--- title: "Protect the Break: A Cash Flow Plan for the Christmas Shutdown" description: "Protect the Break: A Cash Flow Plan for the Christmas Shutdown: Plan ahead to ensure your business thrives during the holiday period." image: https://insights.wlm.com.au/hubfs/Protect%20the%20Break%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown.png --- [![WLM\_Logo\_RGB\_Orn50](https://insights.wlm.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/WLM_Logo_RGB_Orn50.png?width=521&height=169&name=WLM_Logo_RGB_Orn50.png "WLM_Logo_RGB_Orn50")](http://wlm.com.au/) - [About](https://www.wlm.com.au/about/) - [Services](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/) - [Tax & Compliance](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/tax-and-compliance/) - [Strategy & Advice](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/strategy-and-advice/) - [Clients](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/) - [Construction & Trades](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/construction/) - [Family Business](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/family-business/) - [Insurance & Financial Services](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/insurance-and-financial-services/) - [Renewable Energy & Environment](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/renewable-energy-and-environment/) - [Service-based & Other Business](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/service-based-and-other-business/) - [Insights & Case Studies](https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog) - [Blog](https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog) - [Buying a property with a business partner](https://explore.wlm.com.au/buying_a_property_with_a_business_partner_download) - [How to minimise tax & risk with business structure](https://explore.wlm.com.au/business-structure-whitepaper-download) - [Contact](https://www.wlm.com.au/contact/) [Login](https://clientlogin-us2.karbonhq.com/4Frhz6cPZq6r) - [About](https://www.wlm.com.au/about/) - [Services](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/) - [Tax & Compliance](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/tax-and-compliance/) - [Strategy & Advice](https://www.wlm.com.au/services/strategy-and-advice/) - [Clients](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/) - [Construction & Trades](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/construction/) - [Family Business](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/family-business/) - [Insurance & Financial Services](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/insurance-and-financial-services/) - [Renewable Energy & Environment](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/renewable-energy-and-environment/) - [Service-based & Other Business](https://www.wlm.com.au/clients/service-based-and-other-business/) - [Insights & Case Studies](https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog) - [Blog](https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog) - [Buying a property with a business partner](https://explore.wlm.com.au/buying_a_property_with_a_business_partner_download) - [How to minimise tax & risk with business structure](https://explore.wlm.com.au/business-structure-whitepaper-download) - [Contact](https://www.wlm.com.au/contact/) # News, views and more ![Charley Tarchichi](https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog/Charley%20Tarchichi) **Charley Tarchichi** 13 November 2026 — 4 min read ### Share [mailto:?subject=Protect%20the%20Break:%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown&body=https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog/protect-the-break-a-cash-flow-plan-for-the-christmas-shutdown](mailto:?subject=Protect%20the%20Break:%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown&body=https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog/protect-the-break-a-cash-flow-plan-for-the-christmas-shutdown) [mailto:?subject=Protect%20the%20Break:%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown&body=https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog/protect-the-break-a-cash-flow-plan-for-the-christmas-shutdown](mailto:?subject=Protect%20the%20Break:%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown&body=https://insights.wlm.com.au/blog/protect-the-break-a-cash-flow-plan-for-the-christmas-shutdown) ![Protect the Break: A Cash Flow Plan for the Christmas Shutdown](https://insights.wlm.com.au/hubfs/Protect%20the%20Break%20A%20Cash%20Flow%20Plan%20for%20the%20Christmas%20Shutdown.png) ## Protect the Break: A Cash Flow Plan for the Christmas Shutdown The Christmas and New Year break should leave you recharged, not staring at a nervous bank balance in mid-January. Yet every year it catches good businesses out. The work slows down, but the bills do not. And when you reopen in January, the money you are owed can take weeks to arrive. The good news: a few decisions made now will carry you through comfortably. Here is how to protect the break so you can actually enjoy it. ### Why the break trips so many businesses up The maths is simple, and that is exactly why it is dangerous. Over the shutdown, revenue stops but costs keep running. Rent, software, insurance and loan repayments do not take a holiday. Neither does your payroll if you are paying staff through the period. Then January arrives with a double hit. Your customers are slow to pay because they are easing back into the year too, so cash comes in later than usual. At the same time, some of the biggest obligations of the year are waiting for you: - Super guarantee for December. This one lands either during or right after the break (depending on your pay cycle) and surprises owners every single year. - Your December activity statement is due in January or February depending on your cycle. - Suppliers who were patient in December often want to be paid in the new year. Put it together and January becomes the tightest month on the calendar. The businesses that sail through are simply the ones that saw it coming. ### 1. Map your shutdown cash position now short cash flow forecast covering December through to the end of February. List the cash you genuinely expect to collect, week by week, and be realistic about January slowing down. Then list every payment going out: wages, rent, super, your activity statement, loan repayments, subscriptions and any suppliers. The gap between the two is your real picture. If that feels like a lot to pull together, this is exactly the kind of thing we set up for clients. A simple rolling forecast takes the guesswork out of the whole period. ### 2. Bring your invoicing and collections forward The single most effective move is to get your money in before everyone disappears. - Invoice early. Do not wait until your usual end of month run. Get December invoices out in the first half of the month while your customers’ accounts teams are still at their desks. - Chase your debtors now. A friendly reminder in early December works far better than one sent into an empty office on 2 January. Aim to collect as much as you can before the week before Christmas. - Make it easy to pay. Clear due dates and online payment options get you paid faster. Every dollar you collect in December is a dollar you are not anxiously waiting on in January. ### 3. Get ahead of your December obligations Deadlines do not move for the holidays, so deal with them on your terms rather than theirs. - Super: set aside the December super guarantee now so payment is already covered. Treat it as spent the moment you calculate it. - Activity statement: know what your December BAS will be and when it falls due, so the GST and PAYG are not a shock. - Final pay run: confirm your last pay run dates before the break, including any annual leave and leave loading you are paying out. Staff leave over a shutdown can be a bigger cash outlay than a normal fortnight. - Suppliers: if money will be tight, talk to key suppliers early about payment timing. A conversation in December is a negotiation. The same conversation in January is an apology. ### 4. Know your “keep the lights on” number Work out exactly what it costs to run your business during the weeks you are closed. This is your fixed cost base: the rent, the subscriptions, the repayments and any wages that continue regardless of whether a single job is done. That number is the minimum you need sitting in the bank before you shut the door. When you know it, you can stop guessing and start deciding. ### 5. Sort your buffer before you close, not during If your forecast shows a gap, the time to act is now, while you are open and your options are open too. The most common fix is a business overdraft or a short-term facility to smooth the January dip. The key point: arrange it before you go on leave. Lenders slow down over the holidays, and a facility is far harder to organise when you are already short, and the bank is on a skeleton crew. A buffer you set up in November and never touch is a cheap insurance policy. One you scramble for in January is a crisis. ### 6. Set January up before you leave Give your future self a head start. - Line up the work. A few confirmed jobs or orders for the first weeks back means cash starts moving again quickly. - Schedule your first collections. Set reminders to chase outstanding invoices from day one back, not day ten. - Leave a clear picture. A one page note of what is owed, what is due and what is in the bank means you return to clarity instead of a cold start. ### Enjoy the break you have earned Protecting your cash flow over the shutdown is not about doing more. It is about doing a handful of the right things early: forecast the period, pull your money in, cover the obligations that land in January, and arrange your buffer before you close. Get those right and the break does what it is supposed to do. You switch off, the business holds steady, and you come back ready for a strong new year. If you would like a hand building your shutdown cash flow forecast or arranging a buffer before the break, this is what we are here for. We are not just your accountants, we are your dedicated business partner, and we would rather set this up with you in November than untangle it with you in January. Call us on (02) 9221 7777 or contact us [here](http://www.wlm.com.au/contact), and let’s make sure the only thing you are counting over the holidays is days off. 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