Quick answer
Most December invoices start landing in the second week of January 2027, not the first. Payment runs pause over 25 December, Monday 28 December, 1 January and 26 January, and many customers batch payments after they reopen. A 30-day invoice raised on 15 December falls due on Thursday 14 January, so the first fortnight is usually the gap to fund.
Key points
- Count business days, not calendar days: 25 December, Monday 28 December, 1 January and 26 January are public holidays in most states.
- On 7, 14 and 30-day terms, only invoices raised in the first half of December fall due before Christmas. Everything raised after about 8 December leans into January.
- Due date and payment date are different. Allow a week of slack for customers who shut over the break and pay in a batch when they return.
- Under Payday Super, a pay run on Friday 8 January means super must reach the fund by Tuesday 19 January. Wages come first, super follows.
- Work out the gap now, while the date is still weeks away. A dated gap is far easier to fund than a surprise one.
You closed on Christmas Eve. The December invoices went out. The January rent is due, the first pay run is due, and the money you’re counting on has a due date that looks fine on paper.
When do customers start paying again after Christmas? Mostly in the second week of January 2027. Payment runs stop around 25 December, Monday 28 December and 1 January, and many customers batch payments when they reopen on or after Monday 4 January. So a December invoice that’s “due” on 30 December is realistically paid in mid-January, and the first fortnight is the gap to plan for.
This guide turns your invoice dates into landing dates. The wider shutdown plan, including leave and wages, is on the Christmas shutdown page, so we’ll stay on the calendar here.
Which days in the Christmas and January window don’t count?
Banks and payment systems don’t move money on weekends or public holidays, so start by crossing out the dead days. For 2026-27, the Fair Work Ombudsman’s lists (2026, 2027) put these in the window:
| Date | Day | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Dec 2026 | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 26 Dec 2026 | Saturday | Boxing Day (weekend) |
| 28 Dec 2026 | Monday | Additional Boxing Day holiday in most states |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Friday | New Year’s Day |
| 26 Jan 2027 | Tuesday | Australia Day |
State rules differ (South Australia, for example, names 26 December differently), so check your own state’s list. The calendar below uses these four weekdays as non-business days.
When does a December invoice actually fall due?
Here’s the due date for four invoice dates, if your terms are 7, 14 or 30 days from the invoice date. All dates are calendar days counted from the invoice. None of them lands on a weekend or holiday, which is the nice part of this year’s calendar.
Illustrative example only.
| Invoice raised | 7 days | 14 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 Dec | Tue 8 Dec | Tue 15 Dec | Thu 31 Dec |
| Tue 8 Dec | Tue 15 Dec | Tue 22 Dec | Thu 7 Jan |
| Tue 15 Dec | Tue 22 Dec | Tue 29 Dec | Thu 14 Jan |
| Wed 23 Dec | Wed 30 Dec | Wed 6 Jan | Fri 22 Jan |
Read it as three buckets:
- Due before Christmas (7-day terms on invoices raised 1, 8 or 15 Dec; 14-day terms on 1 or 8 Dec): these are the ones you can count on in December.
- Due in the dead week (14 days from 15 Dec, 7 days from 23 Dec, 30 days from 1 Dec): due between Tuesday 29 December and Thursday 31 December, when many customers’ accounts teams are away. Assume these roll into the week of Monday 4 January.
- Due in January (everything else): these arrive when they arrive. A 30-day invoice from 15 December falls due on Thursday 14 January.
If your terms are “30 days end of month” instead, the dates move again. Our 30 days EOM guide has the table, and the end of the month page covers month-end timing.
What’s the real gap in the first fortnight of January?
The gap is the money you owe between 1 and 15 January minus what you can safely expect to receive in that window. Cash going out doesn’t care about holidays:
- Rent on the 1st (a Friday, so some landlords pull it on Thursday 31 December)
- Wages, if you’re on a weekly or fortnightly cycle
- Super, which now follows each pay run (see below)
- Supplier accounts that restart when your suppliers reopen
- Insurance and software renewals that fell during the break
Coming in, you’ve got only the invoices from the “due before Christmas” bucket that you’ve already collected, plus whatever customers pay in the first week back.
Illustrative example only. A small services business has weekly wages of $9,000, monthly rent of $6,500 and $40,000 of December invoices outstanding. Half of that falls due before 22 December and arrives. The other half, $20,000, is on 30-day terms from 8 to 15 December and falls due on 7 and 14 January. Rent plus two weekly pay runs is about $24,500 in the first fortnight, against receipts of maybe $0 to $10,000 until about Thursday 14 January. The gap is somewhere between $14,500 and $24,500, and it opens on the first of the month.
Do that sum with your own numbers. It’s the single most useful thing you can do this month.
How does Payday Super change the January pay run?
Since 1 July 2026, super is due on a rolling basis rather than once a quarter. The ATO’s guidance says employers must get super into the fund within 7 business days of payday, with an extended window for new employees (ATO payment deadlines for Payday Super).
On the 2026-27 calendar, that puts the super deadline for your first January pay runs here, counting 25 December, 28 December and 1 January as non-business days:
| Pay day | Super must reach the fund by |
|---|---|
| Wed 23 Dec 2026 | Wed 6 Jan 2027 |
| Wed 6 Jan 2027 | Fri 15 Jan 2027 |
| Fri 8 Jan 2027 | Tue 19 Jan 2027 |
| Wed 13 Jan 2027 | Fri 22 Jan 2027 |
The Christmas pay run’s super lands in the first week back, and the first January pay run’s super follows within about two weeks. Allow extra days for the clearing house to process; the ATO’s page says the date counts when the fund receives it. The three pay-day months guide shows where the extra pay runs fall.
Why do customers pay late in January even when the invoice is on time?
Three reasons, all dull and all predictable:
- Their accounts team is on leave. Invoices approved on 22 December get paid when someone is back to run the batch.
- Their payment run is fortnightly or weekly. Miss one run over the break and you wait for the next.
- Their approver is away. Invoices that need a signature sit in an inbox.
Large payers are the most predictable. The Payment Times Reporting Scheme’s report for 1 July to 31 December 2025 shows 69.8 per cent of invoices were paid within 30 days, and the all-industry 95th-percentile time was 55 days (Regulator’s update, August 2026). In other words, around three in ten invoices from big payers miss 30 days, and the slow tail runs to nearly two months. Our big customer guide covers how to read those numbers for the customers you’ve got.
What can you do before Christmas to bring the money forward?
Order matters here. Do these in the week of 7 December, not 22 December, because customers close their books early.
- List every open invoice with due date, customer and amount. Mark the ones that fall due between 29 December and 15 January.
- Email the “dead week” customers now. Ask for payment before their closing date, or for confirmation of the date they’ll pay. A named person and a specific date get answers.
- Send January invoices on Monday 4 January, not after the holidays have been and gone. An invoice sent on 4 January on 7-day terms is due on Monday 11 January.
- Confirm January supplier dates that would otherwise restart at the worst time.
- Put the gap on a calendar. The deadline planner lets you plot rent, wages and super against expected receipts.
If the gap is bigger than your reserve, that’s the moment to line up funding, in December, with the dates in hand. Property-secured funding of $20k to $250k is possible the same day, up to $5m is possible within 24 to 48 hours, and same-day funding is possible for smaller unsecured amounts. You can check your options in about a minute or ring 1300 752 188.
What do you need ready if you do want a bridge?
The paperwork is simple, and having it before 18 December matters, because lenders, solicitors and valuers slow down over the break. Have these to hand:
- A list of the outstanding invoices, with due dates and customer names
- The last three to six months of bank statements
- The amount and the date of the gap, from the sum above
- Who signs for the business, and whether any property could be offered as security
The ready to call checklist covers the proof that makes a deadline credible.
Worried about the first fortnight of January? Let’s look at it together
The January gap is rarely a sign the business is in trouble. It’s usually timing: the customers are good, the invoices are real, and the calendar is against you for ten working days. That’s a dated problem, and a dated problem can be solved with a dated plan.
If your sum comes out short, have a chat with us before you close for the break. Enquiring takes about 60 seconds, and it won’t touch your credit file, because there’s no credit check when you first enquire. We don’t pass your details around a pile of lenders. A real person reads your enquiry, looks at your individual situation and calls you. Please fill the form in accurately, with the real gap and the real dates, so we can aim to match the right option the first time.
Prefer to talk? Ring 1300 752 188.
Frequently asked questions
When do customers usually start paying again after Christmas?
Payment runs generally restart in the first full working week of January, which in 2027 is Monday 4 January. Many larger customers then clear a backlog, so money from December invoices tends to land through the second and third weeks. Your own customers' habits matter more than any average, so check what they did last January.
What is the first working day in January 2027?
New Year's Day is Friday 1 January 2027, so the first working day for most businesses is Monday 4 January. Australia Day is Tuesday 26 January 2027, which removes another day from the last week of the month. State and award details vary, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman's list for your state.
If an invoice is due on Christmas Day or a public holiday, when does it get paid?
Payment systems don't process on weekends or public holidays, so a payment due on one is realistically made on the next business day, and often later if the customer's accounts team is closed. There's no automatic grace period in your terms, so treat the next business day as the earliest realistic date.
How much does super add to the January cash call?
From 1 July 2026, Payday Super applies to earnings paid on or after that date, and the ATO says super generally has to reach the fund within 7 business days of payday. A pay run on Friday 8 January 2027 means super is due by Tuesday 19 January, so it falls in the same fortnight as your first wages.
Can I charge interest or a late fee if a customer pays late in January?
Only if your written terms or contract say so. Agreeing it after the invoice is overdue is harder. A clear due date on the invoice, a polite reminder two days before it, and a call on the day after are more effective than a fee clause most customers never read.
How do large businesses' payment times compare with what I'm being paid?
The Payment Times Reporting Scheme's report for 1 July to 31 December 2025 says 69.8 per cent of invoices from reporting large businesses were paid within 30 days, and the all-industry 95th-percentile payment time was 55 days. That's an average across big payers, so smaller customers may be quicker or slower than that.