Ask most Canadian small business owners what keeps them up at night and the answer is rarely competition or marketing. It's money. More specifically, it's the unpredictable gap between money coming in and money going out. Over 20% of small businesses in Canada are actively concerned about cash flow issues, and given how tight operating conditions have been, that number makes sense. Profitable businesses fail every year in this country. Not because the product wasn't good or the customers weren't there, but because the timing was off.
A cash flow cushion is how you protect yourself from that timing problem. It's not about hoarding cash or being conservative to the point of paralysis. It's about building the kind of financial breathing room that lets you make decisions from a position of stability rather than panic.
Here's how to actually do it.
You can't build a cushion if you don't know where the gaps are. The first step is getting honest about your monthly inflows and outflows. Not revenue projections, not what you hope to collect. Actual cash.
Map out your recurring fixed costs: rent, payroll, insurance, loan payments, subscriptions. Then layer in your variable costs: inventory, supplies, fuel, contractors. Finally, look at when your customers actually pay you. If you're invoicing net-30 or net-60, there's a real lag between completing work and seeing money. That lag is where businesses get into trouble.
Build a rolling 90-day cash flow forecast and update it every two weeks. You're looking for months where outflows spike or inflows dip. Payroll runs, GST/HST remittances, lease renewals, slow seasons: all of it shows up clearly when you're looking forward instead of reacting.
Before looking at outside financing, squeeze your existing cycle. Send invoices the same day work is completed. Offer a small early-payment discount if your margins allow for it (1-2% is enough to change behavior for most customers). Chase overdue accounts on a consistent schedule rather than waiting until you desperately need the money.
On the payables side, don't pay early out of habit. Know your terms and use them. If a supplier offers net-30 and you've been paying in five days, you're giving away cash float. Negotiate better terms when you can. Suppliers who value the relationship will often extend payment windows for reliable customers.
Take an honest look at inventory. Excess stock is cash sitting on a shelf. Float's 2025 Canadian Business Report found that average cash balances across Canadian businesses dropped nearly 5% while total debt stayed flat, meaning businesses are spending down reserves just to keep operating. That's a dangerous place to be when a slow month hits.
Most financial advisors suggest keeping three to six months of operating expenses in reserve. For many small businesses, that number feels unreachable. Start smaller. Even 30 days of operating expenses in a separate account changes the math significantly when something goes sideways.
The key is treating the reserve contribution like any other fixed expense. A set percentage of every deposit goes to the reserve account. Even 3-5% of monthly revenue, consistently applied, builds real cushion over a year or two.
If your business is seasonal, plan around your peaks. When revenue is strong, bank more than your baseline. Build the cushion before the slow months arrive, not after.
Here's something a lot of business owners get backwards: the best time to access financing is before you need it. When you're approaching a lender from a stable position, you have options. When you're in crisis, you don't.
Lines of credit work well for businesses with relatively predictable revenue patterns. Apply when things are going well, even if you don't intend to use the credit immediately. Having the facility in place means you can respond to opportunity or a cash dip without scrambling.
For businesses with strong daily or weekly sales volume but inconsistent bank lending access, a merchant cash advance can provide fast, flexible capital that repays in proportion to your sales. That structure is genuinely useful for managing cash flow because payments naturally flex with your revenue.
For businesses in construction and trades, project timing creates serious cash flow volatility and receivables often lag months behind work performed. Know what your options are before you're staring down a payroll gap. Retailers carrying large inventory positions ahead of peak seasons can look at inventory and growth funding that moves with how their business actually cycles.
The right type of fast business funding depends entirely on your business model. A restaurant has different needs than a trucking company. Knowing which products fit your situation, before you're under pressure, is part of building a real cushion strategy.
Your ability to access affordable financing is directly tied to how lenders see you. If your credit has taken hits, whether personal or business, that limits your options and raises your cost of capital. But it doesn't eliminate them.
Alternative lenders evaluate businesses differently than traditional banks do. Revenue history, consistency, and industry matter as much or more than a clean credit score. Access-to-capital concerns among small businesses hit 29% in 2025, well above the historical average of 22%. That pressure is real, but it's also created a broader ecosystem of lenders who specialize in situations traditional banks won't touch.
If your credit has taken hits, you have more options than you think. It's practical knowledge worth having before you actually need it.
A cash flow cushion isn't a one-time project. It's a discipline. The businesses that consistently weather downturns, seasonal dips, and unexpected costs are almost never the ones with the most revenue. They're the ones that made financial visibility and reserve-building a weekly habit, not an annual conversation with their accountant.
According to the federal government's Key Small Business Statistics report, small businesses contribute over 33% of Canada's private sector GDP and employ nearly half the private sector workforce. The stakes for getting this right extend well beyond any single balance sheet.
The cash isn't always there yet. But the plan for getting there can start today.
If you're looking for guidance on which financing options make sense for your business right now, the team at 2M7.ca is available to walk you through.
2M7 Financial Solutions is proud to announce its annual Forward Thinkers Scholarship to support Canadian post-secondary students in Business, Finance, or equivalent programs who are forward-thinking individuals dedicated to making a difference in their fields. The selected recipient will have demonstrated excellence in their studies and will receive $2,500.00 CAD towards their continued success.“
Students are the future of our industry and we welcome the new perspectives and fresh ideas they bring to the table,” said Avi Bernstein, CEO of 2M7 Financial Solutions. “We’re proud to support passionate and talented individuals in the pursuit of their education, and we welcome all Business and Finance majors to apply for an opportunity to receive the Forward Thinkers Scholarship in 2022.”
As one of Canada’s leading merchant cash advance providers, 2M7 Financial Solutions helps Canadian small and medium businesses secure the funding they need to accelerate their growth. As a client-centric company, 2M7 values the entrepreneurs who are the backbone of the Canadian SME economy and believes in empowering business owners and enabling them to achieve their full potential. Similarly, 2M7 believes it’s important to give students the opportunity to excel in their fields and bring cutting-edge ideas that will help drive the industry forward.
The selected recipient will encompass 2M7’s values of innovation and demonstrate a genuine desire to make innovative strides within their respective field.
Applications will be accepted beginning June 1st, 2022, and the deadline to apply is 11:59 PM on August 31, 2022. Winners will be announced in the Fall of 2022.
The ”Forward Thinkers Scholarship” by 2M7 is an annual scholarship program, established in 2022 by 2M7 Financial Solutions. It recognizes outstanding students who are pursuing or entering full-time studies in Business, Finance, or an equivalent program. For those interested in applying for the 2022 scholarship, please make sure to follow 2M7 on Facebook for further announcements.
Managing a small business is challenging. One of the common challenges for business owners is financing. Your company might not have a lengthy credit history or collateral to apply for a bank loan. Whether you want to grow your business or cover unforeseen expenses, you have come across other financing options. Merchant cash advance and cheques factoring are some of the available options for small businesses.
A merchant cash advance is an alternative financing option for small businesses. You can take the funds upfront and pay them off with a percentage of future sales. The MCA is an ideal solution for businesses that need fast funding and might not be eligible to take a bank loan. The availability of funds is another excellent advantage. If your business needs the funds fast to proceed with the operations, the cash advance will be approved within a day or two.
When timing is crucial and you can't go through the lengthy bank approval process, the MCA is your solution. Small businesses can get funds within a day or two from submission. Unlike the traditional bank process, the financial institutions that issue MCAs don't do rigorous checks. They will check the business's past sales to determine whether they qualify for a cash advance.
Retail and restaurant businesses rely on a high volume of credit card sales, making them ideal for obtaining MCA. If your business depends on cash or credit cards, a cash advance is the ideal financing method. This opportunity is perfect for the ones that don't rely on invoices. Instead, they take a percentage of the credit card sales to repay the loan.
Merchant cash advance comes with higher interest rates than traditional bank loans. The convenience of having the funds fast will cost more. However, the price is worth paying when you need urgent funds to proceed with the business operations.
A post-dated cheque is a cheque that can be cashed on the indicated date on the document's face. It is a form of advance payment and can be cashed on a specific date. According to Canadian laws, a cheque can't be cleared before this date. If you still need cash to keep your business's liquidity, you can sell the cheque to a factoring company.
Depending on the date indicated on the check face, you might have to wait long to receive the payment. If you need to meet your business needs urgently, factoring your cheques will provide you with funds quickly. They will pay off a particular value of the face value while keeping a specific percentage as a fee.
When applying for a traditional bank loan, they will do a rigorous check on your financial history. When your small business is relatively new and doesn't have a credit history, you might be restricted from obtaining such loans. Your ability for cheque factoring isn't assessed with credit history, and you aren't required to disclose collateral. This is very important, as you don't need to put your property or equipment at risk. The factoring company will check the check for authenticity.
Having to deal with cheques is a tedious job. Passing this responsibility to a third party means less time spent sorting out cheques so that you can focus on the more important aspects of your business.
The factoring company will charge fees to provide you with the cash in advance. They will usually pay 80% of the amount indicated on the face. However, the high cost might pay off if you need money urgently.
Cheques factoring companies might have specific requirements for cashing out your document. For example, the check drawer should be a reputable entity. Also, the factoring company might have particular requirements on the cheque's active time.
For cheques factoring, you will pay a fee to the factoring company expressed as a percentage of the total amount. On the other hand, you will pay off your MCA as a percentage of your future sales. When choosing the suitable financing method for your company, select the one that is a better fit for your needs. We at 2M7 are dedicated to providing the needed funds to enhance your business's liquidity without restrictions on how to use them. Get in touch with us, and we will answer your specific needs!
2M7 Financial Solutions is honoured to be featured as a leading merchant cash advance provider in the 2022 Canada FinTech Lending Study, organized by Smarter Loans, which offers insights into the state of the industry and emerging trends. According to the study, the primary concerns for borrowers were interest rates and loan terms, with 40% ranking these as their top priorities. This indicates that financing needs are rapidly evolving – which is particularly true for Canadian businesses.
However, a shift in the financial landscape has created unique challenges for small and medium businesses in getting approved for loans, and the digital credit score algorithms used by traditional lending sources such as banks have made it increasingly more difficult to secure small business financing. Therefore, 2M7 has been stepping up to support Canadian businesses with a lending alternative – providing faster and easier access to the working capital they need, and offering flexible repayment terms to help maintain a positive cashflow during these challenging times.“
We are directly supporting the economic recovery and are working tirelessly to help Canadian companies prosper during these times,” said Avi Bernstein, CEO of 2M7 Financial Solutions. “Right now, more than ever, small and medium businesses need more accessible funding options to grow their businesses, and 2M7 is eager to be a part of the journey alongside them. We love to see our clients succeed and are committed to supporting their growth, just as any good partner should.”
With a 97% approval rate, 2M7 Financial Solutions is delivering on its mission to fund every Canadian business that needs financing. Using a proprietary algorithm to evaluate risk and determine credit worthiness, 2M7 is able to fund businesses that might not otherwise qualify for a traditional loan. Furthermore, the innovative assessment process gets businesses approved faster, with funds deposited directly into their bank accounts within 24-48 hours – delivering a solution to the simplified application process and rapid access to funds that were rated among the priorities for borrowers in the 2022 FinTech study.
2M7 strives to provide a unique financing solution that is in line with the demands of today’s emerging industry trends in order to create a seamless funding and repayment experience. As the industry continues to evolve, 2M7 remains at the forefront of the innovative technologies and processes that are transforming the Canadian financial industry, providing solutions that better meet the needs of Canadian businesses.
Funding is the only way to turn startups into successful businesses. Getting funding is easier said than done. However, it’s a fact that you need sufficient money to get your business to the next level. Investment and funding are required to raise the necessary capital to either initiate or run a business. The working capital is the option on which companies rely for the smooth running of affairs and uncalled crisis. Funding coupled with motivation, determination, and brilliant ideas can kick start the business off the ground. Lack of proper and timely funding can collapse business strategies and decrease capital, which ultimately causes failure. If you’re wondering why businesses consider looking for funding, you’re at the right place. Following are some reasons due to which funding becomes essential for companies.
Growth and development are the foremost motives of a business before seeking funding. Acquiring new clients, local businesses, and marketing to improve outreach are all the prospects of growth. Establishing additional branches and expanding services is also the result of the funding sought for the sake of growth.
Another significant reason for obtaining fundings is working capital. Working capital is the monetary assets that provide the companies with sustainability. Managing regular affairs and retaining the quality of services are done through the working capital. It can be used to stock the inventory and carry out successful purchases by efficient expenditure. Insufficient working capital can cause detrimental effects to the business in the longer run. The current affairs and prospects depend on the working capital, which is provided through funding.
To hold a firm position in the market and among the competitors, businesses need to purchase assets. Eliminating the competitors in the market is the feature of having more assets. Businesses can emerge out as a winner when they become the sole provider of a service. Companies can either buy shares or completely acquire other businesses. Assets not only strengthen the company but also enhance its market value.
Companies use funding to plant new ventures. These endeavours can promote the business and increase its progress. To conduct these strategic ventures companies, need ambition and funding. They can articulate ambition in their employees, but for funding, they need help.
Funding is vital to support startups in the fierce market. Startups usually have scant resources that can soon become insufficient, leading to a business catastrophe. Startups need financial help and investments to accomplish their goals and thrive among the competitors.
Companies can find investors that either work independently or with an organization to gain the required funding. They can also opt for loans from banks. However, the much better alternative is a merchant cash advance that focuses on the growth of a business. Companies prefer MCA as the conditions of the loan are appropriate to their predicament. The best part about getting an MCA is that paying it back is extremely convenient. You’ll only be paying back a specific percentage of your monthly earning. And, if there’s a month where you don’t generate revenue due to whatever reason, you won’t need to pay the finance company back anything. Receiving timely fundings can save companies from derailments. If you’re looking for a financial organization that can get you the resources you need to boost your business, 2M7 is just the company you should work with. We’ve helped hundreds of companies like yours in the past with our incredible 97% approval rating. We offer merchant cash advances to businesses in all industries and of all sizes. Gain an edge over your competition and contact us today.
The world has moved into a brand new era of retail. COVID-19 has forced many businesses to move their operations online or risk bankruptcy. Such a drastic change in the global world of retail begs the question, do customers really want to visit retail stores in 2021? Well, let us be the first to tell you, yes they do. Online shopping might be convenient, but it can never offer the same experience as a retail store. So, with COVID-19 becoming more manageable in certain parts of the world, businesses have once again opened the physical doors for their customers and begun selling in stores. If you need to refresh your memory on how to attract customers to your stores in 2021, here are a few tips to help you out.
The number of COVID-19 patients may be decreasing, but the pandemic is far from over. People are still taking some precautionary measures, and the general public doesn't want to hang around your store waiting for their turn at the cashier. You should optimize the customer experience to make sure that individuals can come in, buy something, and leave within the span of a few minutes. This might not bring in new customers, but it will keep older ones returning.
E-commerce might not have the same feel. But, it's still superior when it comes to convenience. You need to give the shoppers an incentive to drive out to your store and actually spend time indoors. The world has gotten accustomed to shopping online, and you have to drag them out of their houses by offering incentives. This can be a coupon, a discount code, a buy one gets one free deal, etc. An example of this would be the Costco hotdogs. The store has been selling its hotdogs with a price tag of $1.50 since 1984. The company is honest about the fact that they're losing money annually because of the hotdogs, but it does give an incentive to individuals to visit the store and eventually buy products while they're there.
If you haven't opened your store in the past year or so, there's probably some cleaning to do. That's not all. You should definitely consider doing some renovating to offer customers a welcome sight. Also, keep your store clean and hygienic and make sure that your customers know that. Your visitors will always appreciate you abiding by COVID-19 SOPs even while the pandemic is declining.
Regardless of what strategies you employ to attract customers, it’s going to cost you and your business money. If you’re trying to get back up on your feet and regain some financial stability, 2M7 Financial Solutions can help you out. 2M7 offers merchant cash advances that can help businesses bounce back post-shutdown. We can provide your business with a merchant cash advance when you need it. Contact us today to learn more.
Marketing is one of the aspects of your business that takes a lot of your revenue. Business owners are sort of blackmailed into spending too much cash just because they have to outweigh their competitors and sort of 'steal' customers away from them. That's how the world of business works. However, a small business is already short on funds, and they can't pour that much money into marketing without affecting operational costs. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to up your marketing game but don't have the funds to do so, you're at just the right place. Here are five things you need to know about marketing small businesses on a budget.
Social media is one of the best forms of marketing that you have, and it's totally free. A lot of businesses look at social media as a tool just for outreach. It's a lot more than a way just to communicate with your audience. Social media provides your business with access to millions of people all over the world. The best part is that it doesn't matter what kind of business you have. You'll find tons of customers through social media.
Finding new customers is something that every business has to do to survive. You have to scale your business to grow substantially, and that can only happen when you have new customers. However, in an effort to obtain them, companies often overlook their current loyal customers. We consider that a huge opportunity being missed. You can offer rewards, dedicated customer support, and discounts to ensure that these people stay interested.
Many businesses can take advantage of their local communities for growth and brand recognition. The best part is that you can advertise your business at some charity events, major gatherings, fairs, etc.
Your current customers can be a gateway to obtaining brand-new clients as well. Reward programs are an amazing incentive that encourages people to recommend your company or service to their friends and family. Word of mouth drives an average of $6 trillion in revenue for businesses globally. That's more than enough incentive you need to start a rewards program.
If you're planning to ramp up your marketing efforts but don't necessarily have the budget on-hand to make it happen, there are many financial organizations in the market that provide merchant cash advances. These MCAs are a lot different as compared to standard business loans. Instead of having to pay the money back in a lump sum, you’ll be returning the money through a percentage of your profits.
Marketing does work, especially when it's carried out effectively and with consistency. Many will argue that it's one of the most profitable and, if you can’t seem to get your marketing done on a budget, 2M7 financial solutions is here to help you. We offer merchant cash advance to businesses in Canada. So, if you need some extra cash to fund your marketing campaigns, give us a call today to learn more.
