One of Cumbria’s leading independent accountancy firms, Lamont Pridmore, is urging small and medium-sized businesses across Cumbria and the North West and beyond to take a closer look at finances beyond the summer.
While schools will soon break up for holidays, for many businesses in the region, summer is a period of relative hustle and bustle, rather than relaxation, as visitors flock to the region.
Even those not linked to the region’s tourism and leisure industry can see busier months in the summer as they support the local economy or take advantage of the good weather.
Lamont Pridmore says that businesses shouldn’t take this period for granted and must prepare for seasonal trade slowdowns, delayed payments from clients taking annual leave, payroll complications from temporary staff, and depleted cash reserves as the rush comes to an end.
Success isn’t shared across industries either, and for some, the summer can be a period of additional pressure as staff take time off or other businesses wind down.
“We speak to business owners throughout the year who are confused about why they feel under pressure during summer when their accounts look healthy,” said Chris Lamont, group managing director and partner at Lamont Pridmore.
“The honest answer is that profitability and cashflow are two very different things and summer has a particular habit of exposing that gap.”
The pressures vary by sector, but the pattern is familiar across many parts of the economy.
In hospitality, a surge in footfall can mask the fact that suppliers still expect payment within agreed terms, while staff costs rise sharply as operators take on seasonal workers to cope with demand.
In construction, longer days and dry weather should in theory mean more productive sites, but project delays, stretched payment chains and holiday leave among both client contacts and site staff frequently disrupt cashflow timing.
What these sectors share is a mismatch between when money is earned and when it needs to be paid out.
Summer can intensify that mismatch in ways that many businesses do not fully anticipate or lead to a period of confidence followed by a period of relative inactivity.
Late payment is a persistent problem for SMEs at any time of year, but summer can make it worse, as decision-makers go on holiday or accounts teams run on reduced cover.
A new study by accountancy technology developer Sage released this month showed that nearly half of all SME invoices were overdue (49 per cent) in the first quarter of 2026.
For a business carrying overhead through July and August, even a two-week delay across several clients can tighten cashflow significantly.
“We always encourage clients to take a proactive approach to credit control throughout the summer,” said Chris. “As things get busier, it is easy to overlook but chasing payment before your contacts disappear for two weeks is not aggressive, it is prudent.
“The businesses that come through summer in good shape tend to be the ones who have done the groundwork in June.”
The firms that navigate summer with the least disruption are typically those that treat cashflow as an active management exercise rather than something to review after the event.
They use the busier months to build resilience by building consistent habits, such as maintaining a cash buffer that reflects the seasonal rhythm of the business rather than a standard one-size figure, reviewing debtor days regularly and acting early when they start to stretch; having a clear picture of fixed costs across the summer period and communicating openly with their adviser when they anticipate a squeeze rather than waiting until it has arrived.
“There is no shame in finding summer difficult, even if it feels like you should be enjoying it,” said Chris.
“Some very well-run businesses have genuinely tough months. What we try to help clients do is see it coming, plan for it and have the right conversations early enough that the options are still open.”
