Refer a client

For hospitality accountants

Your client, Funded. More books to keep.

Refer a clientHow a referral works
A chef slides the bill back across the table to her accountant at the end of the night

You are often the first to know a client needs financing. Send them to us. Their loan comes from a bank or credit union, through the government-backed Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP). We don't lend. We build the file and deal with the bank, with no extra work for you, and a growing client means more business for your practice.

Start with one client.If the file goes the way it should, send us the next one.

Banks and credit unions we work with

  • RBC
  • TD
  • BMO
  • Scotiabank
  • CIBC
  • National Bank of Canada
  • Desjardins
  • Meridian
  • BDC

What the lender needs from your side

The file stands on your numbers.

A lender reads the returns and statements you prepare before it reads anything we write. We build everything else to match them.

  1. Returns filed, two years back

    Lenders want personal tax returns and notices of assessment for the last two years for every shareholder. Unfiled returns stop a file, so it is the first thing we check.

  2. Statements for a purchase

    When your client is buying an existing restaurant, the lender needs two years of the seller's statements, at least Notice to Reader, and the corporate returns and notices of assessment behind them.

  3. Projections that tie out

    We build a formula-linked three-year model where the P&L, the cash flow and the balance sheet tie to each other, with every assumption visible. You can check it the way a credit team will.

  4. We stay in our lane

    We are not your client's accountant. We build the financing file and deal with the bank; the books and the returns stay with you. When our own clients need a hospitality accountant, we can introduce them, with their permission.

How a referral works

Point us at one client.

Send one. Judge us on the file.

What we will not do
Promise approval. That is the lender's call. Quote a timeline before we see the file. Go around you to your client.
What you can count on
A straight answer on the first call. A complete file for every client we take on. We don't contact your client until you say so.

  1. You point us at a client

    Their name and a line about the project. We do not reach out to them until you give us the go-ahead.

  2. We talk to them first

    On the first call we tell them if the deal can work and which lender fits. If it can't, we say so then, so nobody wastes time.

  3. They engage us directly

    Your client hires us and pays our fees. Our shared success compensation is only paid when they are funded. Where the lender allows it, both can come out of the loan.

  4. We build the file and see it through

    We write the plan, build the budget from real quotes, pick the lender and submit. After approval we manage the payouts until the money is in their account.

Refer a clientBook a call with Adam

Brands we've worked with

Funded

Files we took all the way through.

Every application we've submitted has been funded. Over $10 million so far, and about 100 hours saved for each client.

Funded

TorontoTD

Toronto restaurant

A Toronto restaurant, funded with TD. We built the plan, the numbers and every document, and saw it through to funding.

Funded

Burlington, OntarioAsset purchase

Buying an existing restaurant

An asset purchase rather than a build, which means an appraisal, an inherited lease, and two years of the seller's statements and returns. Financed through a credit union.

Funded

OntarioCSBFP

Independent restaurant

Every document, the plan and the forecast, taken to Meridian and through three rounds of questions to approval.

Funded

OntarioCSBFP

Bar build

A ground-up bar, financed on projections rather than history, because there was no trading history for the location to lean on.

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On Instagram

Follow the funding.

@restaurantfinancingcanada
A chef plating a dish in a dimly lit kitchen

What each client gets

One package. About 100 hours of your client's time back.

  1. Written business plan, built for the bank rather than for a pitch
  2. Three-year financial forecast, with every assumption visible
  3. Executive summary in the language lenders use
  4. Market and competitor research for the restaurant's trade area
  5. A clear breakdown of where the money goes
  6. A check of which costs the program covers
  7. All your documents, gathered and followed up
  8. Lender match, and the submission itself
  9. We deal with the bank directly through to funding
  10. Changes until the bank has what it needs
Refer a client
Adam Gilbert

Who you deal with

I speak restaurant. I speak bank.

Hi, I'm Adam Gilbert. I've spent my career in the restaurant business, on the finance and marketing side. That includes senior marketing and finance roles at one of Canada's best known restaurant groups, through its sale to the country's largest full-service operator.

I run Sweet Sauce Hospitality Partners, and I am building my own restaurant concepts, so I am not advising from the sidelines. I know what a build really costs, and what the bank will ask before it asks.

A good business plan tells your story, then backs it up with numbers. It has to make the bank believe in your restaurant, and then prove it.

Let's get your clients funded.

Questions

Questions from accountants.

Straight answers to what accountants ask first, starting with what we will need from you.

Refer a client
Do you lend the money?

No. The loan comes from a bank or credit union, through the Canada Small Business Financing Program, a Government of Canada program. The government guarantees a large share of the loan for the lender. We are a brokerage: we build the application, take it to the right lender and see it through to funding.

How much can my client borrow?

Most restaurant owners we work with qualify for between $200,000 and $500,000. The program limit is $500,000 for leasehold improvements, equipment and intangibles such as franchise fees, including up to $150,000 of working capital. If they are buying the building too, the limit is higher.

What will you need from us?

The returns and statements a lender reads first. We ask for them early, because unfiled returns stop a file.

  • Personal tax returns and notices of assessment for the last two years, for every shareholder
  • For a purchase, two years of the seller's year-end statements, at least Notice to Reader
  • For a purchase, two years of the seller's corporate tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Articles of incorporation for the operating company
Will you give my client tax or accounting advice?

No. We are not accountants, and our engagement says so. We build the financing file and deal with the bank. Tax and accounting questions stay with you.

Equity injection versus net worth: what do lenders actually test?

Two separate things. The equity injection is the cash the owner puts in, usually 10 to 40% of the project. Net worth backs the personal guarantee and does not need to be liquid: home equity, vehicles and investments count. Lenders set that threshold as a share of the loan, around 25%, not of the whole project. If a client was told they are short on cash, it is worth a second look.

Who is the client, me or the operator?

The operator you introduce. They engage us directly, the loan is theirs, and so are our fees: a project launch investment to start and shared success compensation that is only paid when they are funded. What they share with us about their finances is kept confidential, as it would be with any client.

Will you contact my client without asking me?

No. When you tell us about someone, we do not reach out until you give us the go-ahead. The introduction is yours to make.

What happens if my client is not a fit?

We tell them on the first call rather than taking their time or yours. Some things stop a file through this program, like personal taxes that have not been filed, and some need fixing first, like a lease too short to carry the loan. We would rather find them early than in front of the lender. Where a file can go ahead, the credit decision still belongs to the lender. Nobody can promise approval, and we do not.

Where do you work?

Across Canada. The CSBFP is a federal program and we work remotely, so where you are does not matter. We are based in Toronto and work with owners in the Greater Toronto Area, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City. Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City are handled in French or English.