Declined by OnDeck? Getting working capital when the statements won't cooperate

Working capital is the money that keeps the machine turning between paying for things and getting paid for them. For manufacturers, wholesalers and anyone with a long production run, that gap can be months wide. If OnDeck turned down your working capital application, or it’s been sitting in limbo, the length of that gap is often the hidden reason.

OnDeck in a sentence

OnDeck began in the United States and has been lending to Australian small businesses since 2015. Its core product here is the unsecured working capital loan, assessed largely on the business’s trading performance and bank activity.

Why long cash cycles look bad to a formula

The patterns below are common across unsecured working capital lending. They aren’t a claim about OnDeck’s specific decision.

Money out before money in. You buy steel, timber or fabric now, pay wages through production and invoice on delivery. The customer pays 30, 60 or 90 days later. In between, the account looks drained.

One big customer. If one buyer accounts for most of your sales and pays slowly, your deposits arrive in rare, large chunks. Averages hate that.

Growth looks like stress. Taking on a bigger order means bigger outgoings before the bigger payment. A formula reads the outgoings first.

Equipment finance already on the books. Machinery loans are normal for manufacturers, but every monthly payment shrinks the room for another loan.

Tax timing. A quarterly BAS or PAYG bill landing in the middle of a production run can tip the account into overdrawn days.

A practical 24-hour plan

1. Write the cycle down. Date materials are paid, date goods ship, date the customer pays. The gap in days is the loan’s job.
2. Size it properly. Work out the minimum that gets you to the customer’s payment. Borrowing more than the gap just costs more.
3. Ask OnDeck for the main reason. If it was something like existing repayments, you’ll know it applies elsewhere too.
4. Avoid the scatter. More unsecured applications on the same statements usually means more enquiries and the same answer.
5. Check for property. If a director owns a home or the company owns its factory unit, you have another way in.

Swapping cash flow for equity

Company Cash makes fast loans of $20,000 to $50,000 against residential or commercial property: up to 80% of residential value, 70% of commercial. We don’t order a valuation and we don’t need bank statements, financials or tax returns. Defaults, bad credit and ATO debt are considered.

That means the gap between paying for materials and getting paid doesn’t count against you. The questions are: is there equity, what’s the money for, and when does the customer’s payment arrive to clear it? For a manufacturer, those are usually easy questions. Interest for up to three months can be prepaid, then repayments go weekly, and the loan is repaid from incoming cash or by refinancing. Funding can happen in as little as 24 hours once approved.

Example: an Adelaide fabricator

A metal fabrication company in Adelaide’s north wins a $160,000 order from a mining services firm. It needs $50,000 of steel and consumables now, and the customer pays 60 days after delivery. With equipment finance on two machines and a lumpy few months behind it, an unsecured working capital application doesn’t get there.

The company owns its factory unit with good equity. A $50,000 loan against the unit buys the steel, the order gets built, and the customer’s payment clears the loan. The assessment is about the factory and the order, not last quarter’s average balance. Figures are illustrative only.

Is property the right call?

Putting property behind a loan is a real commitment. If your gap is small, short and clearly covered by a confirmed payment, it’s a sensible trade for speed and certainty. If the business is short of working capital every month, the long-term answer may be better payment terms, a debtor finance facility or a bigger restructure, not a short loan. Our manufacturing and wholesale page talks through the options.

Get the order moving

If OnDeck said no and the materials still need paying for, send us the outline. It takes around 60 seconds, with no credit check when you first enquire, so your file isn’t touched just for asking. We are the lender, which means no panel of lenders calling you all week. A real person reads the enquiry and rings you. Accurate details on the property, what’s owed and when the customer pays help us give you the right answer first time. See if you qualify →