It is May. The end of the financial year is eight weeks away, but only about three of those weeks are genuinely usable for new finance decisions. Once you factor in lender turnaround, settlement, supplier delivery, and install dates, anything not started by the end of May is fighting for space in a crowded June.
That is not a doomsday warning. It is the simple maths most owners forget when they tell themselves “I’ll sort it in June.” By June, the choices have narrowed, the lenders are busier, and suppliers are quoting July install dates. May is when the real decisions happen.
Here is the seven-point list we are working through with clients this month.
1. Review your debt structure this week
Pull every facility your business currently runs and put it on one page — overdrafts, credit cards, supplier accounts, any informal lender debt. Write the balance, the rate, the term, and whether the interest is deductible. Do this on a Saturday morning in May, not in late June when the answers stop mattering for FY26.
Anything paying double-digit interest deserves a second look. A single secured business loan or term refinance can collapse three or four expensive facilities into one cleaner repayment, often at a lower blended rate. Refinances typically take two to three weeks to settle, which puts the decision firmly in May territory.
2. Order equipment now — not in June
The $20,000 instant asset write-off is currently legislated to drop back to $1,000 from 1 July 2026. If your business has any planned equipment purchases for FY27, run the numbers on bringing them forward — and lock in the order in May.
Why May, not June? The ATO test is when the asset is first used or installed ready for use, not when it was paid for. A ute ordered on 5 June and delivered on 8 July misses the deduction entirely. A ute ordered on 12 May and delivered in early June qualifies cleanly. The difference is one phone call this week versus the wrong side of the deadline next month.
3. Pre-approve a working capital facility before the end of May
July is consistently the tightest cash month of the year for Australian SMEs. Q4 BAS, super, PAYG instalments, and softer winter trading all hit the bank account at once. The fix is rarely to find more cash in July. The fix is to have funding pre-approved in May, sitting ready in case it is needed.
A pre-approved business line of credit costs nothing while undrawn and gives you a buffer if a large customer pays late or a quiet July puts pressure on payroll. Applications submitted in May get full attention. Applications in late June get queued behind everyone who left it too late.
4. Refinance high-rate informal debt this month
Director loans, personal credit cards being used for business expenses, and short-term tax-bill financing arrangements are all worth reviewing right now. Every additional week on a 20% credit card is real money — eight more weeks until EOFY at that rate adds up faster than most owners realise.
Refinancing this kind of debt into a structured business facility cleans up the books, lowers the cost, and improves your borrowing position for any FY26 applications still to come. The lead time is two to three weeks, which means the conversation needs to start now, not after the BAS lands.
5. Book the prepayment conversation with your accountant this fortnight
Annual insurance premiums, professional subscriptions, marketing retainers, and even some rent can often be prepaid before 30 June and claimed as a deduction in the current financial year (subject to the prepayment rules, which depend on business size and the period of the prepayment). Done thoughtfully, this brings deductions forward and softens the tax bill.
Accountants’ calendars fill quickly through late May and June. The conversation that takes thirty minutes if booked this fortnight will take three weeks of phone tag if left until early June. Get on the calendar now.
6. Tidy your bank statements before applications go in
Lenders rely heavily on the most recent three to six months of business banking when assessing a finance application. Mixed personal-and-business transactions, unexplained large transfers, and missed loan repayments all show up in the data and slow approvals down.
May is exactly the right month to clean this up: separate personal expenses, square off any director drawings properly, and reconcile your accounting software. The cleaner your May statements look, the faster every June application moves. A tidy three-month bank statement is the difference between a same-day approval and a week of back-and-forth questions.
7. Talk to a finance broker before May closes
The applications that move fastest in late June are the ones started before the end of May. A finance broker will assess your full position, model the right structures across multiple lenders, and have facilities pre-approved well before the calendar pressure hits. By the time June arrives, you are choosing between three settled options rather than scrambling to find one.
At Sure Capital, every client works one-on-one with a dedicated finance specialist from the first call through to settlement. The same person guides the application from start to finish, which is why our approval times hold up even in the busiest weeks of June.
The difference between a strong FY27 and a stressful July
EOFY rewards businesses that act in May. Use the next four weeks well, and you head into July with cleaner debt, stronger cash flow, and the equipment you need to grow. Leave it until June, and you are choosing from whatever is left. See if you qualify for a Sure Capital facility today, or call us on 1300 198 514 to lock in your EOFY strategy with a finance specialist this week — not next month.
