Guides
Franchise financing vs startup loan: what the SBA expects
Franchise financing vs startup loan comes down to evidence, not products. SBA rules, directory listings and down payment bands decide how each closes.
Archive
October 2026
Rules
No-doc business loans: what lenders waive and what they still require
No-doc business loans still require documents. This explains which records lenders waive, what substitutes for them, and the disclosure and fraud rules that apply.
Guides
SBA 7(a) vs 504 loan: Structure and fit
SBA 7(a) vs 504 loan: compare eligible uses, bank and CDC financing, owner occupancy, and which real estate or equipment projects fit each.
Guides
BDC loan vs bank loan for working capital in Canada
BDC loan vs bank loan for working capital in Canada turns on price against eligibility, with security, speed and sector caps deciding which one fits.
Costs
Business loan brokers vs direct lenders: how fees differ
Business loan brokers vs direct lenders differ in who gets paid and how. Compare fee types, licensing and recourse before you sign a broker agreement.
Costs
Commercial real estate loan down payments by owner occupancy and loan program
Commercial real estate loan down payments sorted by owner occupancy and loan program, with cash needed on a $2 million purchase and the closing costs that follow.
Guides
How the CSBFP, BDC and bank term loans divide Canadian files
Enterprise loan options in Canada split three ways: the CSBFP guarantee, BDC term loans and chartered bank facilities each fit a different file.
Features
Prairie equipment financing and the harvest cycle, explained for Manitoba and Saskatchewan
Prairie farm equipment financing in Canada: how FCC, MASC Direct Loans, Canadian Agricultural Loans Act guaranteed bank loans and dealer finance such as John Deere Financial time repayment to the Manitoba and Saskatchewan harvest.
Rules
Quebec's French loan documents, what a bilingual borrower must check before signing
Enterprise loan options in Quebec carry French language duties. Check the Charter rules, Investissement Quebec terms and both contract versions before you sign.
Features
Seasonal operating lines: Canadian enterprise loan options
Canadian enterprise loan options for seasonal tourism and fishing: how an operating line is sized, backed, repaid, and what the CSBFP line costs.
Costs
EDC and US lenders compared for Canadian exporters carrying currency risk
Enterprise loan options for Canadian exporters: how EDC guarantees, US bank facilities and hedging costs compare when currency risk hits margins.
Guides
Do federal northern loan programs fit Yukon, NWT and Nunavut transport costs?
Enterprise loan options in Yukon, NWT and Nunavut must price freight and missing collateral, because southern underwriting rules rarely fit northern files.
Maintenance
How to test an invoice financier's treatment of your customers before you sign
Invoice financiers are collections partners too. How to test the way a financier treats your customers, how to count the fee, and the five definitions that decide the deal.
Features
How enterprise loan options reprice in Alberta
Enterprise loan options in Alberta reprice off the Bank of Canada rate, margins and advance rates. What resets at renewal and what to renegotiate first.
Rules
Enterprise loan options: 3 checks before closing
Enterprise loan options deserve three US closing checks: written terms, an all-in borrowing-cost calculation, and a documented route for lender complaints.
Features
Running an invoice financing facility well takes a checklist for every stage
Invoice financing checklist for running a facility: what to do before the first submission, on every invoice, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and at the exit.
Guides
Four invented invoice scenarios, and what decided each customer's payout
Four invented invoice-financing scenarios, each with its arithmetic: retention, customer concentration, whole-turnover fees and a disputed milestone, and what decided each payout.
Features
7 things worth knowing about invoice financing rules
Invoice financing rules span four relationships, each with its own rulebook: characterisation, filing, licensing and disclosure, and how to check where you sit.
Guides
Application and repayment mistakes: nine from before applying to after the last payment clears
Nine mistakes in small business borrowing applications and repayment, from shopping with full applications to not closing the file after the last payment clears.
Rules
Invoice Financing Requirements: What to Prepare
Invoice financing requirements: prepare customer records, proof of completed work, reconciled books, contract checks, and questions about facility terms.
Maintenance
Invoice financing decides eligibility by watching your customer, not you
Invoice financing asks whether your customer will pay, not whether you can. One invoice traced end to end, plus concentration, dilution and recourse.
Maintenance
Application and repayment requirements: proving the file line by line
Application and repayment requirements: the named forms and documents, the four reconciliations underwriters run, the pass-through requirements, and the obligations that begin at closing.
Reviews
How to turn an application and repayment offer into one annual cost
Application and repayment: converting any offer into one comparable annual cost with a worked example, the fees outside the quoted rate, and what you actually sign at closing.
Features
Five substitutes make up a complete startup loans requirements checklist
Startup loans requirements: the five substitutes examined in place of a trading record, what evidences each, and the preparation to do before any call.
Rules
Startup loans: lender questions before choosing an offer
Searching “best startup loans lenders 2027”? Use these questions to compare eligibility, guarantees, late-payment responses and offer costs.
Features
Startup loans comparison, tested against experience
Startup loans compared on four axes against equity, customer money and asset finance, with a way to match the instrument to what the money actually does.
Maintenance
Startup loans mistakes: nine to avoid
Startup loans mistakes often start before funding. These nine errors cover loan size, guarantees, lender offers, credit files, and application timing.
Reviews
Merchant cash advances rules: five clauses to check first
Merchant cash advances rules show up in the contract first: five clauses to check, from reconciliation to confession of judgment, before you see a lawyer.
Guides
Startup Loans Calculator: Cost Example, Not a Tool
This startup loans calculator is not an actual tool. It uses an invented loan to explain amortization, an upfront fee, a deferred start, and repayment costs.
Rules
Startup loans: trading-record substitutes and SBA options
Startup loans: what lenders take in place of a trading record, what a guarantee reaches, and the amounts, rates and terms of SBA microloans and 7(a) loans.
Industry
Vetting the broker and funder behind merchant cash advances
Merchant cash advances usually arrive through a broker. Questions to ask on the first call, who to check the names with, and what to get in writing.
Features
One cafe, three merchant cash advances decisions, compared side by side
Three merchant cash advance paths for one cafe: a dated fit-out, a winter shortfall, and a second advance that stacks two holdbacks on one stream of card sales.
Rules
Merchant Cash Advances Calculator: Estimate Costs by Hand
Use this merchant cash advances calculator guide to estimate annualized cost by hand from the advance, fees, payment schedule, and estimated payback term.
Industry
Merchant Cash Advances: How the Contract Works
Merchant cash advances are written as purchases, but repayment terms matter. Learn how factor rates, cost calculations and contract risks fit together.
Guides
Why can't SBA loans lenders be ranked in a simple list?
'Best SBA loans lenders 2027' has no universal answer. Use SBA Lender Match, then score program fit, amount, sector, speed, servicing and comparable price.
Maintenance
SBA loans rules 2027: Where to check for updates
SBA loans rules 2027: Check federal law, SBA guidance, lender policies, and signed documents to understand where current requirements come from.
Industry
SBA loans mistakes, and the fixes that hold
SBA loans mistakes are about assumptions rather than paperwork, and each one sends an applicant down a longer or costlier path than was necessary.