Big order, big deposit: funding stock and supplier deposits before the customer pays

Winning a big order should feel good. Then the supplier’s invoice arrives: a 30% deposit to start production, with the balance before dispatch — and your customer won’t pay until 30 or 60 days after delivery. Suddenly the best order of the year is also the biggest cash problem.

This page is about funding that gap so you can say yes to the order.

Where’s the real deadline?

It’s almost never the customer’s delivery date. It’s earlier:

• The supplier’s order cut-off — miss it and the production slot goes to someone else
• The deposit due date — often within days of the order
• The balance before dispatch — usually a few weeks later
• Freight, duty and handling — if goods are imported
• Extra wages — if the order needs more hands

Write those dates down. The first one is your funding deadline.

How do you work out how much to borrow?

Map the cash by week, from order to customer payment:

Week	Out	In
1	Supplier deposit
4	Supplier balance, freight
5	Extra wages for packing/installation
6		Delivery
10		Customer pays on 30-day terms

The biggest cumulative shortfall in that table — not the order value — is what you need. Add a buffer for a late customer payment. If the customer is a large business, the payment times guide explains how to see how quickly they tend to pay suppliers.

What’s realistic by timeline?

• Deposit due in a day or two: smaller unsecured amounts can be funded the same day; $20k – $250k is possible the same day with property security.
• Deposit due this week: unsecured cash-flow funding for trading businesses, or property-secured loans up to $5m, possible within 24–48 hours.
• Deposit due in a few weeks: time to compare structures, including a facility that covers both the deposit and the balance.

With your purchase order in hand, start the enquiry or call 1300 752 188.

What to have ready when you call

1. The customer’s purchase order or contract — the single most useful document.
2. The supplier’s quote or pro-forma invoice, showing deposit, balance and dates.
3. Your cash timeline — even a rough version of the table above.
4. Business bank statements and ABN or ACN.
5. The margin on the order, so it’s clear the deal still works after finance costs.
6. Property details, if the amount is large or you want a faster option.

Does the order still make money after finance?

Worth checking before you commit. Take the margin on the order, subtract the total cost of finance in dollars, and see what’s left. Most well-priced orders comfortably absorb a short facility. If they don’t, it’s better to know now — and to talk to the customer about a deposit of their own or staged payments.

Can the customer help fund it?

Sometimes. Large orders can carry a customer deposit or progress payments, especially for custom or made-to-order goods. Even 10–20% up front from the customer reduces what you need to borrow. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and asking early is far easier than asking after you’ve confirmed.

An illustrative big order

Illustrative example only. A commercial furniture maker wins an order to fit out a new office: $310k, with the customer paying 30 days after installation. The fabric and hardware suppliers want $92k up front and $60k before dispatch, and the job needs two extra installers for three weeks.

The cash timeline shows the biggest shortfall is about $170k in week five. With the signed contract and two years of bank statements, the business arranges a facility covering that gap and repays it when the customer pays. The margin on the job comfortably covers the cost of the finance.

What if the supplier is overseas?

Imported stock adds its own deadlines and costs, and they often land before the goods do:

• Deposits are usually larger and paid earlier — sometimes at order, sometimes before production starts.
• The balance is often due before shipping, weeks before the goods reach an Australian port.
• Freight, insurance, customs duty, GST and broker fees have to be paid before the goods are released.
• Exchange rates move between the order and the payment, so the dollar amount can change.

Map every one of those dates on your cash timeline, not just the supplier invoice. The gap on an imported order is typically longer than a local one — from deposit to customer payment can be three months or more — so make sure any facility runs long enough. business.gov.au’s importing guidance is a good checklist for the costs you’ll meet at the border.

How do you protect yourself if the customer cancels?

Read the customer’s purchase order or contract for cancellation terms before you pay any deposit. Where you can, align your obligations: a supplier deposit that’s refundable or transferable, and a customer order that’s firm once production starts. If the customer is new, consider asking them for a deposit of their own. Funding a big order is sensible when the order is solid; it’s much riskier when the order could disappear after your money has gone to the supplier.

Say yes to the order

A big order is a good problem to have — as long as the deposit gets paid on time. Asking the Deadline Desk what’s possible won’t trigger a credit check. Your enquiry isn’t fanned out to a crowd of lenders; one team looks at your order and a real person calls you back.

Please make your enquiry accurate — the order value, deposit dates and when the customer pays — so we can match you with funding that lands before the supplier’s cut-off. Or ring 1300 752 188.