When to hire your next employee: now, or after the busy patch?

Hiring is one of the biggest timing decisions a small business makes. Hire too early and wages eat the margin before the work arrives. Hire too late and you spend months turning away jobs, burning out the team and watching customers drift to someone who can start sooner. There is a middle path, and it starts with counting.

How do I know my business is ready to hire?

Look for a pattern, not a feeling. Over the last three months, ask:

• How many jobs, orders or bookings did we decline or push out?
• How many quotes went unsent because nobody had time to write them?
• How many hours of overtime or owner weekends did we need to keep up?
• What tasks is the owner doing that someone on a lower rate could do?

If the answers keep growing, you are paying a cost of waiting every week. Our page on turning away work shows how to put a dollar value on it.

What will the new person really cost?

The wage is only the start. A realistic monthly budget includes:

Item	What to allow for
Wages	At least the award or National Minimum Wage ($26.44 an hour from 1 July 2026)
Superannuation	12% super guarantee, paid to the fund within 7 business days of payday from 1 July 2026
Workers compensation	Premium through your state scheme
Leave	Annual and personal leave accruals
Payroll tax	Only if total wages pass your state’s threshold
Setup	Tools, uniform, vehicle, software seats
Ramp-up	Weeks where output is below cost while they learn

The last line is the one owners forget. It’s also the one that makes timing matter so much.

Why does the start date matter so much?

Because the ramp-up period costs money and delivers little. If a new person starts the week your peak season begins, you pay for their learning curve at the exact moment everyone is too busy to teach them. If they start six to ten weeks earlier, they’re useful by the time demand arrives.

That creates a small funding gap: wages going out before the extra revenue comes in. It is one of the most sensible uses of short-term business finance, because the facility is repaid from the very revenue the hire unlocks. Read more on arranging finance before a busy season.

Illustrative example: the second electrician

Illustrative only — invented figures.

A two-person electrical contractor declines roughly six jobs a month, each worth about $900 in gross profit. That’s around $5,400 a month walking out the door. A qualified electrician would cost around $8,500 a month all-in, but would complete the declined jobs plus free the owner to quote larger commercial work.

• Months one and two: the new hire is learning the company’s systems, finishing perhaps half the declined work. Net position roughly −$5,800 over the two months.
• From month three: declined jobs are completed and the owner wins one extra commercial job a month. Net positive.

The gap in the first two months is the real funding need — not the whole salary. A modest working-capital facility sized to that gap lets the owner hire now, before the spring rush, instead of in December when everyone is flat out. If that sounds familiar, see what your business could access.

When should I wait before hiring?

Waiting is right when:

• the extra demand is a spike (one big client, one unusual month);
• a known quiet season is about to start and the person would sit idle;
• you could cover the gap with a subcontractor or casual while you confirm the trend;
• cash flow is already stretched by a BAS or tax bill in the next few weeks.

There is also a calendar wrinkle: Annual Wage Review increases apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July. If you’re budgeting in May, use the new rates. See July cost rises for the other costs that move at the start of the financial year.

Is it better to fund a hire or fund equipment?

Sometimes the answer is neither person nor loan, but a machine. A better saw, a second van or scheduling software can release the same capacity for less. Price both. Put each option through the cost-of-waiting calculator and see which delay costs more. For bigger-picture growth decisions, read expand now or wait.

How long before a new hire pays for themselves?

It varies by role, but thinking in three phases helps:

Phase	What happens	Cash position
Recruiting and onboarding	Advertising, interviews, paperwork, setup	Costs only
Learning	Working alongside someone, lower output	Costs exceed contribution
Productive	Working independently at full pace	Contribution exceeds costs

A qualified tradesperson might reach the productive phase within weeks; an apprentice or a role that needs product knowledge may take months. Estimate honestly for your business, then size any funding to cover the first two phases. That’s the true gap — and it’s usually far smaller than a year’s salary.

Ready to hire before the rush?

If your numbers show the work is there and only the ramp-up gap is holding you back, that’s a problem worth solving now. Our 60-second enquiry doesn’t involve a credit check. Your enquiry stays with one team — we don’t pass it around to half the market — and a lending specialist calls to size the facility to the gap, not the whole salary. Give us accurate figures for turnover and what the funds are for, and we can point you to the right option on the first call.