Financial Strategies

The value of having a Plan B should be familiar to most small business owners. However it seems that the concept of contingency planning is overlooked all too often with regard to commercial loans and working capital strategies.

One of the most entertaining and effective depictions of contingency planning can be witnessed in a movie called “Rare Birds”. This movie stars William Hurt and includes a particularly relevant line, “Always have a Plan B”, that is repeated several times. The movie should be seen by any business owner who doubts the importance of contingency plans.

The usefulness of a Plan B mentality is likely to be beneficial to many aspects of running a successful business. For various reasons, however, contingency planning appears to be under-utilized when business owners are seeking new working capital via business financing strategies such as commercial mortgages and business cash advances.

Contingency planning might be under-utilized when business owners are seeking commercial financing simply because business borrowers assume that there are not effective alternatives to the working capital financing they are seeking. As a result, many business owners might believe that it would not make sense to explore a contingency financing plan. A practical benefit of viewing the recommended movie is that it will become second nature to realize at times like this that businesses should “Always have a Plan B”.

Plan B contingency business financing can be viewed as insurance to protect a business owner in the event that something goes wrong with their working capital management. A few examples are provided below.

First, many small businesses have commercial loans that contain recall provisions that permit the lender to review the financing each year. With such terms, the lender can continue a business financing role for some borrowers and selectively eliminate what they consider to be marginal loans by exercising the recall clause. If they do, the borrower will need to pay off the entire loan or refinance within a limited period of time. The best solution for avoiding this possibility is to review current business loans and explore Plan B refinancing options if recall terms are included.

Second, a number of local banks throughout the United States have recently decided to pull the plug on future business financing. When they do so, very little advance notice has been provided in most instances. If a business has commercial loans or commercial mortgages with a regional or local lender, a Plan B should be developed for the contingency that alternative business loan arrangements could be needed in the near future.

Third, many providers for business cash advances are notorious for making unrealistic promises regarding the timing and terms for their financing. To prepare for this increasingly-common possibility, business owners should engage in thorough discussions with a working capital advance advisor before proceeding. Unlike the first two examples, in this case the Plan B approach must occur before financial arrangements are completed.

Fourth, many lenders for SBA financing, commercial mortgages and business opportunity loans are equally guilty of over-promising and under-delivering. This seems to occur disproportionately with local banks. Similar to the recommended business cash advance approach, commercial borrowers should pursue Plan B contingency financing. The ideal timing for discussing alternative commercial financing options is before committing to a specific lender.

“Always have a Plan B” is the connecting theme for the examples described above as well as other circumstances in which contingency planning is appropriate for business financing. The presence of a Plan B mentality is likely to contribute to many aspects of running a successful small business in addition to improving commercial loans.

The Working Capital Journal is one of several commercial financing resources which should be reviewed regularly by small business owners to assist in keeping up with the imposing difficulties posed by rapid changes in the business finance funding climate. As noted below, there have been some surprising actions taken by lenders as a direct result of recent financial uncertainties. The increasingly complex and confusing environment for working capital finance is likely to produce several unexpected challenges for commercial borrowers.

The working capital finance industry has primarily been operating on a regional and local basis for many years. In response to cost-cutting that has permeated many industries, there has been a consolidation that has resulted in fewer effective commercial lenders throughout the United States. Most business owners have been understandably confused about what this might mean for the future of their commercial financing efforts, especially because this has happened in a relatively short period of time.

Of course, for some time there have been ongoing complex problems for commercial borrowers to avoid when seeking commercial loans. But what has produced a new set of business finance funding problems is that we appear to be entering a period which will be characterized by even more uncertainties in the economy. With little advance notice by lenders, previous standards and rules for working capital finance and commercial financing are likely to increasingly change.

With the current realization that substantial changes are likely in the near future for commercial finance funding throughout the United States, business owners should make an extended effort to understand what is happening and what to do about it. At the forefront of these efforts should be a review of what actions commercial lenders have already taken in recent months. The Working Capital Journal is one prominent example of a free public resource that will facilitate a better understanding of the responses by business lenders to recent economic circumstances.

By publicizing actions taken by commercial lenders, this will contribute to these two goals, both of which are likely to be helpful to typical business owners: (1) To assist in eliminating or reducing questionable lending practices by highlighting controversial lending tactics. (2) To help business owners prepare for commercial finance funding changes. Sources that currently include The Working Capital Journal are actively encouraging business owners to describe and report their financing experiences so that they can be shared with a broader audience to assist in this effort. Some of the most significant commercial financing changes reported so far by commercial borrowers involve working capital loans, commercial construction financing and credit card financing. A notable situation of concern is that predatory lending practices by credit card issuers have been reported by many business owners. Because they have been excluded from obtaining any new business financing by many banks, some specific businesses such as restaurants are having an especially difficult time recently.

One of the few recent bright spots in business finance funding, as noted in The Working Capital Journal, has been the continuing ability of business owners to obtain working capital quickly by business cash advance programs. For most businesses accepting credit cards, this commercial financing approach should be actively considered. Business cash advances are literally saving the day for many small business owners because most banks appear to be doing a terrible job of providing commercial loans and other working capital finance help in the midst of recent financial and economic uncertainties. For example, as noted above, restaurants are virtually unable to currently obtain commercial finance funding from most banks. Fortunately, restaurants accepting credit cards are in a good position to obtain needed cash from credit card receivables financing and merchant cash advances.

Business cash advances have become an increasingly valuable and necessary working capital financing strategy for most small businesses. As with any complex business financing, it is critical to avoid certain common problems that occur when credit card processing is used to obtain needed short-term cash.

It is not necessary for business owners to experience any of the credit card financing problems described in this article. We are identifying ten key difficulties that can be avoided with credit card processing and working capital business cash advances.

Business owners should not overlook the substantial working capital benefits which will accrue to their business by effectively coordinating credit card factoring and processing. These benefits will increase measurably if a number of common business cash advance problems can be successfully avoided.

One of the most important commercial financing needs for any business is ensuring that short-term cash requirements are successfully met. The use of a viable business cash advance strategy has become an increasingly important small business finance tool for many businesses faced with a potential short-term cash shortfall.

Most merchants can document their recent credit card processing activity. Short-term cash can typically be obtained via a business cash advance based on future sales volume.

Before employing this strategy for business cash advances, businesses should realize that there are several significant problems that they need to anticipate. Ten common credit card receivables problems that business owners should avoid when employing this working capital strategy are highlighted below.

First, many lenders for these services charge up-front fees. This is a transaction cost that can and should be avoided, and with the best programs there will not be any up-front fees.

Second, many lenders will attempt to charge closing costs. Business owners should realize that this is also an unnecessary transaction cost for business cash advances when dealing with a truly reputable provider of working capital financing based on credit card factoring.

Third, a number of business cash advance programs require collateral. This is an unnecessary requirement to be avoided by business owners seeking credit card financing.

Fourth, monthly fixed payments to repay merchant cash advances are imposed by some providers. The preferred approach is to avoid such fixed payment requirements.

Fifth, some lenders will require financial statements and tax returns for all business cash advances. Such additional documentation requirements should only be necessary for larger working capital advances.

Sixth, some providers impose a fixed term for repayment. This requirement to pay off the business cash advance over a fixed term should be avoided.

Seventh, most business cash advance providers require credit scores of at least 680. In today’s difficult economic climate, this can be a challenging requirement. It is feasible to obtain this kind of working capital financing with scores around 500.

Eighth, many programs for working capital business cash advances require that a business have at least two years of operating history to qualify. While many business owners can meet such a requirement, a more practical standard for newer businesses is a minimum of one year in business.

Ninth, many providers will require up to 24 months of documented credit card sales of $25,000 or more. A more practical possibility for business owners will involve a transaction history with six months of $5,000 or more.

Tenth, for merchants needing larger business cash advances, it is important to know that many programs are limited to a maximum of $25,000 to $50,000. Providers that are better capitalized for this business finance strategy will be able to accommodate an advance of $300,000 and higher.

Can all ten credit card finance problems discussed above be avoided? There are indeed viable credit card receivables programs which avoid all of the obstacles described.

It is not likely that all ten of the obstacles described above will be pertinent for all small business owners. Business borrowers are likely to experience several of these problems if they are considering a business cash advance that uses credit card factoring and credit card processing. For any business owner considering this approach to working capital financing, please remember that it is not necessary to accept any of the ten problems described in order to obtain business cash advances based on future sales.