Can a seasonal business negotiate different repayments?

Equal instalments do not match an uneven trading year

A pool maintenance business earns most of its revenue in warmer months. A creditor proposes equal repayments throughout the year, but winter receipts cannot support them. The owner wants smaller winter amounts and larger summer payments. A credible proposal must show that the business can fund the peak season’s costs and still make the larger catch-up payments.

Map the real seasonal cycle

Review several periods of receipts, expenses and debt movements. Identify preparation costs before peak work and collection delays after it. Separate an established pattern from a hoped-for recovery.

Business.gov.au’s cash-flow guidance recommends using seasonal trends. Apply that evidence to bank receipts and payments, not just monthly sales reported in the accounts.

Source: business.gov.au — Set up a cash flow statement

Calculate sustainable amounts by period

Include wages, stock, tax, equipment and other debt plans. Determine what remains in low months and what the peak period can realistically contribute after its higher operating costs.

Test a weaker season or weather disruption. A larger summer instalment is not credible if it relies on every booking proceeding and every customer paying immediately.

Present a clear alternative schedule

Show dates, amounts, total repayment and the assumptions behind them. Explain why the proposed pattern is more workable and ask the creditor to assess it.

Have interest, default and review provisions checked. Seasonal trading does not automatically entitle the business to change its contract; the revised arrangement needs proper acceptance.

Monitor the peak period carefully

Track booking conversion, receipts and costs against the proposal. Reserve funds for the agreed higher instalments rather than treating peak-season cash as a surplus available for expansion.

If the season falls behind, communicate early with updated evidence and obtain advice. Do not wait until the largest payment falls due to reveal that the assumed trading result did not occur.

Support seasonal terms with a complete cash cycle

Map receipts and preparation costs across the full season.

Calculate affordable instalments for both quiet and busy periods.

Obtain written agreement and monitor the peak-period assumptions.

Call CRP today to coordinate a creditor proposal that reflects your business’s seasonal cash cycle.