One harsh reality of running a business is that the cash flow from month to month can vary greatly. Some months your business might make more money than you know what to do with and some months your expenses will outweigh your profits heavily. It’s best to have a plan set for the months in which you run into a cash deficit. Below are some tips to help you get through low cash flow months.

Save During Strong Cash Flow Periods

One of the smartest things to do to prepare for low cash flow months is to save up money during months that you have higher-than-average amounts of profit. This is not likely to happen right when you open your business, but instead, happen during tourist season or around the holidays.

Of course, it’s also a good idea to invest extra money back into your business. However, it’s best to wait to do this until you have a healthy padding to your business’s bank account. After all, it’s better that you have money to pay all of your expenses than buying something new for your business and running out of money that you could have otherwise used to pay the bills.

Have a Business Credit Card

If your business has not been established long enough to have extra money in the bank, then one way to cover short-term expenses (that you know you will be able to pay off quickly) is to get a business credit card. Business credit cards work the same way as personal credit cards. The difference is that with a business credit card, you can keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. This can be helpful if your credit score is not great or if you run the business with another person.

Take Out Short-Term Loans

If you know that your business will take a while to be able to pay off expenses during times of low cash flow, then it might be better for you to take out short-term loans, rather than to put your expenses on a business credit card. Depending on the interest rates at your local lending institution versus the rates on your business credit card, you may even be able to save money by doing this.

When your business is in a crush for cash that you know you will recover from, try one of these options to keep your business afloat. When used properly, these tactics can make the difference between your business surviving the low cash flow months and closing down completely.