You are a Canadian business owner and financial manager looking for info and guidance on a business asset based loan. What is asset based loan financing, sometimes called cash flow factoring – how does it work, and why could it be the best solution for your firm’s working capital challenges.
Let’s cover off the basics and find out how you can benefit form this relatively speaking new form of asset financing in Canada.
A good start is to always understand and cover off some basics around what this type of financing is. Simply speaking the facility is a loan arrangement that is drawn down and repaid regularly based on your receivables, inventory, and, if required, equipment and real estate should your firm possess those assets also.
By collateralizing your assets you in effect create an ongoing borrowing base for all your assets – this feasibility then fluctuate on a daily basis based on invoices you generate, inventory you move, and cash you collect from customers. When you need more working capital you simply draw down on initial funds as covered under your asset base.
Your probably can already see the advantage, which is simply that if you have assets you have cash. Your receivables and inventory, as they grow, in effect provide you with unlimited financing.
Unlike a Canadian chartered bank financing your business asset based loan financing in effect has no cap. The alternative facility for this type of working capital financing is of course a Canadian chartered bank line of credit – that facility always comes with a cap and stringent requirements re your balance sheet and income statement quality and ratios, as well as performance covenants and personal guarantees and outside collateral. So there is a big difference in the non bank financing we have table for your consideration.
Your asset based lender works with you to manage the facility – and you are required to regularly report on your levels of A/R and inventory, which are the prime underpinnings of the financing.
Smaller firms use a particular subset of this financing, often called factoring or cash flow factoring. This specific type of financing is less transparent to your customers, as the cash flow factor might insist on verifying your invoices with customers, etc. A true asset based loan financing is usually transparent to your customers, which is the way you want it to be – You bill and collect our own invoices.
If our facility provides you with unlimited working capital then why have you potentially not heard of it and why aren’t your competitors using it. Our clients always can be forgiven for asking that question. The reality is that in the U.S. this type of financing is a multi billion dollar industry, it has gained traction in Canada, even more so after the financial meltdown of 2008. Some of Canada’s largest corporations use the financing. And if your firm has working capital assets anywhere from 250k and up you are a candidate. Larger facilities are of course in the many millions of dollars.
The Canadian asset based financing market is very fragmented and has a combo of U.S., international and Canadian asset finance lenders. They have varying appetites for deal size, how the facility works on a daily basis, and pricing, which can be competitive to banks or significantly higher.
Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor and determine if the advantages of business asset based loan financing work for your firm. They have the potential of accelerating cash flow, giving you cash all the time when you need it ( assuming you have assets ) and essentially liquefying and monetizing your current assets to provide constant cash flow, and that’s what its all about.
