How to Maintain Liquidity During the Summer Holiday Period

Ognjen Jovanović, Partner in Accounting and Payroll Department, TPA Serbia

The summer period often seems like a “low season”, but from a financial perspective, it can be quite the opposite.

Business activity may slow down, but financial obligations do not slow down at the same rate. Salaries, taxes, rent, supplier payments and loan instalments continue to fall due as scheduled. On the other hand, collections often depend on people who are away on holiday, internal approvals that are held up until someone else takes over, or invoices that are returned because of minor formal issues.

Maintaining liquidity during the holiday period is therefore not just a matter of “spending less”. More often, it is about managing timing better.

One of the most useful things a company can do is prepare a brief overview of its cash flows for the weeks ahead. This does not have to be a complicated model. It is enough to see clearly which payments are expected, which obligations will definitely fall due and where there is a risk of money being held up in the process. Financial literature often recommends a short, practical cash flow forecast, for example, covering 8 to 13 weeks, because it helps identify risks before they become urgent.

Particular attention should be paid to invoices. During the summer, it is not enough to issue an invoice. It should be sent on time and include the correct details, reference, purchase order, proof of delivery, or any other document the customer needs to approve it. In practice, liquidity is often affected not by major decisions, but by several days of waiting, returned documents and additional explanations.

It is also useful to know in advance which customers require a particular approach. Some pay regularly, and a standard reminder is enough. For others, it may be helpful to check before the due date whether the invoice has been received and approved, and who will cover for the person responsible while they are on holiday. This is not about “putting pressure” on the customer, but about managing the collection process properly.

The same logic applies to payments to suppliers. Not all outstanding payments are equally urgent. Some suppliers are essential to business continuity, so payment schedules with them should remain fully predictable. With others, there may be room to schedule payments differently, in line with the agreed terms and actual cash inflows. The greatest pressure on liquidity often occurs when everything is left until the last minute.

Another practical issue that is often overlooked is internal organisation. Who issues invoices when a colleague is on holiday? Who approves payments? Who monitors overdue receivables? Who responds if a customer disputes an invoice? If the answers to these questions are not clear before the holiday season begins, cash flow may be left to chance and depend on the availability of individual employees.

Companies that know the summer is traditionally a sensitive period for their business can discuss with their bank in advance about short-term financing, a pre-arranged line of credit or another form of working capital support. The point is not to use borrowing as a substitute for planning, but to secure a potential source of financing when the situation is stable, rather than waiting until liquidity is already under pressure.

Finally, it is useful to establish a minimum liquidity threshold below which cash reserves should not fall without a specific decision. This amount may be sufficient to cover salaries, taxes and the most important obligations over the coming period. Having such a threshold makes it easier to assess whether a particular expense genuinely has to be incurred immediately or can wait until a more stable period.

Liquidity during the summer is not just a matter of financial reporting. It is a test of business discipline. It shows how well collections, payments, approvals and responsibilities are organised when the company is operating at a slower pace.

The holiday period should therefore not be viewed as a “dead season”, but as a good time to check how well the company can cope when processes slow down. Profit is important, but having cash in the bank at the right time is what keeps a business stable.