We see a trend with small business owners and their need for capital. For most small businesses cash flow is critical and most cash flow challenges come from the difference between their accounts receivable and their accounts payable. Factoring or accounts receivable financing is very popular today as most business do not qualify for a working capital loan or line of credit. The reason for this is that a bank or lender who can provide a working capital loan or a line of credit will need to review two or three years of financial statements to determine whether or not a business meets the criteria. The challenge lies in most businesses not being able to demonstrate over a two or three year period that their business is healthy. Most businesses today can prove that the past 12 or 18 months have been good but that is not a long enough period of time for most banks to use in determining an approval for a working capital loan or line of credit. Working capital loans or line of credit are more affordable and less expensive than factoring or accounts receivable financing but most businesses today are still too far away to qualify. In the meantime, it is worth a business understanding their cash flow challenges to see if there are other ways in which they can address the problem. Using other assets for secured debt might be more affordable or at the very least making sure that factoring or accounts receivable financing is being used properly.
If you have questions about your business and the financing it might need, please do not hesitate to contact us at dylan@bridgecap.ca or www.bridgecap.ca
