Alternative Funding Options (AFO)
Funding by use of proceeds.
A working-capital revolver doesn't look like an equipment loan; an acquisition stack doesn't look like an R&D claim; an export-entry grant doesn't look like a refinance. Pick the scenario that matches the actual capital need — the programs and the structure follow from there.
9 use cases curated at launch
Match the instrument to the use.
Each use-case page surfaces the programs that fit that capital need — ABL revolvers + factoring for working capital, CSBFP + equipment finance for asset purchases, CanExport + EDC for export entry, SR&ED + IRAP + SDTC for R&D and innovation.
- 3 programs · 2 live
Working capital
Working capital is the gap between cash going out (payroll, suppliers, inventory) and cash coming in (collections, deposits). When the gap grows faster than the business can self-fund, the right answer is a facility that scales with the gap — not a fixed term loan paying out long after the cash crunch has passed.
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- 5 programs · 3 live
Equipment
Equipment financing is the cleanest tier of debt to underwrite — the asset itself secures the facility, the useful life of the asset matches the loan term, and the lender has a clear recovery path if things go sideways. That clarity translates into faster approvals, higher LTVs (75–90%), and less restrictive covenants than cash-flow lending.
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- 10 programs · 3 live
Expansion
Expansion capital — a second location, a new production line, a step-change in headcount — fails when it's sized purely on historical cash flow. The new location won't be profitable in month one. The lender needs to see a credible projection of the post-expansion cash flow and the ramp window in between, with the coverage maintained throughout.
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- 3 programs · 1 live
Acquisition
Acquisition financing turns on the combined entity, not the buyer alone. Lenders underwrite the deal on pro forma cash flow, post-synergy coverage, and the buyer's integration plan. The package needs to demonstrate that the combined business carries the proposed debt cleanly — and that the buyer has run the diligence to back the projection.
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- 3 programs · 1 live
Refinancing
Refinancing is rarely just about the rate. The original structure was set when the business was a different size, in a different rate environment, with a different mix of operating priorities. A refi is a chance to reset the structure — term, covenants, advance rate, guarantee scope — to where the business actually is now, not where it was three years ago.
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- 3 programs · 1 live
MBO / buyout
Management buyouts — buying out a founder, admitting a management partner, acquiring the business you've been running — are leverage transactions first and equity transactions second. The leverage stack, the vendor note, and the equity injection each carry distinct economics that compound over the five-to-seven years it usually takes to retire the debt.
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- 2 programs · 2 live
Real estate
Owner-occupied commercial real estate is a distinct underwriting conversation from pure investment-property lending. The lender is looking at two things at once: the property as collateral, and the operating business as the source of debt service. When both are strong, the structure is straightforward; when one is the weak link, the structure needs to compensate.
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- 10 programs · 2 live
R&D / innovation
R&D and innovation projects are the single best fit for non-dilutive capital in the Canadian system. Federal refundable tax credits, advisory-plus-funding programs like IRAP, and project-scoped grants like SDTC and the Strategic Innovation Fund stack cleanly with debt or equity — and the CPA who scopes the eligible expenditure pool can dramatically change the project's effective cost.
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- 1 program · 1 live
Export
Export financing addresses two distinct gaps at once: the up-front cost of entering a new market (research, travel, trade shows, translation, IP protection) and the working-capital cycle of fulfilling export orders (longer DSO, currency exposure, foreign-buyer credit risk). Different instruments cover each gap; the right structure usually layers two or three.
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Use of proceeds is where the structuring conversation starts.
Every lender and grant program underwrites against the use of the money — same dollar funds an acquisition differently than a working-capital line, and a SR&ED claim doesn’t stack with a debt facility the same way a CanExport grant does. Getting the use right before the conversation starts is how a CPA-prepared package gets approved on the first pass instead of the third.