Secrets For Success When Financing a franchise In Canada – What Franchise Lenders Won’t Tell You

The dream is becoming a reality . You have selected a franchise in the Canadian marketplace. That franchise is either an existing unit, or a resale from a currently successful (hopefully!) franchisee.

When you are contemplating the purchase of a business the cost and financing of that business becomes a potential major obstacle . Let's examine how financing a franchise works and is done in Canada .Who are the franchise lenders and what do you need to do to get your business financing past the goal line .

We recently read an article entitled 'How to Buy a Franchise With No Money Down '. Lets be clear on that point, that franchise financing is not available on the 100% OPM plan! OPM of course stands for other peoples money, and you should fully expect to make an equity investment or contribution into the business . That is driven from the fact that in business no lender will take all the risk and allow yourself to take none, which seems fair to us!

In your personal finances hopefully you are living within your means, as the expression goes. When it comes to business , and financing a franchise you should have a general sense of the overall cost of the franchise acquisition and whether that number makes sense to you from a personal net worth and owner equity contribution . Bottom line; don’t expect to buy a 700k franchise with a 10k owner investment - that wont work.

So what is the magic number then? Fortunately, or unfortunately, that magic number of your equity contribution seems to have increased over the last several years. We advise clients realistically that they should be prepared to put in anywhere from 25-50% of the purchase of the business.

The bottom line is that a solid equity contribution from yourself equals less debt on your opening balance sheet, and that's a good thing.

We spend a lot of time with clients constructing the cash flow portion of the business plan re their franchise acquisition. That is because your revenues and expense must be accurately reflected, and out of those calculations flows your ability to service debt, i.e. make your loan payment!

By far the most tried and tested method for financing a franchise in Canada is a program that is underwritten by our good friends in Ottawa. That’s the government by the way. A program that is technically referred to as the BIL/CSBF program, (aka ' Small Business Loan ‘) is the most popular vehicle for financing a franchise.

Clients are always asking what qualifications are required for the program. We can broadly summarize them as follows - a solid well prepared business plan, some industry experience ( we don't recommend that computer programmers buy a restaurant!) , a decent personal credit history, and a , relatively speaking good personal net worth, i.e. home owner , etc.

One mistake many potential franchisees make is to think that their franchisor will become a franchise lender. That’s not the case - in case you haven’t figured it out now they are in the business of selling a franchise, not financing your dreams.



Financing is tough, whether you are General Motors or buying your first franchise in the entrepreneurship dream. Speak to a trusted, credible, and experience business financing advisor who can assist you in your franchise finance strategy for success.

Stop Me If You Have Heard This But Isn't Business Credit Still Challenging and what is Asset Based Finance?

It is always surprising to us that asset based lending is still probably less than 5% of Canadian business credit while in the U.S. it accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars of ongoing business financing.

However the trend is reversing and new transaction are being completed everyday in this asset financing category. Canadian businesses who need financing in excess of 250k (the upper limit is almost unlimited) can benefit from this relatively new Canadian business financing strategy.

Clients always have questions as to what the financing actually is and, more importantly, how it works and does their firm qualify.
ABL is simply A business loan secured by collateral (assets). The line of credit, is secured by inventory, accounts receivable and/or other balance-sheet assets, and is non bank in nature .

Lets address the qualification issue first - the reality is that if your firm has business assets in receivables , inventory, equipment , and even real estate those assets can be monetized into a business line of credit that focuses on the asset , not the overall quality or condition of your balance sheet.

We are of course referring to Canadian chartered bank lines of credit that provide a similar and more often than not less expensive form of financing via revolving lines of credit. However most business owners know those facilities focus on balance sheet and income statement strength, ratios that must be met, and heavy emphasis on personal covenants and outside collateral. That is not asset based lending relative to what we are talking about!

Your asset based lending financing facility is secured by business assets. These facilities are typically available through private finance firms that are non-bank in nature. One of two of Canada’s banks offer this type of financing outside their normal business banking, but qualifications and deal size are still somewhat challenging to meet in our opinion .

When you negotiate an A B L facility (that’s the acronym the industry uses) you and the lender agree up front on the market value of your ongoing receivables, inventory, and unencumbered equipment. That collateral becomes the essence of your financing and drawdown capability.

So why is this all different from a bank? The answer is simply - banks have regulated formulaic methods of financing business - in fact many would agree that bank business credit got increasingly difficult to get since the 2008 worldwide debacle.

Finance firms offering asset based lending are not regulated in the same manner, do business in almost every industry in Canada, even those that are deemed ’ out of favor ‘and the management of these firms typically have years of experience in lending against receivables, inventory (yes, inventory!), with the additional enhancement of allowing you to monetize your credit facility by including some borrowing against your equipment for ongoing working capital and cash flow.

Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor in this specialized area and find out how a new financing facility can put you head and shoulders above your competition in overall financing strategy.

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:
http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/business_credit_asset_based_finance.html

Business Credit For Working Capital

Business credit and working capital are consistently one of your firms largest obstacles to innovation and growth in sales and profits. What can be done via either a traditional or alternative method of ensuring your firm has all the financing you need to generate growth? Let’s examine some of those solutions.

You can’t find it if you don’t know what you are looking for. What do we mean by that? Simply that cash flow, working capital, business financing can be sometimes ’ overworked’ ’ catch all’ terms that mean various things to various people. Therefore you must focus on the need first, not the solution. Thankfully those needs can be nicely broken down into several categories as follows: day to day operating capital, immediate growth needs for new opportunities, equipment and asset acquisition, hard asset refinancing.

The easy ’ go to ’ solution is to solicit chartered bank financing in Canada. Companies with strong balance sheets, profits, established history and additional collateral etc can more often than not find all the financing they need with one of Canada’s chartered banks.

That’s easy for us to say, but the majority of clients we meet simply can qualify for all business credit and working capital they need to survive and grow. Typically they have some traditional financing but not enough, or, in a more severe case, do not qualify for traditional bank lending in the Canadian landscape.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going goes the expression, so it is a case of getting somewhat ’ creative’ in your search for working capital .

If your firm has assets and growth prospects we firmly believe you can get most, if not all the financing you need. This financing can be achieved in a number of ways. You can monetize your current assets via a working capital facility for receivables and inventory. If properly set up you should congratulate yourself as you have just negotiated unlimited working capital - because these facilities allow you to borrow on an ongoing basis relative to the size of your current asset investment in accounts receivable and inventory. We referred to generalization of terms such as cash flow, working capital, etc - the lending we have just described is best known as asset based lending, and in many cases can cover off purchase orders and new contracts also.

Equipment financing and sale leaseback financing for new and owned/unencumbered equipment are great solutions to acquire or refinance capital acquisitions. In Canada lease financing is available for all asset and credit qualities for any amount, from 1000.00 to millions of dollars.

Although the majority of clients we discuss working capital needs with are private firms your firm might be public, as a result you might be in a position to consider an equity line of credit, with the equity questions being your stock.

If your firm has revenues under 5 Million dollars and is privately owned you should consider the best financing available in Canada - it’s the government BIL/CSBF loan that is underwritten by our good friends in Ottawa. Loans up to 500,000.00$ are available for hard assets such as equipment, leaseholds, real estate, etc. You can even be a start up and qualify. The financing rate is incredible attractive, guarantees are limited, and terms and structure flexible.

Its always about the bottom line, so whats our bottom line today - simply that you need to focus on what type of financing you need , determine if you qualify for traditional financing, and if you don’t get creative with a multitude of solutions available .

Confused about the Canadian business financing landscape and what and who is waiting for you out there. Speak to a trusted, credible and experienced business financing advisor who will guide you through the maze to what we believe will be the right solution for your firm.

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:
http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/business_credit_working_capital.html

What Computer Leasing Companies Don’t Tell you about Computer hardware Leasing

Because most Canadian business owners and financial managers are tech savvy they are often intimidated and confused by computer leasing companies and computer hardware leasing. We also are always amazed when clients don’t know that computer software can be financed also - not everyone knows or tells you that. If a certain computer leasing company does not by policy finance software, guess what, you have other financing options for that part of your purchase.

You have made the decision to lease of finance your technology, which might include hardware, software, telecom equipment, routers, etc!One of the key drivers in your decision is of course always the tremendous cost of capital equipment acquisition in technology. And it’s not as if that’s an appreciating asset on your books. Have you checked out computer and technology prices - performance goes up and new models come out every year, and price comes down. Other than absolute cost that is of course good news.

What most lease companies don’t tell you is that you have a number of key decisions to make when you lease technology, and their firm might not necessarily be the best one to finance your purchase. Why is that? Simply because financing companies are not technology companies, they are driven by pure return on invested capital. They make money via the actual interest rate on the transaction, as well as the sale of your computers at the end of the lease if you have entered into a fair market lease. (More about fair market leases later)

Other ways in which the lease company makes money off your firm is the ability to lock you into a relationship whereby you become a repeat annuity customer for additional technology financing. Other subtle and minor profit generators for lease firms that you might not know about are:

Interim rents

Pre-pay penalties

Admin fees

Excess use and refurb charges,

Etc!

Let’s move on to major secret # 2 that your computer lease company might not tell you about. That issue is based around the concept that you want to use technology, not own it (Why would you want to own a depreciating and obsolescing asset?). The solution that drives and solves that problem is the previously mentioned fair market lease, otherwise known as an operating lease. That more often than not, for a significant computer lease financing is the best solution for your leasing needs in technology. But guess what; we feel that probably 90% of firms don’t offer that solution, because it involves being a specialist in asset and residual values. Finance lease companies tend not to know too much about the bits and bytes.

Therefore you should ensure that you have options in your lease proposal that identify whether you can finance on an operating lease basis also. It might not necessarily make sense for a small purchase, but a larger acquisition should consider this strategy.

Another significant benefit of leasing in general applies to computer leasing, which is that miscellaneous add on’s can be financed - they include shipment, install, warranty, etc. Not every firm allows you to finance these, most will. And, as we mentioned, don’t forget, Software can be financed!

Investigate carefully the financing of technology - these assets are expensive, depreciate, and you do not want to make an improper financing decision for technology that is driving your accounting, sales and customer relationship data.

Speak to a trusted, credible, and experienced business financing advisor to make sure you know the ‘ secrets’ of computer lease financing.

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/computer_leasing_companies_computer_hardware.html

What If Inventory Financing Lenders Were the Solution to Your Cash Flow Based Financing

Just what if your firm had a significant inventory component and you had access to cash flow and working capital against that inventory investment in working capital that your firm has made.

A proper inventory financing facility in Canada is one in which you can draw down on a satisfactory level of your inventory value and repaid it as you replenish capital via account receivable and cash collections. Your success in achieving a proper inventory financing component in your overall business financing in effect optimizes your working capital to the extent you need to.

How would your overall financial position change with that additional working capital and cash flow? You would then have the ability to take on additional contracts and purchase orders, your supplier relationships would most probably improve, and faster asset turnover of assets and receivable generates faster profits and return on assets. Those are good things.

The main advantage of an inventory financing or A/R financing component is your ability to accelerate cash flow. Let’s be honest, if you were self financing (i.e. no borrowing facilities) and had to wait for inventory to be sold and receivables collected then you are significantly slowing your growth ability.

In the context of the inventory financing we are discussing this financing is not a loan per se - that’s important to understand. It becomes a part of your revolving facility and is simply collateralized by receivables and inventory.

Your inventory financing arrangement is reflected in a type of document generally known as borrowing base certificate. We also advise our clients that it is highly preferable to have a strong handle on your inventory reporting, and also you should preferably be using some sort of a perpetual inventory accounting system.

Inventory is a very generic term, we hate to do it but we complicate things further by discussing with clients the fact that inventory can consist of raw materials, work in process, and of course final finished goods inventory . As a result the valuation of what is financed varies by industry and inventory type. Slow moving or highly specialized product is much more difficult, but not impossible, to finance.

Could you be more competitive and profitable if you have inventory financing at 40-50% of your gross inventory value - we are pretty sure you could be!

On larger transactions you should fully expect some sort of initial appraisal and valuation on your inventory.

In Canada inventory finance is highly specialized, we can almost call it a niche financing. Speak to a trusted, credible, and experienced business financing advisor to determine if this financing works for you. Through that process you should be able to develop a clear understand of the differences between bank financing, asset based lending, which incorporates inventory finance, and purchase order financing if that is applicable to your business model .

At this point you are now in a position to ensure that inventory financing advances are a great way to acquire mfr and carry inventory for orders and contracts you receive.

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:
http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/inventory_financing_lenders_cash_flow_financing.html

Benefits Of Invoice Factoring And Factors That Affect The Cost Of Factoring Receivables

You know the drill - you have all the working capital you need already - unfortunately its tied up in receivables - so how can invoice factoring help your firm and what is the cost of factoring receivables , because from what you have heard its expensive .

Let’s address those issues around the following key points: Exactly what is factoring, what are the benefits for your firm, what does it cost, and how does it work. That’s a mouthful, but your understanding of these key issues could be the first step in your better understanding of one of the most popular methods of business financing today in Canada.

Factoring is the method by which you ’ sell ’ your receivables as soon as you issue them. Selling anything gets you ’ cash ’ and that’s the core premise of factoring.

Do you have to sell your receivables? Of course not - you can wait 30/60/90 days for your customers to pay you - but you’ve been there already and that’s not working! That brings us to the main benefit of factoring, which is working capital and cash flow in an almost unlimited fashion. How can we say unlimited cash flow - well, simply because if you have receivables you will always have immediate cash for them. Cash flow problems solved!

Part of the problem in our clients understanding the cost of factoring is that they view it always as an ’ interest rate ’. The factor firm does not view or call it that - it is a discount rate. They purchase your receivable (either on, some or all of your invoices) at a discount - That discount in Canada is anywhere from 1-3%. The norm tends to be closer to 2%.

Clients will always ask if their firm ’ qualifies’ for this type of financing. The reality is that if you have receivables you qualify, and this type of financing covers pretty well every industry in Canada. There seems to be a number of industries that are always using factoring - i.e. trucking/transportation, staffing, security guards, etc - but don’t be confused by that point - if you have a receivable, Canadian, U.S. or otherwise , it can be financed - or in our lingo ’ sold’ and ’ cash flowed’.

We mentioned the key benefit of a factor facility is cash flow - you can of course arrange more traditional financing via a bank, Canadian credit union, etc. However, that type of financing comes with stringent requirements, including solid financial performance, personal guarantees, other collateral, etc. You can typically qualify for a factor facility in a week or so - the process simply involving a basis application and the documentation to register the facility, in a similar manner that any bank would, i.e. a security agreement on your receivables, etc.

One other key benefit is facility size - at a bank type revolving line of credit you have of course a limit, and you can’t exceed that limit .That concept goes out the window with your receivable financing facility because your limit grows lock step with your sales and receivable investment. That’s true unlimited financing!

It always comes down to cost and the overall pricing of your facility will depend on several factors - the overall size of your receivable portfolio, its credit quality, how your customers have paid traditionally, etc.

We recently met with a customer who advised us that their total all in rate with a Canadian bank, including the rate and fees for all services, etc, was close to 11-12% when you factor everything in. Let’s say your factoring rate was 2% per month. And lets also say you now had unlimited cash to pay suppliers promptly, take prompt payment discounts, and negotiate better pricing. From our perspective there immediately isn’t that much more difference in factor pricing and bank pricing when you weigh in all the comparables.

Speak to a trusted , credible, and experienced business financing advisor who can assist you in determining the best factoring pricing for your firm , and allow you to focus on benefits that you can reap from this growing in popularity business financing in Canada .

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:
http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/invoice_factoring_cost_of_factoring_receivables.html

How to Finance a Film ,TV , or Animation Project Via a Film Tax Credit Film Financing Strategy

We can almost hear the newspaper crier already – ‘Read all about it, read all about it ... No changes to Canada’s film tax credit financing!”

What we are referring to is a rash of recent articles and TV news stories around the U.S. situation regarding film tax credit financing. Politicians in a number of states are waging a full stage war in some cases to abolish the entire film tax credit system, taking away these valuable subsidies that have become intrinsic in financing many non studio productions.

That’s in the U.S. - That is absolutely not the case in Canada. One can argue all day about the merits and benefits the government in Canada ( at the federal and provincial level ) reaps via their non repayable film tax credit grants, which currently are some of the most generous in the world , as well as efficiently administered . We’re not going to get into that argument here – suffice to say that we understand the government to be very satisfied with the revenues they recoup via productions in film, TV and animation being produced in Canada.

Canadian producers and investors are still very bullish on film tax credits, and the financing of these tax credits is part of an overalls strategy to get most independent productions financed and completed in the Canadian landscape, covering all ten provinces.

We stated previously that tax credits in Canada are both available and generous. Canadians producers and owners use the tax credits as part of an overall strategy to finance their productions. It is certainly very unusual that any single project in either film, tv , or animation would be financed through just one vehicle, i.e. all equity, all debt, all tax credits, all pre-sales, etc .Therefore tax credits, due to their generous nature, are a lynch pin in the overall finance strategy for tax credits film financing .

Tax credits were increased over the last couple years, due in part to re invigorate Hollywood North – aka Canada, which was starting to lose productions to Louisiana, New Mexico, Michigan, etc.

Tax credits when properly accumulated, filed, and financed (financed at your discretion of course – you could wait for the cheque!) are a combo of federal and provincial in Canada. The key credit on the federal side is the Production Services Film tax credit, which finances up to 16% of your eligible labor. That credit is further augmented at the provincial level on a province by province basis. As an example in Ontario where a large majority of filming and production is done the rebate comes to an additional 25% of the total budget spend. ( Manitoba has one of the most generous programs – Thirty % all-spend tax credit, or offset up to 65% of local labor costs on projects that start location spending/filming in that province!)

We can be forgiven for sometimes not mention Digital Animation credits which in some cases go up to 42% or more of the total spend . Only several years ago digital animation was a weak sister to the industry, but is gaining significant traction due to the popularly of animation, 3D, Shriek ! Etc. Many major animation productions are done in Canada directly by Canadian firms or offshoots of the well known major animation studios.

So the strategy and recommendation we make to clients is quite clear – understand what credit you are eligible for, select where your production creation or filming makes the most sense ( Manitoba has very cold winters !) and finance your credits as a part of your overall cobbling together of a success and profitable venture in film, tv or animation .

Is a film tax credit strategy the holy grail of your financing? Probably not , but used as one tool among your equity, debt and pre sales strategy and you have a strong chance of pulling of a successful financing for your Canadian venture.

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Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com
Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 6 years - has completed in excess of 45 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details:
http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/tax_credits_film_film_tax_credit.html