Preparing for the Holiday Season: How Flex Net-60 Helps You Stock Inventory and Maximize Cash Flow

For consumer brands, Q4 isn’t just another quarter — it’s the quarter. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday season can make or break a year’s performance. But preparing for this surge in demand can require significant upfront investment in inventory, advertising, and vendor payments long before any holiday revenue hits your books.

At Flex, we work with consumer packaged goods (CPG) and ecommerce founders facing this exact challenge. The good news? Our Flex Credit Card with net-60 float and Bill Pay Later products are designed to give businesses the working capital flexibility they need to scale up inventory, increase ad spend, and maximize profitability during the busiest shopping season of the year.

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The Holiday Cash Flow Crunch

Most companies approach Q4 inventory purchases with traditional credit cards. But here’s where they can run into problems:

• Transaction fees: Traditional credit cards often tack on fees that eat away at already-tight margins.

Using the Flex credit card has no fees.

• Short repayment terms: With standard 30-day billing cycles, cash is due before holiday sales revenue comes in.

Flex’s standard 60-day payment terms allow for longer billing cycles.

• Vendor restrictions: Many suppliers prefer ACH or wire payments, leaving brands with limited payment options.

Flex’s Bill Pay tool allows you to pay these vendors using your Flex line of credit without tying up cash flow.

The mismatch between when you spend and when you earn can slow your cash flow and limit how much you can scale for the holiday rush.

How the Flex Credit Card with Net-60 Float Helps

The Flex Credit Card offers 60 days of float — that’s double the breathing room of most traditional credit cards. That means you can stock inventory in September or October and have until November or December (a.k.a. after Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales) to pay it off.

Here’s why that matters:

• No fees: Unlike most cards, Flex doesn’t charge transaction fees for inventory stocking.
• Better vendor terms: By using Flex, you’re essentially extending your own net terms, even if your supplier doesn’t offer them.
• Increased profitability: Spreading out payments means you keep more working capital on hand to run ads, optimize logistics, or double down on best-selling SKUs.

For brands aiming for long-term growth, or even preparing for a future exit, this translates to stronger profitability metrics, which ultimately increase your company’s valuation.

Using Flex Bill Pay for Non-Credit Card Vendors

What about suppliers or contractors who only take ACH or wire payments? That’s where Flex Bill Pay Later comes in. 

Bill pay later gives Flex Credit Card users complete control of their cost of capital, while using their Flex credit limit to finance invoices for up to 60 days. This allows founders and operators to get the best float terms on their spend with Flex, while giving them the flexibility to finance their invoices.

This tool allows Flex Credit Card users to access a line of credit to pay vendors, allowing for maximized cash flow. Utilizing bill pay looks a little like this:

• Works like buy now, pay later for your business.
• Gives you up to 60 days to pay invoices.
• Charges a small daily accrual fee, but you only pay fees for the time you use, so if you clear it in 20 days, your cost is much lower.

This flexibility makes Bill Pay Later a strong replacement for high-APR working capital loans or rigid bank credit lines.

Example: Preparing Inventory for Black Friday

Here’s how an eCommerce brand might use Flex to prepare for the holiday season:

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By leveraging both tools, brands can prepare early, stock up aggressively, and still have the cash flow flexibility to ramp up ad spend when it matters most.

Holiday Readiness Checklist: Using Flex to Prepare for Q4

Here’s a step-by-step guide to making sure your brand is ready for the holiday surge:

Step 1: Forecast demand early

Review last year’s sales data and current growth trends to estimate inventory needs for Black Friday and beyond.

Step 2: Secure inventory with Flex Credit Card

Purchase products in September or October with Net-60 float so you don’t tie up cash before sales start.

Step 3: Pay non-card vendors with Bill Pay Later

Use Bill Pay Later to handle ACH- or wire-only vendors like packaging suppliers or logistics partners while still taking advantage of 60 day float terms.

Step 4: Allocate budget for ads

Dedicate part of your Flex Credit Card limit toward digital advertising—so you can drive traffic when it matters most.

Step 5: Monitor daily cash flow

Use Flex’s tools to manage repayment timing, take advantage of early payoffs with Bill Pay to reduce fees, and stay flexible during crunch time.

Step 6: Reinvest earnings strategically

Once Black Friday and Cyber Monday payouts arrive, reinvest in replenishing inventory and expanding ad campaigns through December.

Following this checklist allows founders to enter Q4 with confidence. They can ensure they have the right resources in place to not just meet demand, but maximize profitability.

Take Advantage of Flex This Holiday Season

Let’s recap — Here’s why businesses choose Flex during Q4:

• No fees on inventory purchases with the Flex Credit Card.
• 60+ days of float to match expenses with holiday revenue.
• Flexible vendor payments through Bill Pay Later.
• Improved profitability metrics that increase brand valuation.
• Support for scaling ads and logistics during peak demand.

For eCommerce and CPG brands, Flex isn’t just a working capital tool — it’s a growth partner for the busiest (and most profitable) time of year.

Sign up for Flex and start maximizing profitability today.