Quick answer
To fix a cash flow problem quickly, first work out the exact shortfall and the date it hits. Protect wages, super and lodgements, then raise cash in order of cost: chase overdue invoices by phone, invoice unbilled work, sell slow stock, pause spending, and agree new dates with suppliers and the ATO before bills fall overdue. If a gap remains, use short-term finance sized to the shortfall, with a clear repayment source.
Key points
- Know the number and the date first; panic decisions usually come from vague worry, not real figures
- Wages, super and lodgements carry the heaviest consequences, so protect them ahead of other bills
- Call suppliers, landlords and the ATO before a payment is missed; arrangements are easier then
- Free cash before borrowed cash: debtors, unbilled work and slow stock are usually faster than any loan
- Borrow only for a gap you can see the end of, and avoid stacking several short-term advances
A cash flow problem feels like one enormous thing. It’s usually three or four smaller things arriving in the same fortnight: a customer paying late, a BAS falling due, a bigger-than-usual supplier bill, maybe a slow month. Pulled apart, each one has a fix. The aim of the next ten days is to pull them apart, deal with the ones that carry real consequences, and only then decide whether you need to borrow.
What follows is a practical sequence. It assumes the business is fundamentally viable and the problem is timing. If you’re not sure that’s true, the last section deals with that too.
Day 1: what exactly is the problem?
Before you call anyone, get a number and a date. Vague dread leads to bad decisions, like signing the first finance offer that lands in your inbox.
Sit down with your bank balance, your list of unpaid invoices and your list of bills, and answer four questions:
- How short are you? The gap between what’s coming in and what must go out.
- When does it bite? The specific day the account can’t cover a payment.
- How long does it last? When does enough money come back in to close the gap?
- Why did it happen? One late customer, a seasonal dip, growth, or costs exceeding sales?
A rough weekly view for the next few weeks is enough. If you’ve never built one, the layout in how to build a 13-week cash flow forecast takes an hour for the first four weeks. The cash flow gap calculator is a faster sense check.
Which bills do you protect first?
Not all payments carry the same consequences. When cash is short, rank by what happens if you miss:
| Priority | Payment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Staff wages | Legal obligation, and losing staff makes recovery much harder |
| 1 | Super contributions | Since July 2026, contributions are due within seven business days of each payday; late payment attracts the super guarantee charge, and directors can become personally liable |
| 1 | Lodging your BAS (not necessarily paying it) | Lodging on time keeps payment plan options open and limits director exposure |
| 2 | Rent, insurance, critical suppliers | Losing premises, cover or supply stops the business |
| 2 | Secured loan repayments | Default can trigger enforcement over equipment or property |
| 3 | BAS payment | Important, but the ATO will usually agree a plan if you engage early |
| 4 | Discretionary spending | New equipment, marketing campaigns, non-urgent purchases |
The director penalty point deserves a moment. If PAYG withholding or super isn’t reported to the ATO within three months of the due date, directors can lose the option of escaping personal liability by putting the company into administration or liquidation. Lodging on time, even with no payment, protects you. Our guide to what a director penalty notice means for you explains the rules in full.
Days 1 to 3: where can you find cash without borrowing?
Free money first. Most businesses in a squeeze have more sitting within reach than they think.
Your debtors. Pull the aged debtors list and phone, not email, the five largest overdue accounts. Ask for a payment date, not a promise. Offer to resend the invoice while you’re on the line. A calm, specific call is often more effective than three escalating emails. Longer-term fixes are in how to get customers to pay faster.
Unbilled work. Completed jobs that haven’t been invoiced, progress claims not yet submitted, variations not yet billed. In trades and professional services this is often the biggest pile of all.
Slow stock. Anything that hasn’t moved in 90 days can be discounted, returned to the supplier for credit, or sold to a liquidator. Cash at a loss today can beat stock at full price in six months.
Deposits. Ask customers for deposits on new orders, especially large ones.
Spending. Pause every purchase that can wait. Cancel subscriptions you don’t use. Delay hiring.
Your own pay. If you can reduce drawings for a few weeks, it’s the cheapest money available.
Still short after working through that list? You can outline the gap for us here, and a real person will look at whether short-term finance makes sense. Asking won’t touch your credit file.
Days 2 to 5: which conversations should you have?
The rule is simple: call before the payment is due, not after it’s missed. Every creditor treats a phone call very differently from a dishonoured payment.
Suppliers. Explain briefly, offer part payment now and a firm date for the rest. Most suppliers would rather keep a reliable customer through a tight month than chase a bad debt. If one is threatening legal action already, read what to do when a supplier demands payment now.
Your landlord. A short deferral of rent, repaid over the following months, is a more common request than most tenants realise.
The ATO. Lodge on time, then call about payment. Debts of $200,000 or less can usually be put on a plan online. Our guide on how to talk to the ATO about a debt sets out what to prepare and what to say. Note that the ATO stops accepting credit cards after 30 November 2026, so that isn’t a workaround for the next BAS.
Your bank. If you have an overdraft or line of credit, ask whether a temporary increase is possible. Banks generally prefer to hear about a pinch early, and if you’ve banked with them for years, they often have the clearest view of your business.
If you’d like help with these conversations, the Small Business Debt Helpline offers free, confidential financial counselling, and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has guidance on handling debts with creditors.
Days 3 to 10: which kind of finance fits the gap?
If a gap remains after the steps above, finance is a reasonable bridge, provided you can see where repayment comes from. Match the product to the problem, not to whichever ad you saw first:
| Option | Best for | Typical speed | Things to weigh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank overdraft or limit increase | Existing customers with a good record | Days to a few weeks | Often the cheapest money; worth asking first |
| Unsecured short-term loan | A one-off gap with a clear payback | Can be one to two business days once documents are in | Higher total cost; fixed daily or weekly repayments |
| Line of credit (non-bank) | Repeated short gaps | A few days to set up | Only pay for what you draw; line fees may apply |
| Invoice finance | Cash tied up in invoices to business customers | A few days to set up, then same-day advances | Cost tied to invoice value; customers may be notified |
| Property-secured short-term loan | Larger gaps, or credit issues | Can be days where title and valuation are straightforward | Puts property at risk; needs a clear exit |
Our pages on short-term business loans and invoice finance compare these in more depth. If payroll is the specific problem this week, payroll due and cash is short goes straight to the options.
Size the facility to the gap you measured on day one, plus a margin. Borrowing much more “just in case” adds cost; borrowing exactly the minimum leaves you one late customer away from the same problem.
What makes a cash flow problem worse?
Most of the damage in a cash crunch comes from rushed decisions, not the shortage itself. Avoid these:
- Stacking advances. Taking a second or third short-term advance to cover the repayments on the first is the most common spiral we see. Daily repayments compound the original problem. Read how to avoid panic borrowing before you sign anything in a hurry.
- Spending super or withheld PAYG. It feels like a loan from yourself. It isn’t; it creates personal exposure for directors.
- Not lodging. Failing to lodge because you can’t pay is worse than lodging and owing.
- Going silent. Unanswered calls turn creditors who would have agreed a plan into creditors who issue demands.
- Personal credit cards for business bills. Fast, but expensive, and it blurs your business and personal finances in ways lenders notice later.
A worked example: a courier business loses its biggest client
This is an illustration.
A Perth courier business with eight vans loses a contract worth about 30% of revenue at the end of September. By mid-October the owner sees a $46,000 shortfall over the next four weeks, peaking in the week a $19,000 BAS and a fortnightly payroll coincide.
Over ten days they work the list. Calls to overdue customers bring in $14,000. Two weeks of unbilled after-hours work is invoiced, and $6,500 of it is paid within a week. The owner sells a spare van for $22,000. The BAS is lodged on time and put on an online plan at $1,600 a week. The fuel card supplier agrees to split one bill over three weeks.
The remaining gap, about $8,000 for three weeks, is covered by a temporary increase to the existing bank overdraft. No new loan, no stacked advances. Meanwhile the owner trims two casual shifts and starts pitching for replacement work with the capacity freed up.
Is this a cash flow problem, or something bigger?
Be honest with yourself here. If the business has made a loss for several months in a row, the fix isn’t faster cash, it’s change: prices, costs, staffing or the shape of the business. Finance will only buy time, and expensive time at that.
Signs it may be more than timing include repeated ATO debts, suppliers who have already stopped supply, and a forecast that never returns to positive. In that case, talk to your accountant early, and consider a registered insolvency or restructuring practitioner while you still have choices. Getting advice isn’t giving up; it often saves the business.
Once the immediate pressure passes, build the habits that stop it recurring. How to manage business cash flow sets out a weekly routine that catches the next squeeze four weeks early.
Gap still there after the free fixes?
If you’ve done the calls, chased the debtors and the numbers still don’t close, a short, well-sized facility can carry you to the other side. That’s a decision worth making with someone who looks at your actual numbers rather than an automated form.
Our enquiry takes about a minute, and it doesn’t touch your credit file at all. We won’t scatter your details across a long list of lenders, so you won’t be fielding a dozen calls while you’re trying to run the business. One of our team reads your situation and phones you back. Please tell us the true size of the shortfall and when it hits; the more accurate the details, the faster we can line up the right option.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to get cash into a business?
Usually your own debtors. A phone call to the three largest overdue customers, plus invoicing any completed but unbilled work, often brings in money within days at no cost. After that, an increase to an existing bank facility or a non-bank unsecured loan can sometimes be funded within one or two business days once documents are in.
Should I pay staff or the ATO first?
Pay staff wages and keep super current where you possibly can, and lodge every BAS on time even if you can't pay it. Then call the ATO about the payment. Unpaid wages and super carry serious consequences, and directors can become personally liable for unpaid super and PAYG withholding.
Can I delay paying my suppliers?
You can ask. Most suppliers prefer an honest call and a revised date to a silent overdue account. Offer a part payment now and a firm date for the rest, and then keep it. Quietly stretching payments without asking risks being put on stop-supply right when you need stock.
Is a merchant cash advance a good quick fix?
It can be fast, but repayments come out of daily takings, which can make the next shortfall worse. Taking a second advance to cover the first is a common spiral. If you use one, make sure the total dollar cost is clear and the business can carry the daily deduction.
How do I know whether my cash problem is temporary or structural?
Look at your last six months. If the business makes a profit but cash arrives late, the problem is timing and short-term finance can bridge it. If costs exceed sales month after month, the fix is pricing, costs or the business model, and borrowing will only delay the conversation.