Year-end demand puts pressure on microbusinesses’ liquidity and financing
The increase in demand between October and December does not guarantee that small businesses will have enough cash to operate. Inventory, payment and financing planning affects their ability to navigate the months when sales are lower.
The last quarter of the year brings some of the most important commercial seasons for Colombian microbusinesses, driven by Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas. However, increased demand requires businesses to anticipate investments in inventory and other operating expenses, which can put pressure on cash flow before revenue materializes.
The financial challenge is to capitalize on increased sales without compromising liquidity needed to keep the business running. While merchants must pay suppliers and cover expenses during the peak season, they may face a drop in demand in January without any reduction in their obligations for rent, payroll and utilities.
Plurall, a fintech specializing in productive credit for microbusinesses, highlights the importance of forecasting demand, calculating costs and estimating when the money invested during the season will be recovered. Selling more does not necessarily mean having greater liquidity, especially when supplier payments must be made before money is received from customers.
Planning purchases and payments.
To reduce financial pressure at the end of the year, microbusinesses can review the results of previous seasons, identify products with higher turnover and negotiate payment terms with suppliers. These decisions make it possible to align purchases with expected demand and prevent a significant portion of capital from being tied up in inventory that takes time to sell.
Planning also requires setting aside resources to cover fixed expenses in January, when sales may decline. Regarding financing, installments should be aligned with the business’s ability to pay during months of lower activity, rather than being calculated solely on the basis of expected December revenue.
“The peak season is not a gamble; it is a forecast. Entrepreneurs must review how much they sold in previous seasons, which products moved faster and how long it takes to recover the money invested. Financing must also have installments they can afford during the subsequent months when sales are lower. Those who buy with doubts will enter the next year blindly,” explains Federico Gómez, CEO and co-founder of Plurall.
Specifically, cash flow management must account for both projected revenue and the schedule of financial and operating obligations. Productive credit can help finance inventory and other working capital needs, provided it addresses a specific need and does not compromise the ability to repay.
Credit for microbusinesses.
Access to financing is another aspect of business management. Some microbusinesses lack a credit history in traditional credit reporting systems, despite conducting commercial activities on a daily basis.
In response to this situation, Plurall uses Bodhi Tree, an artificial intelligence platform that incorporates alternative data, such as transaction behavior, business type and location, to assess each applicant’s needs and ability to repay.
The model seeks to assess businesses’ financial operations beyond the information available in traditional credit reports. According to Federico Gómez, the company records approval rates up to five times higher than those of the traditional microcredit market.
Between January and September 2026, Plurall disbursed more than $5.9 billion to more than 650 microentrepreneurs who approached the company for the first time to seek financing for their businesses. The company expects this figure to increase during the last quarter of the year.
Preparing for the holiday trading season is not just about selling more. Investment planning, liquidity management and the responsible use of financing are factors that can help microbusinesses meet year-end demand and keep their operations running in the months that follow.
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