Short-term business funding exists for one reason: the money is needed before a bank can move. A supplier wants paying this week, a contract needs servicing now, payroll lands on Friday and a client has not settled. The question is rarely whether short-term funding is the cheapest option, because it usually is not. The question is whether the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of the money.
We fund Canadian businesses on short terms every day, so this page gives you the honest version: what the realistic options are, what each one costs, how fast the money actually arrives rather than how fast it is advertised, and when you would be better off waiting.
What “fast” actually means
Same-day funding does not mean same day from when you start thinking about it. It means same day from the point you are approved, and that distinction is where most of the disappointment comes from.
Here is the timeline a lot of lenders are quietly describing when they say fast. You apply Monday morning. They review your documents Monday afternoon. They come back for more on Tuesday. You send it Wednesday. They approve Thursday. The money lands Friday. Five days, and every step of it was technically within their stated turnaround.
Genuine same-day funding is applying at ten in the morning and seeing the money by mid-afternoon. It does happen. It happens less often than the advertising suggests, and it happens for specific reasons we set out further down.
How fast each type of lender really is
Realistic turnaround times, from application to funds in the account:
- Major banks: two to six weeks. They no longer really compete on speed and do not claim to
- Credit unions: one to two weeks. Faster if you have been a member for years and have a relationship with someone there
- Online banks: three to five business days. Often advertised as 24 hours and delivered in 72
- Alternative lenders: one to three days. The better ones hit 24 hours consistently
- Merchant cash advance providers: same day to 48 hours. The fastest route when everything lines up
For our part, we have funded businesses in under four hours when the application arrives complete. Not every time and not for every business, but when the paperwork is tight and the trading is straightforward, same day is a real outcome rather than a marketing line.
Your short-term options, compared
Four routes cover almost every short-term need in Canada.
A short-term term loan. A fixed amount repaid over three to eighteen months in set instalments. Predictable, easy to budget for, and the right choice when you know the exact amount you need and your revenue is steady enough to carry a fixed payment.
A merchant cash advance. A lump sum repaid as a percentage of your daily or weekly sales. There is no fixed monthly payment, so repayment speeds up when trade is good and eases off when it is slow. It suits businesses taking card payments with uneven cash flow, and it is the fastest option available.
A business line of credit. A facility you draw on and repay as needed, paying interest only on what you use. Better than a loan for recurring gaps rather than a one-off need, though it takes longer to arrange and the qualifying bar is higher.
Invoice factoring. If the cash gap exists because clients owe you money, factoring advances against those invoices rather than adding debt. For B2B businesses waiting 30 to 90 days on payment, this is frequently the right answer and the one least often considered.
If you are weighing a short commitment against a longer one more broadly, our guide to short-term versus long-term business loans works through the trade-off in detail.
What short-term funding costs
Short-term money is more expensive than long-term money, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. The reason is simple: the lender is taking the same risk over a much shorter window, so the cost is compressed into fewer months.
Pricing comes in two shapes, and comparing them directly is where people get caught out. Term loans quote an interest rate. Advances quote a factor rate, which is a multiplier on the amount advanced rather than an annualised percentage. A factor rate of 1.3 on $25,000 means you repay $32,500 in total. That is not an APR and converting between the two in your head will mislead you, so our plain-English guide to factor rates sets out how to compare the real cost properly.
Whatever the shape, ask for one number before you sign anything: the total amount you will repay. Any lender who will not give you that in writing is not one to borrow from.
How to actually get funded quickly
Speed is mostly in your hands, not the lender’s. The single biggest cause of a slow approval is an application that arrives incomplete, because every missing document restarts the clock.
Have these ready before you apply, not after someone asks:
- Six months of business bank statements, downloaded as full statements rather than screenshots of a banking app
- Last year’s business tax return
- Photo ID, scanned
- A void cheque or a bank letter confirming your account details
- Card processing statements, if you take card payments
Two smaller things genuinely affect your odds. When you apply matters: a Friday afternoon application is not going anywhere until Monday, and Monday mornings are the busiest point of any lender’s week, so midweek gives you the clearest run. And if you already have an advance or loan outstanding, say so at the start. It will come up in underwriting regardless, and it is far easier to structure around when it is disclosed rather than discovered.
When short-term funding is the wrong answer
This is the part most lenders leave out, so here it is plainly.
If you are funding a long-lived asset, do not use short-term money. A vehicle or a machine should be financed over its working life, which is what equipment financing is for. Paying for a five-year asset over nine months is an expensive way to own it.
If the shortfall is structural rather than temporary, borrowing will not fix it. Short-term funding bridges a gap between money going out and money coming in. If the underlying problem is that the business is not profitable, an advance buys time and adds cost, and the gap reappears larger. That is a conversation for an accountant before it is one for a lender.
If you qualify for a bank facility and you can wait, wait. A bank loan or line of credit will almost always be cheaper. Short-term funding earns its cost when the bank has said no, or when the delay itself is what costs you money.
And if you already hold an advance, think carefully before taking a second. Stacking advances is the most common route into serious trouble we see, and we have written about why a second advance is usually the wrong answer.
How to qualify
Our bar is deliberately lower than a bank’s, because we weigh how the business is trading now more heavily than its credit history:
- Six months or more of trading
- Gross monthly revenue above $15,000
- A Canadian business bank account
- Credit score above 500
No business plan, no forecasts, no audited accounts. A patchy credit file a few years back does not rule you out.
Common questions
How short is a short-term business loan?
Typically three to eighteen months. Advances repaid from sales often clear in four to eight months depending on how trade goes, because the repayment flexes with revenue rather than running to a fixed date.
Can I get short-term funding with bad credit?
Often yes. We need a score above 500, but consistent recent revenue matters more to us than a clean file. This is the main reason businesses come to us after a bank decline.
Will applying hurt my credit score?
Our initial assessment does not require a hard credit check, so getting an indication of what you qualify for costs you nothing in credit terms. Ask any lender this before you apply, because practice varies.
Can I repay early?
On a term loan, usually yes, though check whether early repayment reduces the interest or whether the full amount is still owed. On a factor-rate advance the total repayment is fixed at the outset, so clearing it early returns the money sooner but does not reduce the cost. Worth understanding before you sign.
How much can I borrow?
We fund from $10,000 to $300,000. On revenue-based funding the ceiling is usually one to two times your average monthly sales, because that is what the repayment comes out of.
Talk to us
Send three to six months of business bank statements and we will tell you what we can do, usually the same day. If a cheaper or slower route fits your situation better, we will say so.
Apply now or get in touch to talk it through first.
Last reviewed November 2026. Figures are illustrative and not a quote. This page is general information, not financial advice.
