Minimum eligibility requirements by product
Every product has a baseline a business must clear before a lender will review the file. These are minimums, not approval criteria — clearing them means the file gets read, not that it gets funded. Requirements below are the typical Canadian lender profile for each product.
Start an applicationMerchant Cash Advance (MCA)
- Business operating in Canada for 4+ months (some lenders 6+ months)
- Minimum $10,000–$15,000/month in business bank deposits
- A business bank account in the company name
- Owner is a Canadian resident with valid government ID
- No active bankruptcy or active consumer proposal
Business Line of Credit
- 12+ months in business (most non-bank lenders); 24+ months at chartered banks
- $10,000+/month in business deposits (alternative lenders); higher for banks
- Reasonable owner credit profile (typically 600+ for non-bank LOCs)
- No unresolved tax arrears or active insolvency
- Canadian-incorporated or registered sole proprietorship
Invoice Factoring
- Sell to other businesses or government on terms (net-30/60/90)
- Customers with reasonable commercial credit
- Invoices for completed and undisputed work
- Minimum monthly invoiced volume (commonly $25K+ for cost efficiency)
- No existing lien on the receivables (or willingness to subordinate)
Equipment Financing
- 6+ months in business (12+ for the most competitive pricing)
- Identifiable, sellable equipment (new or used)
- Documented quote or invoice from the vendor
- Reasonable owner credit (typically 600+)
- Down payment may be required for used/specialized assets
Term Loan
- 24+ months in business (some lenders 12+)
- Demonstrable revenue and profitability (or strong cash flow)
- Owner credit profile typically 650+ for competitive pricing
- Clear use of funds (growth, refinancing, expansion, etc.)
- Up-to-date tax filings and no unresolved arrears
What these numbers are and are not
These are the thresholds below which a file is generally not reviewed. Clearing them is necessary, not sufficient — a business well above the minimum deposit threshold can still be declined on concentration, negative days, or existing obligations.
Thresholds also vary by lender. A business that misses one lender's minimum by a small margin is often inside another's, which is the reason a file is screened against a network rather than submitted to a single lender.
Related
- How an application moves from submission to funding — Every stage of a Voxen file, what happens at each one, and what holds it up.
- Documents required, by product — Exactly what to gather before applying, and the format each document has to be in.
- How financing cost is expressed — Factor rates, APR, advance rates and fees — what each one measures and why they are not comparable.