Why does a seasonal business need its own kind of plan?
A business with steady sales can look at last month’s bank statement and have a fair idea of next month. A seasonal business can’t. A Jindabyne ski-hire shop’s August bears no resemblance to its February. A Barossa vineyard contractor is flat out during vintage and quiet by winter. A plan built on monthly averages will mislead you, because no bank account runs on averages.
What matters is the shape of your year — and above all its lowest point.
Step 1: What history should you gather?
Pull monthly totals for the last 24 months from your accounting software or business bank statements:
- Cash received, by month — money that landed, not invoices raised.
- Fixed costs — rent, leases, core wages, insurance, software, loan repayments.
- Variable costs — casual and seasonal wages, stock, fuel, freight, commissions.
- Tax and super paid — GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments and super guarantee.
Two years beats one because it shows whether last year was typical. A poor snow season, a late vintage or a cyclone-affected wet season can make a single year misleading.
Step 2: How should the 12-month grid be laid out?
Use a spreadsheet or business.gov.au’s free cash flow statement template. Put the next 12 months across the top and these rows down the side:
- Opening bank balance
- Cash in, by source
- Fixed costs
- Variable costs
- BAS payments (GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments)
- Super guarantee
- Loan and facility repayments
- Net cash flow for the month
- Closing balance — which becomes next month’s opening balance
Step 3: When will the cash actually arrive?
This is where most plans go wrong. Record income in the month you’ll receive it:
- A Whitsundays charter business taking deposits months ahead should show them when they land, and the balance when it’s paid before departure.
- A trades business invoicing on 30-day end-of-month terms should push each month’s invoicing out by about six weeks — longer for slow payers.
- A wine grape grower should follow the winery’s payment schedule, which often spreads grape payments over many months after vintage, not the harvest date.
Build three versions — pessimistic, realistic and optimistic. For a seasonal business the pessimistic case matters most, because a late snow season or a wet summer shifts everything.
Step 4: What costs are easy to miss?
Fixed costs are straightforward. The ones that catch owners out are:
- Pre-season spending — stock, uniforms, marketing and recruitment, paid before the first peak-season dollar arrives.
- Off-season maintenance — usually scheduled in the quiet months, exactly when cash is lowest.
- Annual bills — insurance renewals, vehicle registration, workers compensation premiums, licences and council rates.
- End-of-season costs — final pays, leave entitlements and wind-down freight.
Step 5: Where do BAS, PAYG and super fall?
Tax is calculated on the year but paid on fixed dates, which is why it so often lands in a quiet month. According to the ATO’s BAS due dates:
| Payment | When it’s due |
|---|---|
| Quarterly BAS (GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments) | 28 October, 28 February, 28 April, 28 July |
| Monthly BAS | 21st of the following month |
| Super guarantee (from 1 July 2026) | Received by the fund within 7 business days of each payday |
Lodging online or through a registered agent can extend some quarterly due dates, so plan to the date that actually applies to you.
Two seasonal traps stand out. First, a ski business’s biggest quarter is July to September, so its largest BAS is due on 28 October — after the lifts have closed. Second, Payday Super replaces quarterly super with payments tied to each pay run, so super is now heaviest in your peak rather than arriving as a lump after it. Our guides to GST timing and Payday Super go deeper.
Step 6: Where is your low point?
Run your eye along the closing balance row in the pessimistic version and find the lowest figure. That’s your trough — the point where the business is most exposed. Note:
- How low the balance goes.
- When it happens.
- How long it stays below the level you’re comfortable with.
If the lowest point stays comfortably above zero, a modest reserve may be all you need. If it dips below zero, you have a funding gap to plan for now, not when it arrives.
Step 7: How should you cover the gap?
Work through the options roughly in this order:
- Shrink the gap — take deposits, invoice faster, negotiate supplier terms, move maintenance to just after the peak.
- Build a reserve from peak-season cash. See building a cash buffer.
- Arrange standby credit such as a business line of credit, ideally at the end of your peak when your statements look strongest.
- Use a lump sum for larger or one-off needs, such as a property-secured loan of $20,000 to $1m if you or a supporting party own Australian property.
Step 8: How often should you review it?
Monthly. Replace the forecast for the month just finished with actual figures, roll the plan forward a month, and check whether the low point has moved. Half an hour a month is the cheapest early-warning system a seasonal business can have.
A template to start from
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | … | Jun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | ||||||
| Cash in | ||||||
| Fixed costs | ||||||
| Variable costs | ||||||
| BAS payments | ||||||
| Super | ||||||
| Repayments | ||||||
| Closing balance |
Starting in July lines the plan up with the financial year and your BAS quarters.
Taking the plan to a lender
A seasonal cash flow plan is one of the most persuasive things you can bring to a funding conversation. It shows the quiet months are expected, that the peak clears them, and that you know exactly how much you need and for how long. When you’re ready, our 60-second enquiry is free and doesn’t affect your credit score. To see how we help businesses through the trough, read about seasonal business funding.