Guides
Plain-language answers to how business financing works in Canada — what each option is, what it costs, and how to qualify. Written for contractors, trades, and owner-operators.
A working capital loan is a lump sum you take once and repay on a fixed schedule; a line of credit is a revolving limit you draw, repay, and draw again as needed. Use a loan for a known one-time gap, and a line of credit for recurring or unpredictable cash-flow swings.
Read guide →Invoice factoring works in three steps: you invoice a customer, sell that invoice to a factoring company for an immediate advance of 80–90%, and receive the rest minus a fee when your customer pays. It's how a business gets paid before an invoice comes due.
Read guide →The CSBF line of credit is a working-capital line of up to $150,000 added to the Canada Small Business Financing Program in 2022. It's delivered by a participating bank or credit union, with the federal government sharing the lender's risk, and it can be used for day-to-day operating expenses.
Read guide →Freight factoring is how trucking companies get paid faster: instead of waiting 30–90 days for a broker or shipper to pay, a carrier sells the freight invoice to a factor and receives most of the value within a day. It keeps fuel and driver pay covered between loads.
Read guide →Most Canadian business lenders look at the same core things: consistent revenue and bank deposits, time in business, existing debt, credit, and — for cash-flow products — your unpaid invoices. Alternative lenders weigh revenue and cash flow more than credit score, so a strong deposit history can matter more than a perfect file.
Read guide →A bank decline usually means the wrong product or lender for your file, not that your business can't be financed. Alternative lenders weigh revenue and cash flow over credit score, so the next step is to match the product to why cash is actually tight — and to present a cleaner, better-documented application.
Read guide →To get a business line of credit in Canada, you generally need consistent revenue, several months to a year-plus in business, recent bank statements, and a reasonable credit profile — with collateral required for a secured line. You apply through a bank, credit union, or alternative lender and draw against the limit as cash flow needs it.
Read guide →Contractors cover payroll between jobs with working capital or a line of credit sized to revenue, repaid as the next progress draw or holdback lands. The problem is timing — crews are paid weekly while the money comes in stages — so the fix is short-term financing tied to a draw you can already see coming.
Read guide →A few questions about your business — takes about 3 minutes.
See what you may qualify forCrewline is a referral and matching service, not a lender. We do not make credit decisions or guarantee approval. Financing is provided by third-party lenders subject to their own terms and criteria.