The Q1 Funding Playbook: Start 2026 with more cash and control

Early funding decisions define the year. We help businesses protect cash flow, optimise terms, and stay in control.

January is a month of predictable cash pressure for many businesses. Year-end activity, slow customer payments, and ongoing operational costs reduce available working capital and create a risk of reactive, high-cost funding decisions.

Businesses that enter Q1 with visibility over costs, funding options, and cash flow have a material advantage.

At Swoop, we help businesses raise, refinance, and optimise funding early, so cash pressure does not dictate strategy.

1. Optimise costs to release cash without slowing growth

Many founders cannot clearly identify their largest monthly costs, which makes it difficult to assess where spending is inefficient or unnecessary.

Cost control is not about cutting indiscriminately, though. It’s about identifying inefficiencies that do not support strategic objectives.

January is the right time to actively review your spending on insurance, foreign exchange fees, energy contracts, and existing debt, which can sometimes feel like small expenses, but collectively (and over time) they add up, and in many cases cheaper alternatives are available in the market.

Key tip: Compare insurance, FX, energy, and debt options across the market to reduce recurring costs and free up cash

2. Refinance expensive debt to cut monthly expenses

Short-term or emergency funding can be the right decision under pressure, but rates change, and many businesses continue paying more than necessary long after the initial need has passed.

Refinancing high-interest debt can significantly lower your monthly costs and release cash for strategic priorities, particularly with newly established Q1 goals in the pipeline. Acting early gives you more options and stronger terms.

Reviewing refinance options sooner rather than later can save thousands over the year and improve cash flow predictability.

Key tip: Refinance high-interest debt to redirect monthly repayments into strategic priorities such as hiring, investment, or expansion

See how much you could save and explore refinancing options on Swoop

3. Pull cash back after paying tax

Many businesses pay their corporation tax in January and wave goodbye to a large pot of cash all at once.

But there might be a smarter way to play it.

Tax and VAT payments can often be financed even after you’ve paid them. You can use smart financing to pull cash back into your business and spread those tax costs over a more manageable timeframe.

Key tip: For growing businesses, spreading tax costs can give you headroom when you most need it.

Explore your tax funding options

4. Manage the Q1 cash flow dip

January is tough, but predictable: slow payments, big bills, and lower revenue all put pressure on your cash flow.

But predictable problems are solvable.

A proactive approach is key. Accessing a line of credit gives your business flexibility to cover short-term cash needs without compromising growth plans. Unlike reactive funding, a line of credit is a flexible solution you can draw down on when needed, so it’s already in place when timing or cash flow shifts, rather than scrambling for more expensive options to cover unexpected bills.

Key tip: Securing a line of credit early often means access to better rates, faster drawdowns, and far less friction for your finance team when capital is needed.

Compare line of credit options and unlock flexible funding on Swoop

5. Fix your budget before it fails you

January budgets often fail not because of poor intent, but because they are built on flawed assumptions.

The most common mistakes we see are budgets that ignore real cash flow timing, rely on best-case revenue assumptions instead of actual data, and treat funding as an afterthought rather than a strategic means for growth.

A strong budget reflects how money actually moves through your business, showing where income is generated, where the biggest expenses sit, and where short term gaps are likely to appear. This clarity helps you plan how much funding is needed and where to deploy it, so you hit projections with control rather than relying on guesswork or reactive, expensive funding.

Key tip: Build your budget around real cash flow and confirmed funding capacity, so capital supports your strategy instead of reacting to pressure.

Explore strategic funding support with Swoop

6. Make growth plans fundable from the start

Every growth plan needs fuel.

Whether you’re hiring new talent, scaling your marketing, investing in new equipment, or expanding your premises, nothing happens without capital. How much do you need? Many businesses plan without an accurate figure, or knowing what funding they actually qualify for.

Key tip: Explore funding early and know how much you need and how much you can access

Explore loans, equity, and grants on Swoop

7. Secure funding early to maximise leverage

The strongest negotiating position is when funding is optional, not urgent. Lenders prefer businesses with cash in the bank, and more runway means better terms. January gives you the strongest negotiating position you’ll have all year.

Key tip: Apply early to anticipate funding needs, not react to them

Get pre-approved funding options on Swoop

Start 2026 at an advantage

The businesses that win the year don’t start richer, they just start smarter and stick to the principles that hold true year round. They fix leaks, reclaim cash, secure options early, and build plans that are actually fundable.

Swoop makes this process faster, clearer and easier. By connecting your business to Swoop’s secure platform you’ll quickly see where you can save, reclaim, or unlock funding. Your 2026 could start with control, not catch-up.