Most lines of credit mature five months after fiscal year end. For 12/31 companies that means the end of this month. Before your banker calls and schedules a closing for the renewal, there are 4 things you should know: 1) Did I comply with all the terms and conditions? Was the line used for…
You may have discovered that bankers unintentionally speak a language that business owners have a hard time understanding. I call it BankSpeak. Bankers use terms like liquidity, leverage, profitability, working capital, cash flow, EBITDA and sometimes don’t explain the context or the calculations behind these terms and how they might impact your business positively or…
Trying to get a line of credit? Frustrated with the bank process? You’re not alone. Navigating the banking landscape can be a very time consuming process. There are two questions you need to answer before you start: Are you bank ready? Are you bankable? What is bank ready? Bank ready is nothing more than being…
Trying to get a line of credit? Frustrated with the bank process? You’re not alone. Navigating the banking landscape can be a very time consuming process. There are two questions you need to answer before you start. Are you bank ready? Are you bankable? What is bank ready? Bank ready is nothing more than being…
We’ve had a lot of interest in the prior line of credit (LOC) articles on choosing the right type of LOC and mistakes to avoid, so I wanted to continue discussing that topic since it seems to be pertinent. Watch out for these “gotchas” in your line of credit commitment letter. 1) Your commitment letter…
What is leverage? Leverage is the use of borrowed money to increase sales and profits. It is measured as a ratio of total debt/total equity. The greater the amount of debt, the greater the leverage you have in your business. I think I bring a unique perspective to this topic because for 32 years of…
We’ve closed several commitments for lines of credit, term loans and mortgage loans for equipment and real estate. When reviewing your term sheets or commitment letters, after you go through the borrower, loan amount, rate and fees, collateral and guarantor section, you’ll end up at a section called covenants.
So, you took out a line of credit, but you forgot about the 30 day annual payout requirement on the line when you signed the commitment letter. You don’t have the cash to pay the line in full. So, what’s next? Maybe you took out a term loan for a piece of equipment. Cash flow…
Are you under-banked? If so, you’re not alone. A recent article I read indicated that among CFO’s, being under-banked has landed on the growing list of challenges most CFO’s face. Here’s why:
Bankerese is a language understood by bankers, but is a foreign language to most business owners. Communication is happening, but the business owner doesn’t understand what’s being said or the implications it has for his or her business. Often, we step in and interpret. Here are three of the most important ones to know:
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