The ANZ deal calendar: why December discounts are rarely about December

Every year, somewhere around the second week of December, the same conversation happens in technology businesses across Australia and New Zealand. A deal that has been "nearly there" for six weeks is still nearly there. The quarter, half or year is about to close. And someone suggests that a small discount might get it over the line.

Sometimes it does. But the pressure behind that discount usually has very little to do with the buyer, and a lot to do with the calendar.

The ANZ selling year ends early

In this part of the world, December is not really a month. It is about two working weeks.

Australian school summer holidays start between 11 and 19 December 2026, depending on the state, and students go back between 27 January and early February 2027 (Kiddo school holiday dates). In New Zealand, Term 4 ends no later than 18 December, and Term 1 2027 starts between 28 January and 3 February (NZ Ministry of Education). Plenty of decision-makers plan their leave around those dates.

Government buyers slow down too. The Australian Public Service Commission says around 78% of agencies already give staff paid time off between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Then come Australia Day on Tuesday 26 January and Waitangi Day, observed in New Zealand on Monday 8 February 2027 (NZ Ministry of Education).

The practical result: if a deal isn't signed by about the middle of December, the next realistic signature window is often February. That is a gap of around eight weeks, and for many sellers it lands right on top of a quarter, half or year end.

Why the pressure is usually yours

That gap is real, but it is mostly the seller's problem. The buyer's year rarely ends in December.

• Most Australian businesses run their financial year from 1 July to 30 June (Xero). For a typical Australian buyer, December is the middle of the year. No budget is about to expire.
• Most New Zealand businesses have an accounting year that runs from 1 April to 31 March (Inland Revenue). Their year-end pressure arrives in March, and the new year is often when next year's budgets are being argued over.
• Government buyers on both sides of the Tasman work to a year ending 30 June. New Zealand moved to a July to June financial year in 1989 (NZ Parliament), in line with Australia.
• The buyers with a genuine December deadline are usually part of groups that report on a calendar year, often with an overseas parent. For them, December can bring a use-it-or-lose-it budget, or a spending freeze.

So when a buyer says "we need a better price to get this done before Christmas", it's worth asking whose deadline that really is. Experienced buyers know that technology vendors in ANZ want deals closed before the break, and some will simply wait for the discount. As our guide to negotiating without leading with a discount puts it, a buyer who learns that prices drop in the last week of each quarter will wait for the last week of each quarter.

What a December discount really costs

The cost of that habit is bigger than it looks. Most renewals are priced off what the customer paid last year, so a discount given to beat the Christmas break becomes the new base price. A 10% discount on a A$100,000 annual contract costs A$10,000 in the first year and A$30,000 over three years. At an 80% gross margin, you'd need about 14% more volume just to stand still on gross profit (Rev-IQ discount cost calculator).

It also borrows from next year. Every deal pulled into December with a discount is one less deal in January's pipeline, and the same pressure returns at the next period end.

How to tell real budget pressure from a habit

Not every December request is a tactic. Some buyers really do have money that disappears on 31 December. A few questions help tell the difference:

• When does your financial year end, and when is next year's budget approved?
• Is this purchase funded from this year's budget, or next year's?
• Who needs to sign, and are they in the office in the week of 14 December?
• What changes on your side if this starts in February rather than January?

If the budget really does expire, a time-bound incentive can be a fair trade, as long as you get something for it: a firm signature date, payment in advance or a longer term. If it doesn't, the discount isn't buying you anything except an earlier date on your own report.

A plan for the next eight weeks

There is still time to close the year well without giving margin away.

1. Qualify against the buyer's calendar, not yours. For every deal you are counting on this year, find out when the buyer's financial year ends, who signs, and when those people are on leave. Deals that can't realistically sign by mid-December should move to February in the forecast now, not on 18 December.
2. Set your concessions before the season starts. Agree approval levels, a walk-away price and a list of things you will ask for in return. Decisions made in the last week of a quarter are rarely good ones.
3. Tie dates to the buyer's outcomes. Give the buyer a reason to sign that matters to them, such as starting implementation in January so they are live before their own busy period, or locking in a delivery slot. Put the dates in a mutual action plan.
4. If you must discount, make it expire. Limit it to the first year, or write the step back to full price into the contract, so it doesn't become next year's starting point.
5. Treat January as a selling month. Not much gets signed in January, but a lot gets decided. Use it to confirm budgets, line up approvers and agree February start dates.

The short December is a level playing field

Every technology business in ANZ faces the same short December. The ones that do well aren't the ones that discount hardest. They know their buyers' calendars, are honest about which deals will close before the break, and come back in January with a plan while their competitors are still catching up.

This article is general information only. School, public holiday and closedown dates vary by state, school and organisation, so check the dates that apply to your buyers. Calculator figures are illustrative. Dates checked 21 October 2026.