The Manufacturing BAS Squeeze (2026): The 14-Day Bridge Plan

Manufacturing BAS squeeze 14-day bridge plan for businesses | Switchboard Finance

🏭 manufacturing · BAS squeeze · 14-day bridge plan · Business Owners Finance Hub · 2026

The Manufacturing BAS Squeeze (2026): The 14-Day Bridge Plan (LOC vs WCL vs Invoice Finance)

The worst cashflow moment for many manufacturers isn’t a bad month — it’s the two weeks BAS lands on top of payroll and supplier runs. This is a practical 14-day bridge plan so you choose the right facility based on your cashflow behaviour (invoices, inventory, wage weeks).

If you want the quick baseline first, read: 11 Signs Your Business Is Ready for Asset Finance in 2025. Then use the decision table below to pick the cleanest bridge.

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1) What the “BAS squeeze” actually is (10–14 days)

The squeeze is a timing stack: BAS payment due + payroll week + supplier orders (often before your customer payments arrive). Your bank balance looks “fine” over a month — but ugly over a fortnight.

Fast self-check (pick the one that matches you)

• Invoices bottleneck: you’ve shipped work, but payment is 14–45 days away
• Inventory bottleneck: materials land now, but finished goods sell later
• Payroll bottleneck: wages hit weekly/fortnightly and you need a buffer

Real-life example: A packaging shop had strong monthly revenue, but a BAS due date hit on the same week as wages and a large supplier run. The month was profitable — the fortnight was not.

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2) The facility-choice decision (pick based on behaviour)

Don’t choose “whatever approves.” Choose what matches the behaviour of the hole. If the hole is timing on invoices, a cashflow line behaves differently than a stock-funded buffer.

Your bottleneck	What’s happening	Best-fit bridge	Most common mistake
Invoices	Cash is “in the ledger” but not in the bank yet	Invoice Finance (turn receivables into cashflow)	Taking a buffer facility when the real issue is slow debtor timing
Inventory	Materials paid now, finished goods convert later	Working Capital Loans (short-window buffer)	Under-sizing the buffer and repeating the squeeze every BAS
Payroll weeks	Wages hit before customer receipts clear	LOC / revolving buffer (small limit, frequent draw/repay)	Using long-term debt to solve a 2-week timing problem

Real-life example: A manufacturer kept “patching” payroll weeks with ad-hoc short-term fixes. Once they matched the facility to the behaviour (revolving buffer vs invoice timing), the squeeze stopped recurring.

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3) The 14-day bridge plan (day-by-day)

This plan is about sequencing: stop surprise outflows, map the gap, then choose the simplest bridge. Keep it tight — lenders move faster when the story is simple.

Day 0–14 checklist (simple, practical)

• Day 0–1: list the next 14 days of outflows (BAS, wages, supplier runs)
• Day 1–2: list the next 14 days of inflows (which invoices actually land)
• Day 2–3: circle the “gap days” (when outflows beat inflows)
• Day 3–5: pick the bridge based on behaviour (invoices vs stock vs payroll)
• Day 5–10: submit a clean pack (avoid “pending” loops)

Consequence if you skip the plan: you’ll treat every BAS like an emergency — and the facility choice becomes reactive, not optimal.

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4) How to keep approvals clean (without turning it into a 30-day project)

The goal is “clear enough to approve fast.” One-page numbers beat ten pages of narrative. If you’re already using equipment finance, keep it tidy — don’t let a messy bridge impact your broader funding story.

If you need a fast baseline for packaging (especially when using low-doc structures alongside a cashflow bridge), use: Low Doc Asset Finance.

3 things that stop “pending” (and why)

• One clear gap number: lenders can size quickly (no guessing)
• One explanation sentence: “BAS + payroll + supplier run inside 14 days”
• One simple plan: how the facility is repaid (invoices landing / stock cycle normalising)

Real-life example: A shop submitted “we need cash” with no 14-day view and got stuck in questions. A single-page gap plan would have avoided the delay.

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5) When the squeeze is a symptom (not a one-off)

If the squeeze repeats every quarter, it usually means your operating cycle is mismatched: supplier terms, stock turns, and debtor days aren’t aligned. In that case, the “bridge” becomes a system.

If you ignore the root cause, the consequence is you keep paying urgency costs. A good starting lens is: 7 Business Costs You Can Finance (so you stop funding operational spikes with the wrong product).

Real-life example: A manufacturer had a predictable wage-week squeeze because customers paid late. Once invoice timing was addressed, the “BAS crisis” disappeared.

Summary

The 14-day BAS squeeze is a timing stack — BAS + payroll + supplier runs inside a fortnight. The fix is not “more debt,” it’s matching the facility to the behaviour (invoices vs inventory vs payroll weeks).

The consequence of choosing the wrong bridge is predictable: repeat squeezes, under-sized buffers, and approval delays from unclear packaging. If you want a clean starting point for settlement-style timing discipline, read What Is a Payout Figure? and apply that same “sequence-first” thinking to your 14-day plan.

Talk to a Broker Check Eligibility

FAQ

Timing Why does BAS feel fine monthly but painful over 10–14 days? +

Invoices When does invoice finance make more sense than a buffer facility? +

Stock What if the squeeze is caused by inventory and supplier runs? +

Payroll How big should a payroll-week buffer be? +

Speed What’s the fastest way to avoid “pending” delays for a 14-day bridge? +

Disclaimer: This content is general information only and isn’t financial, legal, or tax advice.