Top tips on dealing with inflation as a CFO in 2026

Overview

After two years of easing, inflation has turned upward again:

• UK: consumer prices rose 3.1% in the 12 months to August 2026, up from 2.9% in July (ONS).
  • On 17 September the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%. Three of the nine committee members voted to raise it.
  • The Bank now expects CPI to reach about 3.75% by the end of 2026 and slightly above 4% early in 2027, as energy prices climb on the back of conflict in the Middle East.
• US: consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to August (BLS). On 16 September the Federal Reserve raised its target range by a quarter point to 3.75–4%, noting that “inflation remains elevated.”

For a finance team, that means:

• every pound or dollar collected later is worth less;
• supplier and salary costs rise faster than contracts reprice;
• customers start looking harder at every renewal.

The good news is that SaaS businesses have more levers than most. Here are five a CFO can pull now.

Tip 1: Collect cash upfront

Move customers to annual contracts and collect the cash at the start of the term. When prices are rising, cash in the bank today is worth more than the same cash in twelve months, and a prepaid year locks in revenue before the next round of cost increases.

Set a target with the sales team. For example, move 20% of monthly customers to annual billing this year, with a modest discount if needed. Even a small shift builds a natural inflation hedge and strengthens the cash position the board watches most closely.

The accounting is no longer a reason to hold back. Some finance teams have avoided upfront billing because of the deferred revenue work it creates. ScaleXP removes that burden:

• it builds deferred revenue schedules directly from your Xero or QuickBooks invoices, for any contract length and in any currency;
• finance reviews the journals before they post, with a full audit trail.

As Madhu, a Xero customer, puts it: “ScaleXP is great in calculating deferred revenue by click of a button compared to manual excel system which was very time consuming.”

Tip 2: Index your contracts to inflation

Add or update the clause. Review customer contracts and make sure every one includes an annual price-adjustment clause. Tie the increase to a published index, such as UK CPI or US CPI, so it’s objective and easy for customers to accept. Many companies add a cap and a floor, so both sides know the range in advance.

Apply it at every renewal. A clause only protects margin if you use it. That means knowing which contracts renew in which month, and checking that the new price is actually invoiced. ScaleXP tracks renewals and upsells from HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive against the invoices in Xero or QuickBooks, and it flags missed invoices, so finance sees exactly where price increases are due and where revenue is slipping through.

Tip 3: Reprice your cost of capital

Why it needs updating now. Every business has a cost of capital: the blended cost of its debt and equity, and the hurdle rate that new investments must clear. For years, low interest rates kept that hurdle low. With Bank Rate at 3.75% and US rates rising again, many companies are still using a number set in a different era.

What to do. Update the cost of capital now, with a rate that reflects today’s financing costs. Then re-test the big decisions against it:

• hiring plans;
• new markets;
• product investments;
• payback periods on sales and marketing spend.

Why it matters for SaaS. Growth that looked cheap at a low discount rate can look very different at a higher one. CAC payback becomes one of the first numbers investors ask about.

Tip 4: Defend retention before customers cut back

When budgets tighten, customers review their software spend. The early signs show up in your metrics before they show up in your cash:

• downgrades;
• slower expansion;
• a rising share of late renewals.

Track customer churn and net revenue retention every month, not every quarter. ScaleXP calculates churn, NRR and GRR automatically from your accounting and CRM data, and breaks them down by customer, cohort and segment, so you can act on at-risk accounts while there’s still time.

Natalie, Director of Operations, found it paid for itself: “Being able to see which of our customers are churning, identifying who we’ve missed billing that month was invaluable, the missed invoices that show as red / churned probably saved us around £100k!”

Tip 5: Reforecast monthly, not annually

An annual budget set in a low-inflation year won’t hold in a rising one.

Rebuild the forecast with today’s assumptions for:

• salaries;
• energy;
• supplier contracts;
• financing costs.

Then compare actuals against it every month, so variances surface early.

How ScaleXP helps:

• it brings budgets and forecasts alongside actuals from Xero or QuickBooks;
• it produces management accounts and PowerPoint board packs from the same numbers;
• the board sees a current view each month, not a plan that went out of date in the spring.

Fraser, a Chief Finance and Strategy Officer, describes the result: “It has reduced our month-end close process timeline by 50%…”

Summary

Inflation in 2026 is a cash problem first and a margin problem second. Five steps help any SaaS business absorb rising costs and stay in control:

• collect cash upfront;
• index contracts to inflation;
• reprice the cost of capital;
• defend retention;
• reforecast every month.

Frequently asked questions