Borrow against business assets
The lender advances a percentage of the value of approved assets. Customer invoices, inventory, and sometimes equipment can qualify; the agreement defines which assets count and which are excluded.
Asset-Based Lending
Asset-based lending.
Put your balance sheet to work.
Explore financing secured by eligible receivables, inventory, or equipment. Understand borrowing bases, reporting requirements, costs, and collateral review.
Funding range$250K–$30M
Financing term1–3 years
Funding typeReceivables
Typical funding time2–6 weeks
RepaymentRevolving
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Asset-based lending,
explained.
Asset-based lending lets your business borrow against eligible assets, such as customer receivables, inventory or equipment. The assets support the financing and help determine how much you can access.
Many facilities work as revolving credit lines. The lender calculates a borrowing base using agreed percentages of eligible collateral, then applies any reserves and facility limits. The amount available is therefore different from the total value of assets shown in your accounts.
Availability can change as invoices are paid, inventory moves or collateral values change. Your business typically provides regular reports so the lender can update the borrowing base. The agreement also sets how customer collections are applied and when further borrowing is available.
This structure can support a business with valuable operating assets and a recurring need for cash. Alongside the rate, review reporting requirements, monitoring costs, collateral restrictions and what happens if availability falls. The facility needs to work with how your business buys, sells and collects payment.
Westwind helps you assess which assets may support a facility and compare the practical cost and reporting requirements of available options.
A limit linked to eligible value
A formula called the borrowing base sets how much is available. It applies agreed percentages to eligible assets, then accounts for reserves and what you already owe.
Draw, repay, and draw again
A revolving facility funds ongoing business needs. Customer collections often reduce the balance through a lender-controlled account, and further borrowing depends on available collateral and the facility’s terms.
Ongoing reporting and facility costs
Updated invoice and inventory records let the lender recalculate availability. Costs can include interest on borrowings, monitoring fees, appraisals, and periodic reviews of the assets securing the facility.
BEFORE YOU APPLY
What you’ll need to get started.
Know what lenders look for and what to have ready. Your advisor helps with the rest.
What lenders look at
Eligible collateral
The quality, value, and age of assets supporting the facility.
Existing security claims
Liens and other lenders’ rights over the proposed collateral.
Financial records
Accurate, up-to-date statements showing the business’s financial position.
Asset reporting
Receivables aging and inventory records that support the borrowing base.
Ongoing controls
Your ability to meet reporting, cash-management, and covenant requirements.
What to have ready
To start
- Funding amount, purpose & timeline
- Business details & revenue
- Existing financing & credit range
- Your contact details
For lender review
- Accounts-receivable and accounts-payable aging reports
- Inventory reports with quantities, values, and aging
- Current financial statements
- Existing debt and lien details
- Collateral appraisals or field-exam information, when requested
IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOU?
When valuable assets can support your next move.
Start with the purpose, the payback period, and the payment your business can support. Use these signals to decide what to discuss with your advisor.
A stronger fit
- You own real assets - stock, equipment, invoices owed to you
- The more you sell, the more cash you need upfront
- Your bookkeeping is accurate and up to date
A reason to pause
- You don't own much the lender can lend against
- Your assets are hard to value or check
- You can't commit to regular reporting
The advantages
- Potentially more leverage than cash-flow-only lending
- Availability can scale with growth
- Useful for seasonal and working-capital-intensive companies
- Can support turnarounds and refinancings
The trade-offs
- Intensive reporting and collateral controls
- Ineligible assets and reserves reduce usable availability
- Field exams and appraisals add cost
- Default remedies are secured by core operating assets
HOW FUNDING WORKS
From application
to funding,
step by step.
Tell us about your business once. We prepare your file, find relevant lenders, coordinate the review, and help you compare your offers.
01 profile05 steps1:1 your own advisor
01
START HERE
Tell us what you need
Fill out one form with the amount, what the money is for, and the basics of your business.
RESULTOne complete business profile
- How much you need and what you will use it for
- Sales, industry, time in business, and what you already owe
02
ADVISOR REVIEW
Go through it with your advisor
Your advisor checks the request with you, gets clear on what matters, and helps gather the documents lenders will ask for.
RESULTA file ready for lender review
- Confirm timing, payment comfort, and business goals
- Collect the statements and supporting documents needed
03
MATCH & ROUTE
We find the lenders that fit
We compare your profile with different types of funding and the requirements of participating lenders.
RESULTA focused lender submission
- Narrow the list to lenders whose rules may fit
- Send the complete file only to selected lenders
04
UNDERWRITING
Lenders review the file
Each lender makes its own decision. We handle questions, document requests, and follow-up so you do not have to chase every party.
RESULTOffers you can compare side by side
- Resolve questions and missing items in one place
- Lay out available prices, terms, payments, and conditions
05
DECIDE & CLOSE
Compare, choose, and get funded
Your advisor explains the cost and tradeoffs, then helps you finish the lender's final conditions and closing documents.
RESULTThe option you choose, taken through funding
- Compare total cost, payment, term, collateral, and flexibility
- Complete final lender conditions and closing documents
How fast you get funded, what you're offered, and whether you're approved at all depend on your business, your paperwork, and the lender. Nothing here is a guarantee of an offer or approval.
LOOK AT THESE TOO
Other options worth comparing.
Don't pick on the rate alone, and don't pick on the biggest number you're approved for. Compare the whole deal.
QUICK ANSWERS
Questions people ask about asset-based lending.
What is a borrowing base?
It is the formula used to calculate current availability from eligible collateral after applying advance rates, exclusions, reserves, and existing borrowings.
Why can availability fall?
Receivables may age, customers may become concentrated, inventory may become obsolete, or the lender may establish additional reserves.
What decides whether I get approved?
Lenders mostly look at how much your assets support (your borrowing base), how good those assets are, how well you track them, and how the business is performing. Each one has its own rules about credit, paperwork, and what it takes to say yes.
How fast can I get the money?
Plan on 2–6 weeks. It can take longer if the deal is complicated, your paperwork is slow, an outside report is needed, or the lender asks for more.
What should I compare between offers?
Ten things: the total dollars you pay back, the true yearly cost, how often you pay, how long it runs, what you put up as collateral, what you personally guarantee, the rules you agree to follow (covenants), what happens if you pay it off early, the fees, and whether the money earns more than it costs.
YOUR NEXT MOVE
See whether asset-based lending fits your business.
One application. Every option that fits. A clear path to the money.
Get funded