Getting Your Cashflow Right After the Christmas Shutdown
The biggest cashflow challenge after the Christmas shutdown isn’t profitability - it’s timing. Expenses restart immediately, while revenue and customer payments take longer to catch up. Getting cashflow right in January is about understanding and managing that gap, not reacting to it.
January has a way of making even well-run businesses feel behind.
You’re back at work. The inbox is full. Bills start landing. Wages, rent, suppliers and subscriptions all resume on schedule. But the money coming in doesn’t quite match the pace yet.
For many small business owners, this creates a familiar unease: Did we misjudge something? Are we already on the back foot?
In most cases, the answer is no. What you’re experiencing isn’t a business problem - it’s a cashflow timing problem.
Understanding that distinction is the first step to getting January right.
The Christmas and New Year shutdown creates a structural pause in the economy. Work slows or stops. Invoicing is delayed. Customers take longer to respond and longer still to pay.
What doesn’t pause is your cost base.
As soon as you reopen, expenses restart in full. Revenue, on the other hand, ramps up more gradually. That mismatch is where January pressure comes from.
This is important because timing problems require different decisions than performance problems. Treating one like the other often leads to unnecessary stress - and unnecessary fixes.
January is unforgiving in its efficiency. Wages resume. Rent is due. Suppliers expect payment. Software subscriptions quietly renew. Tax obligations don’t care that half your customers were on a beach two weeks ago.
Even businesses that finished December strongly can feel the squeeze when all of these obligations hit before cash inflows normalize.
Customers return to work at different speeds. Some are still on leave. Others are easing back into projects rather than committing immediately.
Invoices often go out later than usual in early January, and payment cycles stretch as a result. For businesses operating on 30-, 45-, or 60-day terms, this delay is amplified.
It’s worth saying explicitly: the degree of slowdown varies by industry. Construction, professional services, retail, and hospitality all experience January differently. But almost every sector feels some version of this timing gap.
When cashflow tightens unexpectedly, it’s natural to want to act quickly. But January pressure often pushes owners toward decisions that solve the wrong problem.
None of these decisions are made out of incompetence. They’re made under pressure - often without a clear view of what’s actually happening.
Looking at a bank balance alone doesn’t tell you much in January. What matters is timing: what cash is due to go out, what’s expected to come in, and where the gaps are.
Cashflow clarity isn’t about perfection. It’s about visibility.
A short-term timing gap is caused by delayed payments or seasonal slowdown. It requires flexibility and patience.
A structural issue shows up consistently, regardless of season. It requires deeper change.
January often exaggerates timing gaps, making them feel structural when they’re not. The goal is to diagnose before you prescribe.
January isn’t the month for sweeping transformations. It’s the month for measured control.
At Fundtap, we see this play out every January. Businesses don’t need more pressure - they need precision.
January sets rhythm, not results. The businesses that move through it best aren’t the ones that rush to fix everything - they’re the ones that slow down just enough to understand what’s happening.
Cashflow clarity creates breathing room. Breathing room leads to better decisions. And better decisions early in the year compound quietly over time.
If January feels tight, you’re not alone. In most cases, you’re not behind either. You’re simply navigating the space between when money goes out and when it comes back in.
Getting that timing right is where momentum starts.
Because expenses resume immediately, while revenue and customer payments restart more slowly.
Not usually. For many businesses, it’s a normal seasonal timing issue rather than a performance problem.
A clear view of the next 60–90 days is usually enough to make confident decisions.
Timing issues are temporary and seasonal. Structural problems appear consistently, regardless of time of year.