Guide
Advances and revenue-based financing are useful bridges. Bank credit is usually cheaper. This guide covers how to make the move when the business is ready.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Short answer: Banks typically want two or three years of financial statements, tax returns, profitability, debt service coverage, security and good personal credit. Work with your accountant on clean statements, record advances properly as liabilities, pay advances down before applying and start with a smaller line or loan to build the relationship.
Key facts
Related: Practical Business Funding Guides for Canadian Owners · Business Funding Requirements in Canada · Documents Needed for Business Funding in Canada · Business Funding Affordability Calculator (CAD) · Funding Readiness Score Canada: Free 30-Second Check
Advances and revenue-based financing are useful bridges. Bank credit is usually cheaper. This guide covers how to make the move when the business is ready.
Banks typically want two or three years of financial statements, tax returns, profitability, debt service coverage and security. Personal credit matters.
They lend on the past year's results, so a business that has grown recently may need to wait for its next year-end to show it.
Work with your accountant on financial statements that show the business clearly. Heavy discretionary write-offs reduce taxable income but also reduce what a bank sees.
Record advances properly as liabilities, not revenue.
Banks look at all obligations. Paying down or completing advances before applying makes debt service coverage look stronger.
If a payoff discount is available, compare its cost with the benefit of qualifying sooner.
A small operating line or a government-backed loan for equipment is often the first bank product. Use it well and grow it.
Ask the bank what it would need to see in six or twelve months.
Even after moving to bank credit, unexpected needs arise faster than a bank can respond. Keep a cash reserve and know your options for a short gap.
Guides like this one are general education written for Canadian owners. They are most useful when you turn them into a few concrete actions with dates, and revisit them when your numbers change. If funding is part of your plan, the same preparation that makes the plan work, clear numbers and a specific purpose, also makes an application faster and stronger.
Merchant Fund Express reviews Canadian businesses in every province and territory. If you would like a specific answer for your business rather than general guidance, send a signed application and your last four months of business bank statements, or call (305) 384-8391 first to ask a question.
Reviewed by the Merchant Fund Express team on October 12, 2026. Official pages checked as of that date.
It is general education. Your file and agreements are specific, so read them and ask questions.
Gather four months of statements and write what the money is for in one sentence.
Yes. Apply once and the file is matched to the structure that fits.
Educational information only. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
