Canadian business owners and financial managers are looking for ‘ fight back’ type cash flow solutions for their survival and growth challenges. Let’s examine that from two angles understanding and pinpointing the problem, and then implementing a satisfactory business finance solution for your firm, one that makes sense in the here and now!

While clients we talk to are often very focused on fixing the problem we’ve felt it’s just as important to understand how and why they got there. Makes sense right?

If you step back and take a closer look at what’s going on in your business you will see that the constant pattern of payments and receipts to your firm dictate the need for Canadian business financing at certain times. The cycle typically constantly repeats itself, your company buys goods, generates a payable, incurs costs in creating your products and services and finally invoice generation to your clients. And then you wait!

That’s when we arrive exactly at the crux of the matter as typically at this time your cash shortfall is at its greatest point. All the while your firm of course has payable and creditor obligations, and let’s not forget the tax man!

Now we are getting to the core issue, creating cash flow solutions to finance these needs. We now arrive at a point where many companies ‘ blow it ‘ for lack of a better word. That’s because the obvious solution is ‘ the bank ‘. We can’t count the number of times clients told us they have approached their bank on what we can politely term a ‘ short notice’.

Guess what though. Banks don’t like to lend on a short notice. Quite frankly they are managing their own cash flow issues! Clients simply often don’t realize that at this point in a company’s need for a business finance solution that insolvency risk is at its greatest.

The other irony of our situation as described above is that in many cases business has never been greater for your firm. New contracts, new orders abound! Yet history tells us many companies, small and large have gone under when profits and sales were great, but cash has run out.

Solid and savvy Canadian business owners and financial managers will step up to the challenge this time and learn to plan better for short term borrowings. You don’t want to over borrow but at the same time you don’t want to commit yourself to having excess cash and liquidity. (Although that’s a problem clients never seem to have!)

One of the best ways you can monitor your cash flow needs is to monitor on an ongoing basis changes in your assets and debt. Business owners often don’t realize that the transfer of funds between those two identify the movement of your cash.

If assets go down cash has been generated from the asset, if assets go up you have in fact invested in this asset, and, guess what, your cash has gone down.

In Canada you have a number of available cash flow solutions for working capital needs. They include properly managed bank debt via a solid relationship and track record. Companies that can’t qualify have access to asset based lines of credit, working capital facilities, receivable and inventory financing on their own or together and even monetization of tax credits and purchase orders.

Looking to better understand what business finance solutions makes sense for your firm, and why? Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor to determine your firm’s best course of action.