Insolvency guide to avoiding a festive crisis

Handy tips to avoid the 'Bad Santa' experience.

In January I wrote an article on the potential impacts of the post-Christmas trade with some tips to help businesses manage their cash flow and start off the new year on the right foot. The planning to ensure the business is in its best position during this period begins well before Christmas, sometimes months in advance. Here's a guide that may assist business operations to avoid a 'Bad Santa' experience.

Budget budget budget!
It is crucial that business owners invest some of their time over this period in budgeting and forecasting major cash inflows and outflows. The best data to budget and forecast is the months before and after the previous Christmas trade. Trends can be formed, and anomalies identified to raise awareness of vulnerabilities and effectively manage cash-flow risks where possible. It is also important to track how the business is performing against the budgeted forecasts and adjusting the budget and