Funding purpose
Business finance for cash flow finance
Most cash-flow problems are timing problems, not profit problems. The right facility matches the shape of the gap rather than simply filling it.
Cash flow finance is short-term business funding that covers the gap between paying costs and receiving revenue, used for wages, suppliers and tax rather than for buying assets.
A business can be genuinely profitable and still run out of money, because costs are paid on one schedule and revenue arrives on another. Wages every fortnight, suppliers at thirty days, BAS every quarter, customers whenever they get to it. Growth makes this worse rather than better: every extra job ties up more cash in wages and materials before it produces an invoice. Understanding which of these is actually causing the shortfall determines which product fits, and it is worth ten minutes of diagnosis before any application.
The honest caution is that cash flow finance solves timing, not losses. If a business is not making money, borrowing to cover the shortfall postpones the problem and adds a repayment to it. A good broker will say so. Where the gap is genuinely structural — you invoice on 45-day terms and always will — a revolving or receivables-based facility fits better than a term loan, because the problem recurs every month rather than once.
The cash-flow pattern we plan around
Costs falling due weekly or fortnightly against revenue arriving on 30–60 day terms, with the gap widening as the business grows.
What cash flow finance typically fund
- Wages and superannuation between invoice payments
- Supplier and trade accounts falling due
- BAS, PAYG and quarterly tax obligations
- Bridging a seasonal trough
Documents lenders usually ask cash flow finance for
- ABN, GST registration and 6–12 months of bank statements
- Aged receivables and payables reports
- Most recent BAS lodgements
Finance options for cash flow finance
Business line of credit for cash flow finance
A line of credit is the best general answer to a recurring gap. You draw what you need, repay when money comes in, and pay interest only on the drawn balance.
Invoice finance for cash flow finance
Where the gap is caused specifically by customers taking 45 days to pay, invoice finance addresses the cause directly. Each invoice is advanced when issued, so the cash arrives with the work rather than months later.
Unsecured business loan for cash flow finance
A term loan suits a one-off, quantifiable gap: a quarterly BAS that landed larger than expected, a slow month after losing a contract, or the working capital needed to service a big new order. You know the amount, the repayment and the end date.
Business overdraft for cash flow finance
An overdraft attaches to your trading account and simply lets it go below zero to an approved limit, which makes it the least administratively demanding option — no drawdown requests, no separate account. Bank overdrafts are usually the cheapest revolving money available, though they are also the slowest to arrange and generally want security and full financials.
Merchant cash advance for cash flow finance
A merchant cash advance repays as a fixed percentage of daily card takings, so the repayment falls automatically when trade is quiet. For a business with genuine daily revenue variability that flexibility has real value.
Trade finance for cash flow finance
Importers face the longest cash-flow gap of all: pay the overseas supplier at shipment, wait six weeks for arrival, then sell on terms. Trade finance settles the supplier and gives you 90 to 150 days, effectively covering the entire cycle.
Lenders active in this space
ScotPac, Moneytech, Prospa, Banjo — among others on our panel of 18+. Your broker checks fit before anything is submitted.
Key terms
Cash flow finance
Cash flow finance is short-term lending used to cover operating costs during the gap between outgoings and incoming revenue, typically repaid within twelve months and not used to purchase assets.
Structural versus one-off gap
A structural gap recurs every trading cycle because of payment terms, and suits a revolving facility; a one-off gap arises from a single event and suits a term loan with a defined end date.