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Congratulations, you won the order. A distributor wants three containers, a government buyer signed the contract, or a retailer doubled its volume. Then reality hits. Your supplier wants a deposit before production and the balance before shipment, while your buyer pays 60 or 90 days after delivery. The bigger the win, the bigger the hole in your cash flow.
This is one of the best problems a business can have, and one of the most fundable. This guide shows how to size your funding gap, the five structures companies use to fill it, and what funders look at before they say yes.
Big orders are fundable. Empty bank accounts are normal.
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Growth eats cash before it makes cash. On every order there is a window where you have paid your supplier but your buyer has not yet paid you. On a small order you fund it from the bank account. On a large one the window is too wide, and the order you worked months to win becomes the one you cannot deliver.
Illustrative timeline for an order with 30 days of production, 30 days of transit and 60-day buyer payment terms.
Banks often say no to exactly this situation. The Asian Development Bank's 2025 Global Trade Finance Gap Survey found rejection rates of about 41% for SME trade finance applications and 40% for mid-cap and large corporates. Closer to home, the Federal Reserve's 2025 Report on Employer Firms found only 41% of US firms that applied for financing received everything they asked for. A rejection from your bank rarely means the order cannot be funded. It usually means the request went to the wrong product.
Enter your order details to see how much cash the order needs and how long it stays tied up.
Illustrative only. Freight, duties, insurance and financing costs come out of the gross profit. A funder will look at the margin left after those costs.
There is no single "order financing" product. There are five common structures, and the right one depends on who your buyer is, who your supplier is and whether the order will repeat.
A funder pays your supplier directly against a confirmed purchase order from a creditworthy buyer. When the buyer pays, the funder is repaid first and you keep the margin. Built for finished goods resold with little or no transformation.
Best when the buyer is strong and the margin is healthy, but your balance sheet is thin.
Ask the buyer to pay by documentary letter of credit, then have a bank discount it or advance against it once you present compliant documents. See how to discount a DLC issued by your buyer.
Best when the buyer is international and its bank can issue an LC.
Use the buyer's LC as the basis for a second LC in favour of your supplier, so the supplier is paid against the same shipment. Works well for traders and intermediaries. See our back-to-back LC structuring.
Best when you sit between supplier and buyer and documents can be matched.
Once goods are delivered and invoiced, sell or borrow against the invoice to bridge the buyer's payment terms. Often combined with supplier credit or a short pre-shipment loan. See receivables financing for SMEs.
Best when the main gap is the buyer's 60 to 120 day terms.
For repeat orders, a revolving facility sized to your inventory and receivables funds every order without a fresh application. Requires controls, reporting and a track record, and is where growing traders end up. See our structured trade finance advisory.
Best when large orders are becoming your normal business.
| Route | What the funder relies on | What you need | Fits best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase order financing | Your buyer's credit and the supplier's ability to deliver | Confirmed PO, reliable supplier, clear margin | One-off or occasional large orders |
| Discounted buyer LC | The issuing bank's undertaking | A buyer willing to open an LC, compliant documents | Cross-border sales |
| Back-to-back LC | The master LC and matching documents | Matching terms between buyer and supplier LCs | Traders and intermediaries |
| Receivables finance | The invoice and the buyer's payment record | Delivered goods, accepted invoice | Long buyer payment terms |
| Borrowing base facility | Your inventory, receivables and controls | Financials, reporting, track record | Recurring high-volume orders |
The buyer's credit quality often matters more than yours. A purchase order from a well-known retailer, utility or government agency can be fundable even when your own accounts are thin.
Funders need confidence the supplier will ship the right goods on time. Track record, references, inspection arrangements and supplier terms all count.
After freight, duties, insurance and financing costs, there has to be enough margin to absorb a delay or a dispute. Thin margins are the most common reason order financing is declined.
Payment terms, delivery terms, inspection, cancellation rights and where the money lands. Funders want the buyer's payment to flow to an account they control.
An equipment distributor wins a USD 1.5 million order from a regional utility, payable 60 days after delivery. Its supplier needs 30% upfront and the balance before shipment, for a total cost of USD 1.125 million. The distributor has USD 200,000 in the bank.
The utility's credit is strong, so purchase order financing covers the supplier payments, with the utility paying into a controlled account. On delivery the invoice is financed to bridge the 60-day terms. The distributor delivers, the funder is repaid from the utility's payment, and the margin is the distributor's.
Illustrative scenario. For a real transaction, see how we structured a letter of credit for a Brazilian sugar shipment to West Africa.
Start with a USD 500 order assessment. You get a written view of your funding gap, the structure that fits your buyer and supplier, and a fixed price for the engagement, credited against the retainer if you proceed.
The earlier you send it, the more options stay open. Funders move faster on an order that still has time before the supplier's deadline.
A form of short-term funding where a funder pays your supplier against a confirmed purchase order from your buyer. When the buyer pays, the funder is repaid and you keep the margin.
Often yes, because funders rely heavily on the buyer's credit and the supplier's ability to deliver. You still need a confirmed order, a reliable supplier and enough margin after costs.
A documentary letter of credit from the buyer's bank is often the best tool. It can be discounted, used as the basis for a back-to-back LC to your supplier, or combined with pre-shipment finance.
Enough to cover freight, duties, insurance and financing costs and still absorb a delay or dispute. There is no fixed threshold, but very thin margins are the most common reason requests are declined.
Then a borrowing base or structured trade facility usually makes more sense than funding each order separately. It sizes a revolving line to your inventory and receivables.
No. Financely is an advisory and arranging firm. We structure the funding, prepare the deal file and place it with lenders and trade financiers, who make their own credit decisions.
This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Financely is an advisory and arranging firm. It is not a lender or broker-dealer. Calculator results and the worked example are illustrative. Any financing is subject to lender underwriting, due diligence, approval, documentation and conditions precedent. No outcome, pricing or timeline is guaranteed.
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