Guides
Business funding guides
Cash flow, credit, tax, property security and the costs nobody explains properly. Written for owners who want to understand the options before they borrow.
Cash flow
How Much Working Capital Does a Business Need?
How to work out how much working capital your business needs, using debtor, stock and supplier days, plus a buffer for surprises and growth.
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How to Calculate Your Business Cash Runway
Cash runway tells you how many weeks your business can keep paying its bills. How to calculate it, what to include and how to extend it before it runs out.
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How to Build a 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
A 13-week cash flow forecast shows exactly when cash gets tight. A step-by-step guide to building one from your bank statements and keeping it up to date.
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Debtor Days: What They Are and How to Cut Them
Debtor days measure how long customers take to pay you. How to calculate them, why they matter for cash flow and practical ways to bring them down.
Read the guide Negotiating With Suppliers When Cash Is Tight
How to negotiate longer terms, staged deliveries or payment arrangements with suppliers when cash is tight, without damaging the relationship.
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Surviving the January Cash Squeeze After Christmas
Why January is so tight for many Australian businesses, and how to plan for holiday shutdowns, leave loading, slow payers and the February BAS.
Read the guide Growing Without Running Out of Cash
Why fast-growing businesses run short of cash, the warning signs of overtrading and how to fund growth without putting the business at risk.
Read the guideTax and the ATO
BAS Quarter Cash Planning for Small Business
A practical routine for planning cash around your quarterly BAS: separating GST and PAYG, forecasting the bill and avoiding last-minute shortfalls.
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ATO Debt Options for Small Business Owners
Your options for dealing with an ATO debt: payment plans, funding, remission requests and getting lodgements up to date, and how to choose.
Read the guide Director Penalty Notices Explained for Small Business
What a director penalty notice is, the difference between lockdown and non-lockdown notices, the timeframes involved and why you need advice quickly.
Read the guide GIC No Longer Deductible: What It Means for You
From 1 July 2025, the ATO's general interest charge is no longer tax deductible. What that does to the real cost of carrying a tax debt and your options.
Read the guide Payday Super and Your Cash Buffer: Planning Ahead
Payday super starts 1 July 2026, moving super payments from quarterly to every pay run. What it means for cash flow and how to plan your funding buffer.
Read the guide EOFY Funding Checklist for Small Business
An end-of-financial-year checklist for business funding: equipment timing, the instant asset write-off, tax bills, stock and arranging facilities for July.
Read the guide Are Business Loan Costs Tax Deductible? The Basics
General guidance on how business loan interest, fees and repayments are usually treated for tax, and why you should confirm your situation with an accountant.
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Buying Equipment and the Instant Asset Write-Off
How the $20,000 instant asset write-off works for eligible small businesses, how it fits with equipment finance and the timing traps to avoid.
Read the guideFunding basics
How At Call Business Funding Works
At call funding means capital you can reach when the business needs it. How standby facilities and lines of credit work, what they cost and how to set one up.
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Business Line of Credit Mistakes to Avoid
Common business line of credit mistakes, from staying fully drawn to funding long-term assets, and how to use a revolving facility the way it is designed.
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Setting Up Invoice Finance: What Funders Check
What happens when you set up invoice finance: debtor reviews, eligible invoices, concentration limits, disclosed vs confidential facilities and costs.
Read the guide Documents for a Business Loan Application
Which documents lenders ask for in a business loan application, from bank statements and BAS to property details, and how to get them ready in advance.
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Business Loans for Sole Traders in Australia
How sole traders can get business funding: what lenders look at, personal liability, keeping business and personal finances separate and which options fit.
Read the guide Borrowing Through a Company or Trust: What Changes
How lenders treat business loans to companies and trusts: director guarantees, trust deeds, trustee powers and what to have ready before you apply.
Read the guide Funding Options for a New ABN or Start-Up
What funding is realistic for a business with a new ABN, why lenders want trading history and how property, equipment finance and experience can help.
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Grants vs Loans for Small Business: How to Combine Them
Grants don't need repaying but are slow and competitive; loans are faster but cost money. How small businesses can combine both sensibly.
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How to Explain Your Business Loan Request Clearly
A clear loan request gets a faster, better answer. How to explain the amount, the purpose, the repayment plan and anything awkward in your history.
Read the guideProperty security
What a Caveat Loan Actually Does, in Plain English
A plain-English explanation of caveat loans: what a caveat is, how it protects a lender, why it is quick and what happens when the loan is repaid.
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Second Mortgages for Business: What to Know First
Before taking a second mortgage for your business: how they rank, first lender consent, costs, repayment options and planning the exit.
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No-Valuation Property Loans for Business, Explained
How property-secured business loans can be assessed without a formal valuation, what is checked instead, and why it saves time and cost.
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Prepaid vs Capitalised Interest on Business Loans
How prepaid and capitalised interest work on property-secured business loans, what each does to the amount you receive and repay, and which suits when.
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Exit Strategies for Short-Term Property Loans
How to plan the exit from a caveat loan, second mortgage or bridging loan: sale, refinance, receivable or trading cash, plus a plan B if timing slips.
Read the guide Using Home Equity to Fund Your Business
Should you use your home equity to fund your business? How it works, the real risks, how to protect your family and how to decide whether it is right.
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Funding a Delayed Property Settlement
What to do when funds for a business property settlement are delayed: your options, how bridging and caveat loans work, and costs to watch.
Read the guideCredit and approval
Reading Your Bank Statements Like a Lender
What lenders look for in business bank statements: deposits, balances, dishonours, other lenders and owner transfers, and how to present your statements well.
Read the guide How Lenders Assess Unsecured Business Loans
Inside an unsecured business loan assessment: trading history, turnover, statements, credit, existing debt and guarantees, and how each affects the amount.
Read the guide Business Credit Score Basics for Small Business
How business and personal credit files work for small business owners, what is recorded, how lenders use it and how to check and protect your credit.
Read the guide Fixing Bad Credit Before You Apply for Business Funding
Practical steps to improve a damaged credit file before applying for business funding: check your report, settle defaults, explain issues and use security.
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Why Banks Decline Small Business Loans
The most common reasons banks decline small business loans, how to find out which applies to you and what to do next, including non-bank options.
Read the guide Non-Bank Business Lenders: What to Check First
What to check before borrowing from a non-bank business lender: who they are, total cost, fees, early repayment, security, guarantees and complaints.
Read the guide Personal Guarantees on Business Loans, Explained
What a personal guarantee on a business loan means, who gives them, what is at risk, how they end and what to check before you sign one.
Read the guideCosts and comparing
How to Compare Business Loan Quotes Without Rates
How to compare business loan quotes when lenders present costs differently: total repayable, cost per dollar, fees, flexibility and early repayment terms.
Read the guide Total Cost of Finance Explained for Business Owners
Total cost of finance is everything you repay above what you receive. How to calculate it from any quote and use it to judge whether a loan is worth it.
Read the guide Business Loan Fees to Ask About Before You Sign
The business loan fees that are easy to miss: establishment, line, account, dishonour, default, early repayment and discharge fees, and how to compare them.
Read the guide Getting Off Daily Repayment Business Loans
How to break the cycle of stacked daily-repayment business loans: map what you owe, stop adding more, and refinance into one structured loan.
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When Not to Borrow: Warning Signs for Business Owners
Borrowing is not always the answer. The warning signs that a business loan would make things worse, and the alternatives worth considering first.
Read the guideGrowth and planning
Buy or Hire Plant for a Contract? Run the Numbers
Should you buy or hire plant for a fixed-term contract? A break-even method, the tax catch on big machines and the funding options that keep your cash free.
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Funding a Business Purchase: Structures That Work
How business purchases are usually funded: deposit, vendor finance, property-secured loans and working capital, plus the due diligence lenders expect.
Read the guide Natural Disaster Recovery Funding for Business
How insurance, government disaster support and business funding fit together after a flood, bushfire or storm, and how to get trading again sooner.
Read the guideReady to talk numbers? Send your 60-second enquiry.
Put your business funding on call.
One 60-second enquiry. No credit check to enquire, no spraying your details around, and a real person who actually calls you back.
- $5k to $500kunsecured and lines of credit
- $20k to $5mproperty-secured, no valuation
- 60 secto enquire, no credit check