While 2,900 athletes from over 90 countries prepare for Milano Cortina 2026 this month, they’re not just training – they’re stress-testing. Testing equipment, running scenario drills, preparing for the unexpected before they’re on the world stage.
Smart business owners do the same with their cash flow.
The difference between businesses that thrive during uncertain times and those that struggle often comes down to one thing: preparation. Not when a crisis hits, but well before it does.
Three Scenarios Worth Stress-Testing Now
Whether you’re planning for your own business or advising clients, these three scenarios quickly reveal cash flow vulnerabilities before they become problems:
Scenario 1: The Extended Payment Terms Shift
- They’re focusing on The Challenge: A major customer changes payment terms from 30 to 90 days—creating a 60-day cash flow gap overnight.
- The Impact: Payroll deadlines don’t change. Supplier invoices don’t change. Rent doesn’t change. But suddenly, you’re operating with 60 fewer days of working capital.
- The Question: If your largest customer extended terms by 60 days tomorrow, could you maintain operations without crisis?
- The Solution: Invoice factoring transforms extended payment cycles into immediate cash flow. One engineering firm we worked with went from 60-90 day payment cycles to receiving cash just 5 days after invoicing—enabling them to scale confidently and eventually graduate to traditional bank financing. what they can influence. Strong customer relationships. Operational efficiency. Cash flow management. Strategic growth. These fundamentals matter more than ever when external factors are unpredictable.
Scenario 2: The Growth Opportunity You Can’t Fund
- The Challenge: Perfect customer, perfect timing, strong margins—but your supplier requires payment upfront and your working capital is already committed.
- The Impact: You’re forced to either decline the opportunity or drain reserves meant for ongoing operations. Either choice hurts growth.
- The Question: If a $250K+ order landed on your desk next week, could you accept it without straining cash flow?
- The Solution: Purchase order financing enables businesses to say yes to large opportunities confidently. We pay suppliers directly (often through letters of credit), you fulfill the order, and repayment aligns with when your customer pays you. A Canadian manufacturer we partnered with scaled from 3 to 22 employees and $5.7M in revenue by transforming 60-day payment terms into 48-hour cash flow.
Scenario 3: The Supplier Terms Change
- The Challenge: A key supplier tightens their terms—moving from 30-day payment windows to payment on delivery or requiring letters of credit.
- The Impact: Sudden working capital requirements that existing credit lines can’t absorb, putting supplier relationships and production schedules at risk.
- The Question: If your top 3 suppliers demanded immediate payment starting next month, would it break your cash flow?
- The Solution: Supply chain finance bridges the gap between supplier payment requirements and customer payment timing—without impacting existing debt covenants or banking relationships. Perfect for manufacturers, distributors, and service companies managing timing mismatches.
Why Olympic-Level Preparation Matters
Olympic athletes don’t wait until competition day to figure out their strategy. They stress-test months in advance. They identify weaknesses. They prepare backup plans. They build support teams.Your business – or your clients’ businesses – deserve the same level of strategic preparation. The best time to explore working capital solutions is before you need them. Faster approvals. Better terms. Strategic positioning instead of reactive scrambling. And most importantly, the confidence to seize opportunities when they appear.
Take Action Now
Whether you’re a business owner planning for growth, or a banker, accountant, or fractional CFO advising clients on financial resilience, we’re here to help stress-test cash flow strategies and build flexibility before it’s needed.
Olympic athletes train with purpose. Entrepreneurs build with courage. 
Let’s Go Team Canada – “Brave is Unbeatable”
