A healthcare start-up in high demand
JTC Staffing Solutions provides contract, travel and as-needed nursing assignments for registered nurses, registered practical nurses and personal support workers in Ontario. Temporary staff can help relieve the labour shortages in the healthcare system, delivering qualified professionals to clients in long-term care, assisted living, hospitals, community health or respite care settings within 24 to 48 hours.
Healthcare staff are always needed — but in the early days of 2022, JTC Staffing Solutions, founded by nurse Tsitsi Kaseke, found staff in especially high demand as Ontario’s long-term care homes looked to fill workforce gaps during COVID-19.
After launching in late 2021, Tsitsi undertook a brief period of marketing before landing a large contract with a chain of more than 30 long-term care homes. As a nurse with an extensive network in the healthcare industry, staffing the positions was easy. But for a start-up, the reality of meeting a large, bi-weekly payroll in an environment where clients are paying in net 30 or 45 days was overwhelming from a cash flow perspective — and a huge source of worry.
A solution to fund rapid growth
Ramping up quickly in early 2022, JTC billed nearly $1 million in one month to the long-term care sector. But Tsitsi was facing the reality of covering two to three pay cycles before her main client paid its invoices. Self-financing such a large payroll was not an option. As a company in its first quarter — even with a large client — JTC was also unable to qualify for traditional bank financing.
It was a busy period for her new company on the growth front, and financing that growth was stressful. JTC needed a cash flow solution. With the contract underway, Tsitsi needed funding quickly to meet JTC’s first payroll.
Fortunately, Tsitsi knew Jonathan Brindley, having previously worked with him and his team on another venture. She contacted Jonathan, and Capitally stepped in with a factoring solution. Jonathan took a calm, patient approach to JTC’s situation and provided the organization and extra guidance that her new business needed.
A bank’s not going to help you if you’ve only been in business for three months, even if you’ve got $1 million worth of business coming down the pipe. They’re going to want to see at least a year or two of financial data before they’ll help you, which is not much good when you’re in the thick of it and you’re trying to finance and run your business.
– Jonathan Brindley, Capitally’s Founder and CEO
Clearing the Logjam
Due to the size of the contract, Capitally reached out to the CFO and senior leadership team of JTC’s client to undertake due diligence, understand the contract and seek out financial information. Within two weeks of filing an application with Capitally, JTC’s funding was approved.
“We never missed a payroll, everybody got paid on time. So, although it was a challenge, we managed with Jonathan and Pia’s help. Without their help, there’s no way we could have done that,” says Tsitsi.
Going the extra mile
While being approved quickly for funding provided JTC with the cash flow it needed, Capitally continued supporting the company in its first year, completing 13 fundings in a 12-month period, factoring invoices over $2 million.
At the same time, JTC’s relationship with Capitally has developed beyond just funding.
For a staffing company, making sure employees are getting paid is just the beginning. Staffing invoices deal with the complexities of timesheets, work and payment terms agreements, source deductions like HST and CPP and issues of contractors vs. employees. Capitally helped JTC work through these matters by ensuring all invoices were correctly structured and sent out on time.
Jonathan also helped set up the company with its payroll vendor and provided referrals to other professionals, such as an accountant. This support allowed Tsitsi and JTC to focus their attention on what they do best: providing top-tier staff to the healthcare industry. “It’s not just about providing the funding, it’s also the other work that they do behind the scenes, like following up on invoices. That’s a lot of work and we really appreciate that they had our back like that. Especially in the beginning when we were so busy and there was so much to follow up on, I don’t think we would have been able to do it on our own,” says Liz Kaseke, the accountant at JTC Staffing Solutions.
It gave us time to acclimate ourselves to the business and handle the other things that we needed to deal with and not have to worry about that financial side.
— Liz Kaseke, JTC Staffing Solutions accountant
JTC and Capitally — an unstoppable team
Over the past 18 months, Jonathan has been a trusted partner, providing Tsitsi with comfort and support to help ease her stress in her company’s crucial early stages.
For Capitally, working with clients as a team on win-win solutions and helping business owners focus on their companies rather than their bank balances is a core value.“Our relationship with the client is much more involved than a banking relationship — we get to know the business and understand the business. In this situation, we’re talking to them every two weeks when they’ve got payroll running,” says Jonathan. “It’s all about making a difference with these companies.”
Standing on their own and ready to grow
For JTC Staffing, the future is bright. With the healthy start provided by Capitally’s team, the company has recently taken over the management of its own invoices and is now able to fund payroll with current cash flows.
When it was time to exit the factoring relationship, Capitally made it easy. Although no contracts keep the company tied to Capitally, the door is always open in case JTC needs to fund further growth.
Recently, JTC received a licence to practice in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — with plans to take on more contracts and healthcare staff in Western Canada. While the short-term staffing needs aren’t as acute in the long-term care sector as they were in previous years, JTC’s contractors remain in demand.
Ultimately, Tsitsi and Liz say the guidance and funding provided by Capitally in the critical early days of their business were instrumental in helping JTC achieve its financial goals. “You feel like you’re not just a number, but you’re actually a person and they are invested in your success as well — that’s what we got from Capitally and Jonathan. And I know we wouldn’t have gotten that from a bank,” says Liz.
Let’s talk about how Capitally can support you or your client’s business. Contact us today to explore the financial solutions that can unlock the next phase of growth.
