Start with where the cash is stuck
- In invoices. Work done, invoiced, and waiting on payment terms. Invoice finance releases most of the value now.
- In stock or a supplier payment. Goods that have to be paid for before they are sold, often from overseas. Trade finance pays the supplier and gives you time.
- In timing. Payroll in a thin week, a quarterly tax bill, a seasonal dip. An overdraft or a short facility smooths it.
- In growth. A new contract that needs people and materials before the first payment lands. That is fundable, and it needs the contract in writing.
Invoice finance
A funder advances a share of an invoice when you issue it, and the rest, less their fee, when your customer pays. Comparison data published in October 2026 puts advance rates in Australia generally around 80 to 85% of the invoice, with some providers going to 90%, and fees charged either as a percentage of the invoice or as interest on what is drawn.
- Whole ledger or selective. Funding every invoice, or choosing which ones.
- Disclosed or confidential. Whether your customers know the facility exists.
- Recourse or non recourse. Who wears the loss if a customer does not pay. Non recourse costs more and is not insurance against a dispute.
What matters to a funder is the quality of your customers, not just yours. A small business invoicing large, creditworthy customers on standard terms is a good candidate even if its own balance sheet is thin.
Trade and import finance
Trade finance pays your supplier, often overseas, and gives you a period, commonly matched to your sales cycle, before you repay. It is used by importers, wholesalers and manufacturers to buy stock without draining the bank account, and it is often combined with invoice finance so the goods are funded in and the receivable is funded out.
Overdrafts and short term facilities
A business overdraft is the simplest buffer, and banks generally want trading history and security for a meaningful limit. Non bank and fintech lenders offer short term unsecured facilities faster, assessed largely on bank statement cash flow, at a higher cost. The useful rule is to match the term of the facility to the life of the problem: short money for a short gap, and a restructure rather than a rollover if the gap keeps coming back.
Short facilities often quote a simple fee rather than an annual rate, and repayments can be weekly or daily. Convert the cost to an annual figure before comparing, and check what happens if you repay early: some facilities charge the full fee regardless.
Most private lending is for a business or investment purpose, which sits outside the National Credit Code. That is part of why it moves fast. It also means the consumer protections attached to a regulated home loan do not apply: the loan is short, the cost is higher, default interest can be steep, and the security can be enforced quickly. Read the terms, take legal advice, and be sure of your exit before you sign.
Common questions
How much of an invoice can be funded?
Most Australian providers advance around 80 to 85% of the invoice value, with some going higher, and release the balance less fees when the customer pays. The exact advance depends on your industry, your customers and whether the facility is disclosed.
Will my customers know I am using invoice finance?
Only if the facility is disclosed. Confidential facilities exist, usually with tighter requirements on the business's own systems and reporting.
Do I need property security for working capital?
Not necessarily. Invoice and trade facilities are secured against the receivables or the goods, and a general security agreement over the business is common. Property security usually lowers the cost where you have it.
Can a business with a tax debt get working capital?
Often yes, and it needs to be on the table from the start. A payment plan being met is viewed very differently from an undisclosed debt that surfaces in due diligence.
Sources
- Money.com.au, invoice finance in Australia: advance rates and fees across providers (updated 7 October 2026), checked 26 October 2026
- ASIC: FAQs, does the credit legislation apply?, checked 26 October 2026
- Reserve Bank of Australia, Financial Stability Review, October 2026: resilience of the Australian financial system (private credit), checked 26 October 2026
General information only, not credit advice. It doesn’t take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. Rules and figures change; check them, or talk to Joshua, before you rely on them.