Working Capital Financing Ideas You Hadn’t Even Thought Of !

An old article in Canadian Business caught our eye as it focused on Canadian business financing and was entitled ‘ Beyond the Banks ‘. With all due respect to the good folks at Canadian Business Magazine we have some strong comments and additional info on the 15 (yes, that’s 15!) suggestions they had on business financing in Canada. Working capital financing and business financing in Canada is always a challenge; today it’s more challenging than ever.

Let’s cover off some of the business financing info that was shared and hopefully we can provide you with an update and some insightful comments into what is working and what is not from a business financing perspective . We’ll focus in this article on the first 7 of the 15 business financing scenarios referenced in the Canadian Business article.

Angel Financing – We have rarely met clients who have successfully arranged angel financing – at the end of the day this is simply equity and ownership dilution and is often solely focused on high growth scenarios, which may or may not include your firm . The concept of another owner or board member within your company may not be palatable.

The article spoke of ABL – asset based lending – we firmly believe this is one of the best ways in which to achieve unlimited working capital Vis a Vis your growth prospects. Investigate asset based lines of credit, they are viable and they work.

Bridge Financing was also touched on as a working capital solution and it referenced ‘ premiums’ rates and seemed to infer that you only used bridge financing when you are in distress or hyper growth. Again we disagree as a bridge financing solution has proven very successful for many of our clients who are start up in nature or who have significant projects that require a short term injection of temporary working capital.

The Canadian Business article also referred to the governments Crown corporation bank as a solution provide of innovative lending programs. Actually these programs essentially boil down into working capital term loans at fixed rates and Equipment financing.

The magazine also referred to buy out funds, and referenced a global investment in 2004 of 25 Billion. That is little consolation for small and medium sized firms in Canada who require business financing often available only to ‘ the big boys’ via private equity and buyout funds. This really is, in our opinion, a small sector of the market and very UN – apropos from most of Canadian business.

We heartily agree with the magazine when they referenced the Canada Small Business Financing program – the acronyms for this program vary, and they include BIL, CSBF, and ‘ SBL ‘. We believe strongly, and are always advising clients, that this is by far the best program for business financing of assets and real estate and property in Canada. Investigate this program, take advantage of it if you can, it does not get any better!

The final reference in the magazine that we will cover off and comment on is the concept of ‘Factoring ‘. Virtually unheard of some year ago it is fast becoming the hottest method of financing working capital in Canada. Complexity in this form of financing comes in the form of how it works, what it costs, and selecting the right partner firm that matches your overall needs.

We strongly believe that the majority of firms in Canada currently don’t have a handle of their business financing options. We can of course forgive business owners and financial managers as they are caught up in the day to day running of their businesses and the financial challenges that come with that.

When addressing working capital challenges look for options that will help you speed up asset conversion – speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor who will steer you down the right road to business financing success.