The summer shutdown: a December–January cash-flow plan for NZ businesses

The New Zealand summer break is one of the best things about running a business here — and one of the hardest periods for cash flow. Customers go on holiday and stop paying invoices. Staff take leave, with holiday pay. Rent, leases and loan repayments keep going. Then, just as everyone gets back to work, two tax payments can land on the same day. The businesses that come through it smoothly are almost always the ones that planned it in November.

Why is the summer break so hard on cash?

It’s a double squeeze:

Money in slows down.

• Business customers close their accounts departments from mid-December.
• Invoices sent in late November often aren’t processed until mid-January.
• Many trades and B2B businesses have little or no new work over the break.

Money out keeps going — or increases.

• Wages for staff who work, plus holiday pay for those on leave.
• Public holiday pay where staff work on a public holiday.
• Rent, leases, insurance and loan repayments.
• Tax payments due in mid-January.

For tourism and hospitality, the pattern can be the reverse — very busy over summer — but the January tax dates still arrive, and peak-season stock and staffing costs have to be funded before the takings come in.

Which dates matter over summer?

Employment New Zealand lists these public holidays for the 2026–27 summer:

Date	Holiday
Friday 25 December 2026	Christmas Day
Saturday 26 December 2026 (Monday 28 December for many workers)	Boxing Day
Friday 1 January 2027	New Year’s Day
Saturday 2 January 2027 (Monday 4 January for many workers)	Day after New Year’s Day
Saturday 6 February 2027 (Monday 8 February for many workers)	Waitangi Day

Regional anniversary days add more closures in some regions, and several fall in the summer months. Check your region’s date on the Employment New Zealand list or with your local council.

And the tax dates:

• 15 January — GST for periods ending 30 November.
• 15 January — second provisional tax instalment for March balance date businesses on the standard or estimation option, according to Inland Revenue’s IR289 guide.
• 7 February — terminal tax for many businesses without a tax agent’s extension.

Our GST guide and provisional tax guide explain each in detail.

How do I build a summer cash map?

In early November, sit down for an hour with your bank statements and accounting software:

1. List every outgoing from 15 December to 15 February — wages, holiday pay, rent, suppliers, loan repayments, GST, provisional tax.
2. List expected income for the same period, being realistic about late payers. Assume invoices sent after mid-November may not be paid until late January.
3. Plot it week by week. The lowest point is your summer gap.
4. Add a buffer for surprises — a supplier who wants paying before the break, a customer who doesn’t pay at all.

That single exercise turns a vague worry into a number you can plan around.

How can I bring money in before the break?

• Invoice early. Send December invoices as soon as work is complete, not at month-end.
• Chase in November. Call customers with large balances and ask when they’ll pay before Christmas.
• Offer easy payment. Payment links and direct debits help customers pay before they leave the office.
• Agree deposits on any work booked for January.
• Collect retentions that are due.

How can I slow money going out?

• Talk to suppliers about terms over the break.
• Time stock purchases carefully — avoid buying slow stock just before a quiet period.
• Plan staff leave to match quieter weeks, and budget holiday pay.
• Move tax money into a separate account each week from October so January’s payments are ready.

Should I arrange funding before the break?

If your cash map shows a gap, yes — and early. Over the summer break, many lawyers, accountants and valuers close or run reduced teams. That makes property-secured loans harder to arrange in late December and early January. Everyday bank payments now process every day, according to Payments NZ, so approved unsecured funds can still land over public holidays — but property settlements follow business days. See weekend and public holiday funding.

Practical options:

• A business line of credit set up in November, drawn in January and repaid by February or March.
• A short-term cash flow loan sized to the gap.
• Property-secured funding for larger gaps, settled before mid-December.

If you’d like to test your plan, start a quick enquiry in November and mention your summer gap.

What about payroll over the holidays?

Make sure payroll for the last pays before Christmas and the first pays of January is fully covered, including holiday pay and any public holiday pay. Remember that employment information still needs to be filed within 2 working days of each payday, and PAYE is due by the 20th of the following month for most employers — so December’s PAYE falls due on 20 January, just after the 15 January tax dates. See payroll due this week if a gap appears anyway.

Illustrative example: a Tauranga trades business

This example is illustrative only. A Tauranga electrical contractor closes from 23 December to 11 January. In early November, the owner maps the period: two payrolls including holiday pay, rent, a large GST payment and a provisional tax instalment on 15 January, against customer payments that will mostly arrive after 20 January. The gap is roughly six weeks of fixed costs. The owner chases two large debtors in November, sets up a line of credit in early December, draws on it on 14 January and repays it by the end of February.

What if my business is busiest over summer?

Tourism, hospitality, events, garden centres and many retailers do their best trading between December and February. Their summer problem is different: they need cash before the season to buy stock, hire and train seasonal staff, and gear up — and the takings only arrive once the season is under way. Then, once the peak passes, the quiet months that follow have to be carried too.

For these businesses, the planning questions are:

• How much do I need to spend before the first big week of trading? Stock, wages, marketing and maintenance.
• When does income start to outpace costs? Usually a few weeks into the season.
• What do the shoulder months look like? The money earned over summer has to last until trade picks up again.

A line of credit or a short-term working capital loan arranged in October or November can cover the pre-season build-up and be repaid from peak takings. Setting tax aside each week through the busy period protects you from a large GST bill arriving after the season has ended.

How do I know if my plan is working?

Check your cash map against reality each Friday through December and January. If customer payments are arriving slower than you assumed, or costs are higher, you’ll see the gap widening early enough to act — a phone call to a slow payer, a conversation with a supplier, or a drawdown on a facility you arranged in November.

What is my summer checklist?

• Summer cash map completed in November
• December invoices sent promptly; large debtors chased
• GST and provisional tax for 15 January set aside or funded
• Holiday pay and public holiday pay budgeted
• Supplier terms agreed for the break
• Any funding arranged before mid-December
• Funding readiness pack up to date — see our readiness pack guide

Is a summer gap showing on your map?

If your plan shows a gap you can’t close by chasing debtors or adjusting suppliers, it’s far easier to arrange funding in November than in the second week of January. Starting an enquiry takes about a minute and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. We won’t send your details out to a raft of lenders; one team reads them and a real person calls you to talk options. Please fill the form in accurately, including the dates of your gap, so we can match you to the right option first time.

See if you qualify →