Small Business Guaranteed Loans In Canada : Here’s Enlightenment On This Federal Loan Program

Small business guaranteed loans in Canada, vis a vis the federal ‘ BIL ‘ program often require some ‘ enlightenment ‘ on a handful of issues . Let’s dig in.

Bar none, the federal SBL program is one of the absolute best financing initiatives for a new or existing small business in the SME sector in Canada.

Why then is ‘enlightenment’ required. More often than not that comes in several categories:

Many entrepreneurs simply have not heard about the program

They misunderstand the type of financing required

They don’t know where to go or who to reach out to in order to simplify the process

They think the gov’t is involved (It is but it isn’t what you think!)

Financing options in Canada come typically under term debt or revolving debt (for example – a business line of credit). It’s important to not that the SBL guaranteed loan is a term loan, with fixed repayments at an attractive interest rate. Typical terms are 3-7 years depending on what is financed.

When we talk to clients about federal loans we sometimes get the feeling they are like deer caught in the headlights. That feeling more often than not comes from the issue that they perceive a lot of what we could call ‘ TRANSACTION COMPLEXITY ‘.

We don’t buy into that, as the entire process is in fact very straightforward and well documented. It’s a sensible program that requires that you supply the following in order to get approved:

Business plan/ executive summary
Cash Flow
Information on the owners – (mgmt experienced/ personal credit history, etc)
List of items to be financed
Proof of a business premises lease where the business will be located

Those items we’ve noted allow the loan to evaluated, and if they are submitted completely that should typically just take only several days.

But what about the ‘ government aspect’ ask our clients? The answer we give is often a surprise. While this is in fact a federal program out of INDUSTRY CANADA the reality is that the borrower never meets, talks to, or corresponds with anyone in government. That’s because Small business guaranteed loans are administered by the banks under the direction of the government.

That leads us to the concept of ‘ guaranteed loans’. What’s that all about then? , ask the client. Well here’s the scoop on that. Small business SBL government loans in Canada are guaranteed against default by the borrower for the majority of the loan. Borrowers are only personally liable for 25% of the loan if there is a default issue.

Two other quick points:

The maximum loan size is $ 350,000.00

The only items the program can finance are ASSETS and LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS

If you’re looking for some ‘ enlightenment ‘ on small business loans in Canada as a guaranteed by the government seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of success in loan financing that suits your business needs.