Consolidate stacked business debts into one repayment you can plan around.

Business debt consolidation replaces several existing facilities, such as short-term loans, a merchant cash advance, equipment loans, credit cards or an ATO payment plan, with one new loan that pays them all out. You then make a single repayment, usually lower than the combined repayments you had, over a longer term. It works when the new loan’s rate and term genuinely reduce the strain on cash flow; it does not work when it simply delays a problem, which is why Lyft Money maps every facility and its real cost before recommending it.

An unsecured consolidation can settle in two to ten business days once payout figures are received, because the new lender pays the old facilities directly at settlement. Property-secured consolidation takes two to six weeks because of the valuation and mortgage documents. The slowest step is often obtaining payout letters from the existing lenders, so your broker requests them at the start.

Yes, a number of lenders on our panel will fund tax debt, either as an unsecured business loan or secured against property or equipment. The usual purpose is to replace ATO general interest charge with a structured repayment and to clear a debt that is blocking other finance. Lenders will want the ATO portal statement showing the balance and whether an arrangement is in place. Refinancing tax debt changes the term and total amount you repay, so compare that against staying on an arrangement.

Yes. Consolidating several short-term unsecured facilities, equipment loans or an ATO payment arrangement into one secured loan is a common use, because it replaces high-rate, short-term repayments with a single lower repayment over a longer term. The total interest over the life of the new loan can still be higher if the term is much longer, so your broker shows the monthly saving and the total cost side by side before you decide.

It helps when a profitable business is carrying several short-term facilities with daily or weekly repayments that together take too much of each week’s cash, and a single longer-term loan would bring the repayment down to a level the business comfortably supports. It does not help when the business is trading at a loss, when the new loan would cost more in total than the old ones, or when the debts are about to be paid out anyway. A good broker will tell you when not to do it.

Most commercial debts can be included: unsecured business loans, lines of credit and overdrafts, merchant cash advances, equipment and vehicle loans, business credit cards, supplier accounts in arrears and ATO debt under a payment arrangement. Some lenders will not refinance a merchant cash advance directly or will cap the ATO component, and equipment loans may be cheaper to leave in place if their rate is already low. Your broker obtains a payout figure for each facility so the comparison is exact.

There are three costs to check: any early payout or break fees on the facilities being closed, the establishment fee and rate on the new loan, and the total interest over the new, usually longer, term. Short-term lenders often charge the full remaining interest on early payout, which can wipe out the saving, so payout figures must be obtained in writing. Lyft Money sets the monthly saving against the total cost so you can see both before you decide.

Not necessarily. Unsecured consolidation loans are available for profitable businesses, typically up to a few hundred thousand dollars, priced on trading history and cash flow. Offering property security allows larger amounts, longer terms and a much lower rate, which usually makes the consolidation work harder. Lenders will also want to see that the debts being refinanced were for business purposes and that the business can support the new repayment.

Often, yes, but the options narrow. Lenders look at why the payments were missed and whether trading has recovered. A business that is profitable but over-committed on short-term repayments is a common and fundable case; a business that is losing money is not. ATO debt is fundable by many lenders provided it is under a payment arrangement or will be cleared by the new loan, and some specialist lenders focus on exactly this situation. Lyft Money checks fit before anything is submitted, so a decline elsewhere does not rule you out.

A new loan application creates a credit enquiry, and the old facilities show as closed once paid out. Over time a single well-managed loan is easier to keep in good order than several facilities with daily or weekly debits, which can improve your credit position. Your broker explains any enquiry before it is made, and because the panel is checked first, only lenders likely to approve are approached.