SME finance · Australia
Finance for businesses that already run on numbers
Working capital facilities, bank-debt refinancing and funding for acquisitions, buy-outs and succession — structured for established SMEs turning over roughly $1m to $50m.
- $20k – $5m property-secured
- No credit check to enquire
- One specialist on your file
Terms of engagement
Three things we commit to before we see a single number
No credit check to enquire
Asking what's possible leaves your credit file untouched. A credit check only comes up once you've chosen to proceed with a specific facility.
No spray-and-pray
Your numbers aren't broadcast to a panel of lenders. One specialist reviews the file and approaches the right funder for the structure.
A specialist, not a queue
A real person reads your enquiry and calls to understand the balance sheet behind it. Accurate form answers let us match you properly first time.
Contents
Where does your question sit?
Most enquiries fall into one of three files: funding day-to-day operations, funding a transaction, or dealing with the bank debt you already have.
01
Facilities
Working capital facilities, lines of credit, property-backed and second-ranking loans for Australian SMEs — how each is structured, sized and repaid.
- Working capital facility
- Business line of credit
- Property-backed loans
- Second-ranking facility
- Debtor finance alternatives
- Import stock funding
- Caveat loans
- Capex funding
02
Transactions
Business acquisition finance, management buy-outs, succession and partner exits for Australian SMEs — deal structures, security and settlement timing.
- Acquisition finance
- Management buy-out
- Succession funding
- Partner buy-out loans
- Earn-out funding
- Settlement bridging
- Contract mobilisation
- Expansion capital
03
Bank debt
Refinance business debt, handle a covenant breach, annual review or overdraft cut, and respond when your bank won't renew — options for Australian SMEs.
- Refinance business debt
- Covenant breach
- Annual bank review
- Overdraft limit reduced
- Bank won't renew
- Bank wants more security
- Consolidate business debt
- ATO debt
The growth problem
Profitable, growing — and short of cash
Working capital scales with turnover. Hold the cycle steady at 74 days and every extra dollar of sales drags roughly twenty cents into debtors and stock before it comes back as cash. That's why a healthy, growing company can hit its overdraft limit in its best year.
The fix is rarely one lever. Tighter collection terms, leaner stock and better supplier terms each release cash; a properly sized working capital facility funds the part of the cycle you can't compress. If your bank's limit hasn't moved while turnover has, read what to do when an overdraft stops keeping pace.
Talk through your cycle →Process
From enquiry to settlement, in four moves
- 01
Brief us in a minute
Amount, purpose, turnover, state and whether property is available. No credit check at this point.
- 02
A specialist calls
We talk through the balance sheet, existing lenders and timing — the context a form can't carry.
- 03
Structure, then documents
You see the proposed structure, security and all-in cost first. Documents are requested only if you proceed.
- 04
Settle and fund
Funds go to your account, the vendor, the ATO or the outgoing lender — wherever the deal needs them.
Reading the signals
What your bank said, and what it usually means
Bank language is careful. Here's how we translate the most common messages established businesses bring to us.
Guides
Briefing notes for owners and finance leads
Ratios, forecasts, concentration risk and year-end — the topics that decide how a lender reads your business.
Debt Service Cover Ratio: How Lenders Test Your Numbers
DSCR, ICR and leverage explained the way a credit analyst calculates them — with the adjustments that change the answer.
Overtrading: Warning Signs When Growth Eats Your Cash
Why profitable, fast-growing businesses run out of cash — and the numbers that warn you months ahead.
How to Write a Business Loan Proposal Lenders Read
A ten-page structure that answers the credit analyst's questions before they're asked.
Customer Concentration Risk: How Lenders See Big Clients
Why a single large customer changes how lenders, buyers and ledger funders read your business — and what to do about it.
Prepare a Business for Sale: A Finance-Led 3-Year Plan
The buyer's lender will decide much of your price. Here's how to prepare for their questions years before you sell.
Your 30 June Balance Sheet and Next Year's Borrowing
The year-end snapshot drives your annual review and every application for the next 12 months. Here's what lenders look at first.
Who we work with
Owners, finance directors and their accountants
- Wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors whose cash is tied up in stock and debtors
- Service firms with long lock-up on work in progress and invoices
- Buyers of a competitor, a supplier or a founder's business
- Management teams and family successors taking over from an owner
- Businesses whose bank has tightened terms, cut limits or declined to renew
Accountants and advisers are welcome to enquire on a client's behalf. The more accurately the form reflects the position — amount, security, existing debt — the faster we can say whether we can help.
Questions finance leads ask first
What size of business does SME Business Finance work with?
Mostly established Australian businesses turning over somewhere between about $1 million and $50 million a year — companies with staff, a trading history, an accountant and usually an existing bank relationship. Smaller trading businesses are welcome to enquire too; the options are simply sized to the turnover and security available.
How much can we borrow?
Property-secured facilities run from $20,000 to $5,000,000 using first mortgages, second mortgages or caveats over residential or commercial property. Without property, unsecured cash-flow and line-of-credit options typically range from $5,000 to $500,000 and are sized on turnover and bank statements.
Does an enquiry show up on our credit file?
No. There is no credit check when you first enquire. A credit check is only discussed once you've seen a proposed structure and decided to go ahead with it.
Will you send our financials to a list of lenders?
No. We don't farm out enquiries. A specialist reviews your position, works out which structure fits, and approaches the funder suited to it rather than circulating your numbers widely.
Can you help if our bank has put us on watch or a covenant is under pressure?
Yes — that's a common reason established businesses call. A property-secured or second-ranking facility can sometimes bridge a covenant cure, fund a debt reduction the bank has asked for, or refinance the relationship entirely. The earlier we see the numbers, the more options there are.
Do you publish interest rates?
No. Every facility is priced on the business's own circumstances — security, trading history, purpose and exit — so a headline rate would tell you very little. We'll explain the full cost of a proposed structure before you commit to anything.
Is ATO debt a deal-breaker?
Not automatically. Tax debt and past credit issues are considered case by case. What matters is the security position, the trading outlook and a clear plan for bringing the ATO account up to date.
Put the numbers in front of a specialist
A 60-second enquiry, no credit check at the first step, and one person working the file — not a list of lenders.
No credit check to enquire
No spray-and-pray
A specialist, not a queue