Cleaning up your credit line

Our credit line has an annual requirement to “get out of the line” for 30 days, and that timeframe is nearing. I”™m not confident we can clean up the credit line within the 12 months, as our bank requires. What should I do?

Thoughts of the Day: Credit lines are meant to be used periodically, not constantly. Consider a term loan. Plan out your financial needs for the coming year; as the business ramps up, cash flow is likely to dry up. Plan for it.

Credit lines are designed to help a business manage through ups and downs and to back-stop cash flow cycles. Appropriate uses of the credit line might include getting over a short-term uptick in account receivables and acquiring inventory or services in advance of billing it out on a new contract.

As with all credit instruments, credit lines should be used in anticipation of greater profits downstream. In other words, use the credit line to boost invoicing opportunity and to manage expenses and cash flow until that money comes in.

Using a credit line to manage losses is a bad idea. Borrowing to smooth over losses only leads to more problems later on. Now you owe both principal and interest. Losses mean you don”™t have the funds to pay off your obligations.

One option for dealing with the cleanup period is to ask the bank to term out the line. This means you won”™t have to come up with all of the funds to get out of the credit line right away. Before you ask for help from the bank, take a look at this past year”™s performance. Has the business been profitable overall? Is it likely to be profitable in the coming year? If so, ask the bank to work with you.

Discuss converting the credit line to a two, three, or four-year term loan. That way you can make regular payments every month while increasing the amount of time you have to pay down the principal. The advantage of a term loan is that you can work your way out of the principal your company owes over time.

You will have to go through another application process to get a term loan, though. Be prepared to present personal and business financials and tax returns. Stop struggling to manage a credit line that is no longer being used for short-term borrowing needs. Instead, show the bank you are proactively managing the company”™s financial responsibilities by making arrangements to pay down the principal owed.

The bank wants you to be predictable and responsible. Be ready to show them your growth plan, forecast of prospects in the cue, as well as your budget and forecast revenue for the upcoming year. Show them how your company plans to pay off the loan by increasing revenue and managing its loan obligations over time.

Keep in mind that as any business ramps up sales, cash flow can dry up. Advance payments for additional staff, inventory, services, equipment, et cetera all tie up funds. Clients are waiting for you to finish work before they will accept and authorize payment on final invoices. Once invoices are authorized, some buyers may stretch out payment for another 30 to 60 days or more. Meanwhile, the bills continue. However, once the work is completed there should be more than enough profits to pay off all obligations and to put aside reserves for the future. Make sure this is the scenario you”™re dealing with. If you”™re not sure, get someone to help you figure it out, fast.

Looking for a good book? Try “The Rational Guide to Building Small Business Credit” by Barbara Weltman.

Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached at (877) 238-3535 or AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com. Visit AskAndi.com for a library of Ask Andi articles.