The market is accelerating and slowing down at the same time. What does this mean for company liquidity?

Some data points to a slowdown in retail sales, other figures show weaker industrial momentum, while the construction sector shows signals that may indicate greater activity in the coming months. On top of that, service companies may be receiving new orders, but still have to wait for payments from clients.

For business owners, this means one thing: it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage a company based only on the general feeling that "the market is growing" or "the market is slowing down". In practice, different parts of the economy are now moving at different speeds. One industry is limiting purchases, another is preparing for new projects, and a third has a full calendar, but growing pressure on cash.

In this environment, financial liquidity is no longer just a safeguard for more difficult months. It becomes a decision-making tool: can the company accept a larger order, buy materials, enter a new contract, hire subcontractors, or calmly wait for payment from a contractor?

The market no longer sends one simple signal

The latest Statistics Poland data on retail sales in April 2026 clearly shows that the economy cannot be described with one simple sentence today. In April 2026, retail sales at constant prices were 1.3% higher than a year earlier, but 0.8% lower than in March. After eliminating the impact of seasonal factors, sales were 2.8% lower than in the previous month. This is an important signal for retail and service companies. Even if sales remain positive year over year, the month-on-month picture may be weaker. For entrepreneurs, this means greater caution when planning inventory, sales campaigns, hiring and day-to-day expenses.

A similar picture can be seen in industry. According to Statistics Poland data on sold production of industry in April 2026, sold production of industry was 3.1% higher than a year earlier, but 7.4% lower than in March. This shows that positive year-on-year growth does not always mean a stable month-to-month rhythm. The signals in construction are also not clear-cut. According to Statistics Poland calendar releases from May 2026, between January and April 2026, fewer apartments were completed than a year earlier and fewer construction projects were started, but the number of apartments for which building permits were granted or construction notifications with a building design were submitted increased by 15.8%. This may mean that part of the activity is only preparing to enter the execution phase.

This is also accompanied by a broader trend of supply chain restructuring. According to Capgemini’s report on reindustrialization in Europe and the US, companies in Europe and the US are increasingly choosing more diversified reindustrialization strategies, adjusted to region and risk. In continental Europe, 64% of organizations point to friendshoring as an important direction, meaning moving production and supply closer to allied countries. Such a shift may strengthen business resilience, but it also requires capital, planning and better cost control.

This is not a market that simply grows or declines. It is a market in which business owners need to look at the details: their own orders, payment terms, inventory, execution costs and actual cash available in the account.

Why does this environment make planning more difficult?

In a stable environment, it is easier to build a simple plan. A company knows approximately how much it will sell, when it will issue invoices, when it will receive payments and what costs it will need to cover along the way. When the market sends mixed signals, this pattern becomes more complicated. A company may see stronger interest in one month, weaker demand in the next, rising supplier-side costs and longer waiting times for client payments. These phenomena may happen at the same time.

The problem is therefore not only the lack of sales. The problem is the lack of certainty as to whether revenues will appear at the same time as the company needs to settle its own liabilities. For example, a construction company may be preparing for a larger number of projects, but first it needs to pay for materials, transport and subcontractors. A marketing agency may win a tender, but before it issues the final invoice, it needs to pay for the team’s work and production. A retail company may stock up for the season, but sales may be spread out differently than the forecast assumed.

On paper, everything may look good. In practice, the key question is: does the company have access to cash exactly when it really needs it?

Delayed payments continue to block company cash

There is one more factor added to market uncertainty: payment terms. According to the Coface Payment Survey in Poland 2026, in 2025, 64% of surveyed companies in Poland experienced payment delays, while the average payment term increased from 46.2 days in 2024 to 54.1 days. This is a very practical problem for SMEs. A company may have sales, issued invoices and signed agreements, but the money is still not available in its account. At the same time, it needs to pay salaries, contributions, taxes, suppliers, subcontractors, leases, tools and operating costs.

Data from BIG InfoMonitor and BIK shows that at the end of 2025, overdue company debt exceeded PLN 45 billion and affected more than 309,000 entities. This does not mean that every company has a solvency problem. However, it shows the scale of pressure that appears when payments do not arrive in a predictable rhythm.

That is why, in the current environment, sales are not the only thing that matters. Control over when money actually flows into the company is becoming increasingly important. An invoice alone does not improve liquidity if the payment term is far away and the contractor is additionally late. In such situations, B2B factoring may help release funds from an issued invoice faster, instead of waiting until the end of the payment term.

Liquidity is not only protection against a crisis

Financial liquidity is often associated with an emergency situation: a company has a problem, so it looks for financing. This view is too narrow. In the current conditions, liquidity is also a tool of flexibility. It allows companies to react faster to opportunities and move more calmly through uneven months. A company that has control over cash flow can consciously decide whether to accept a larger contract, wait with an investment, finance inventory, or secure funds for subcontractors.

This is especially important for SMEs, where even a well-functioning business may have a limited buffer. A few postponed payments, a larger order of materials, or a longer settlement period with a contractor can quickly change the situation in the company’s account. That is why information about revenue growth alone is not enough. A company should know how much money it actually has available, how much is waiting in receivables, which invoices it needs to pay in the coming days, and which costs will appear before the client’s payment arrives.

When should a company take a closer look at liquidity?

The warning signal does not have to be a lack of money in the account. Smaller symptoms often appear earlier and show that the company is starting to finance its operations under growing pressure. It is worth taking a closer look at liquidity when:

● the value of issued but unpaid invoices is growing,
● contractors are extending payment terms,
● the company needs to incur higher costs before the project is completed,
● new orders require purchasing materials or stocking up,
● subcontractors need to be paid earlier than the client pays the company,
● revenues are growing, but cash in the account is not increasing proportionally,
● the company makes decisions "by feel", without a full picture of costs and payments.

In such situations, profitability is not always the problem. Sometimes the company is earning money, but cash is frozen in invoices, contracts, inventory, or execution costs. If the problem concerns a larger project, contract financing may be a solution, helping cover execution costs before the company receives full payment from the contractor.

How can financing help a company react faster?

Well-matched financing does not have to be a response to a crisis. It can be a way to maintain the pace of operations when the company has real revenues, contracts, or invoices, but needs money earlier.

For invoices with deferred payment terms, factoring for companies may be a solution. The company does not need to wait until the end of the payment term, but can gain faster access to funds from the invoice. For a larger project or contract, contract financing may be helpful. Especially when the company knows that funds from the contractor will arrive later, but execution costs need to be covered now.

For broader growth plans, a growth loan may be a good fit. This solution is designed for companies that need capital to increase their scale of operations, invest, place a larger order, stock up, or prepare for the next stage of business.

The most important thing, however, is that financing should respond to a specific need. Not every company needs the same product. The situation of an entrepreneur waiting for payment from an invoice is different from that of a company executing a contract over several months, and different again from a business that needs capital for growth. The starting point should be the company’s real situation: revenues, costs, payment terms, receivables, liabilities and the purpose of financing.

Financial data is just as important as access to capital

Financing alone does not solve everything if the company does not see its financial situation in real time. That is why, in liquidity management, the ability to obtain funds is not the only thing that matters. Control over invoices, costs, documents and payment deadlines is just as important. A company should know which invoices have already been issued, which are waiting to be paid, what costs have been added to the system and what the current cash flow looks like.

This is where PaveNow CFO Suite helps. The platform organizes financial documents, sales invoices, costs, payment statuses and approval workflows. As a result, entrepreneurs do not need to base decisions only on the account balance or manually updated spreadsheets. Better financial visibility helps identify faster whether a problem may appear in a week, two weeks, or a month. And this gives time to react: talk to a contractor, postpone an expense, secure financing, or change the order of actions.

In practice, cost control and quick access to financial information can be just as important as obtaining additional capital.

In an uneven market, the winner is the one who sees their situation faster

Today’s market does not give companies one simple message. Retail may slow down after a stronger month, industry may grow more slowly than before, construction may prepare new investments, and project-based services may have orders, but still struggle with timely cash inflow.

For SMEs, this means that financial decisions need to be made closer to data, not only intuition. Sales alone are not enough if the company does not know when the money will actually reach the account and what costs need to be incurred earlier. Financial liquidity is no longer only protection against a difficult moment. It is a condition for operating efficiently in a market that accelerates and slows down at the same time.