When to order Christmas stock, and how to fund it without a January hangover

Christmas trade doesn’t start in December. For retailers, it starts in winter, when the first import orders go out. By the time shoppers arrive, the money has been out of your account for months. Get the timing right and the season pays for itself with room to spare. Get it wrong and you spend January discounting stock that arrived too late or paying for stock you bought too much of.

What does a Christmas stock timeline look like?

Every business is different, but a typical Australian retail calendar runs like this:

Month	What happens	Cash
June – August	Place imported orders; pay deposits	Out
September	Balance payments on imports; place local orders	Out
October	Imported stock lands; marketing booked	Out
Early November	Top-up orders; staff rostered	Out
Late November	Black Friday and Cyber Monday	In
December	Peak trade	In
Boxing Day – January	Clearance and quieter trade	Mixed
28 February	October–December BAS due (quarterly lodgers)	Out

Those first four rows are the funding gap. The last row is the one people forget.

Why does January catch retailers out?

Three things land together after the peak:

• Trade slows once the Boxing Day sales finish.
• GST collected over Christmas is owed. The ATO recommends putting aside the GST you collect so you can meet obligations when due. For quarterly lodgers the October–December BAS is due on 28 February, and with the busiest quarter’s sales in it, it’s often the biggest of the year.
• Supplier accounts for October and November stock fall due.

If the Christmas build was funded from working capital, January is where the hole shows. Funding the build separately, and repaying it from peak sales, keeps that pressure away.

How early should I line up the funding?

Before the first deposit. If imports are ordered in July, the facility should be in place in June. Leaving it until October means the deposits and balance payments have already drained the account, and you’re asking for help after the fact.

Early funding also lets you say yes to supplier offers. Many suppliers give better pricing or allocation to early orders; our page on the bulk-buy discount shows how to test whether a deal is worth borrowing for. For freight and production timing, see supplier lead times.

Illustrative example: the homewares store

Illustrative figures only.

A homewares retailer does about 35% of its annual sales between mid-November and Christmas Eve. Its Christmas build totals $140,000: $85,000 of imports (deposits in July, balances in September), $40,000 of local stock in October and $15,000 in marketing and casual wages.

The owner sets up a facility in June and draws it as each payment falls due. Peak sales from late November repay it by early January. Because the build never touched working capital, the business has the GST set aside for the February BAS and enough buffer for a quieter January.

Planning your own build? See what’s possible while there’s still time to order.

How much stock is too much?

Overbuying is the other Christmas trap. business.gov.au lists keeping stock levels from running too high as one way to protect cash flow. A few safeguards:

• Base orders on last year’s sell-through by line, not total sales.
• Hold back 15–25% of your budget for top-up orders once early trends are clear.
• Agree return or exchange terms with local suppliers where you can.
• Have a January plan for leftovers before you order.

Should Christmas stock be bought before EOFY?

Only if the timing suits the supply chain. Buying stock early for tax reasons doesn’t work the way people assume; unsold stock is counted at year end. Read stock before EOFY for why. And if you’re funding the build through a big import purchase, GST credits on a big purchase covers the BAS timing on the way in.

What should a Christmas cash-flow plan include?

A one-page plan saves a lot of January stress. Map, week by week from July to February:

• every supplier deposit and balance payment;
• freight, duty and any import GST on arrival;
• casual wages and super for the extra December hours (under Payday Super, super now follows each pay run);
• marketing bookings;
• expected takings by week, using last year’s pattern as a guide;
• the October–December BAS on 28 February.

Where the cumulative line dips below your comfortable minimum, that’s where funding is needed and how much. It’s usually a narrower and shorter gap than owners expect, which means a smaller facility for a shorter time. For the wider picture on preparing for a peak, see finance before your busy season.

What if my Christmas orders have already gone out?

Then focus on the part you can still shape. Check which balance payments, freight and duty bills are still to come, and when. Plan your November top-up orders against early sales rather than last year’s totals. And set the February BAS money aside as the takings come in, so the quarter’s GST isn’t spent twice.

Line up your Christmas build now

The retailers who enjoy Christmas are usually the ones who had their money sorted in winter. If you’re planning the season, start a quick enquiry — around 60 seconds, no credit check to ask. Your details aren’t spread across the market; one specialist reads your enquiry and calls to match the facility to your order dates. Please be accurate about your turnover, order values and when the stock will sell, so we can get it right straight away.