Stability Through the Break
When you’ve got funding that flexes with your business, December becomes manageable. Instead of chasing overdue invoices or sweating over payroll, you can finish the year strong and start January confident, not cash-strapped.
At Brunswick, we help businesses smooth out the seasonal bumps with flexibility, transparency, and genuine partnership.
If your December cash flow always feels tighter than it should, maybe it’s time to plan differently this year.
Talk to us today, and together we can set up a cash flow solution that keeps your business moving while everyone else is on holiday.