How to raise business cash fast: every option, ranked by how long it takes

When a business is short of cash with a deadline in front of it, the temptation is to grab the first option that comes to mind. That’s often a mistake — not because the option is bad, but because it’s slower, dearer or riskier than something else that was sitting right there. The better approach is triage: list every realistic source, rank them by how fast they can actually produce money, and work down the list.

This guide does that ranking for Australian businesses, from the money you already control to outside funding.

Start here: how big is the gap, and when does it bite?

Before choosing an option, pin down three numbers:

1. The amount — the actual shortfall, not a round number.
2. The deadline — the date and time the money has to be somewhere, and in whose time zone.
3. The exit — when and how the gap closes on its own: a customer payment, a seasonal peak, a sale.

A $25k gap for ten days until a big customer pays is a completely different problem from a $400k gap with no clear end. The options below suit different combinations.

Tier 1: cash you already control (minutes to a day or two)

Chase an overdue debtor. business.gov.au’s cash-flow guidance puts chasing outstanding payments near the top of the list, and for good reason — it’s your money. A phone call to a customer who owes you, with a PayID ready so they can pay instantly, can produce cash within the hour. If the debtor is a large company, check its record on the Payment Times Reports Register first — our guide to big-customer payment times explains how.

Draw on existing facilities. If you already have headroom on a line of credit or overdraft, drawing on it can be almost immediate. This is the strongest argument for setting a facility up before you need it.

Owner funds. A short-term injection from the owners, documented properly, can move the same day.

Ask a supplier for time. A reliable customer asking for an extra week, or to split a payment in two, is a routine request. It costs nothing and can remove the deadline entirely. business.gov.au suggests negotiating better terms with suppliers as a standing cash-flow tool.

Tier 2: rearranging obligations (hours to a few days)

ATO payment plan. If the gap is a tax bill, a payment plan may be quicker and simpler than borrowing to pay it in full. The ATO says you may be able to make a payment plan online if the debt is under $200,000, through Online services for business. The ATO also expects future obligations to be paid on time while a plan runs. See ATO debt and fast loans for how a plan interacts with borrowing.

Sell surplus stock or equipment. Genuinely surplus gear can raise cash, but it’s rarely instant — buyers need to be found and paid. Don’t sell something you need to earn income unless the alternative is worse.

Bring invoices forward. Invoicing completed work immediately, or asking for progress payments on longer jobs, can pull cash forward by days or weeks.

Tier 3: outside funding that can move within a business day

When Tier 1 and Tier 2 don’t close the gap in time, outside funding comes in. These are the fastest types, with speeds stated as what’s possible when paperwork and signatories are ready — never as a promise.

Option	What it’s based on	How fast it’s possible	Best for
Unsecured business loan (smaller amounts)	Turnover and bank statements	Same day possible	Trading businesses with clean statements and a short gap
Caveat loan	Equity in property	$20k–$250k possible same day	Owners with property equity and a hard deadline
Second mortgage	Equity above an existing mortgage	Same day to 24–48 hours	Larger amounts where the first mortgage stays
First mortgage (clear title or refinance)	Property	Up to $5m possible within 24–48 hours	Big amounts, or replacing an existing lender
Larger unsecured amounts	Turnover, statements, sometimes BAS	Usually next business day	Established businesses without property

The security hub compares each timeline in detail, and the 24-Hour Funding Clock shows where your own window would land based on your state, start time, security and paperwork. If a Tier 3 option looks like the answer, start your 60-second enquiry.

Tier 4: slower routes worth knowing about

Some options are excellent but rarely fast:

• Bank business loans tend to involve fuller financial statements and longer approval processes.
• New invoice finance facilities can be very useful once running, but setting one up takes time.
• Equipment finance is well suited to buying new assets but follows its own approval and supplier process.
• Equity from investors takes negotiation and legal work.

business.gov.au’s funding overview is a good plain-English map of these options. They’re often the right long-term answer — sometimes after a short-term loan has bridged the immediate gap.

How do you choose between the fast options?

Ask four questions:

1. Can it land before the deadline? Check business days, public holidays and time zones.
2. What’s the total cost in dollars? For the period you’ll actually need it, including fees.
3. Does the exit match the term? Short-term money needs a short-term exit.
4. What does it put at risk? Property security, personal guarantees, supplier relationships.

The cheapest option that meets the deadline and has a believable exit is usually the right one — even if it’s not the fastest.

Illustrative example: triage in practice

Illustrative scenario only. A Brisbane joinery business faces a $68k shortfall: a timber supplier needs paying by Friday, and a builder owes the joinery $52k that’s two weeks overdue.

• Tier 1: The owner calls the builder, who pays $30k immediately by PayID and commits the rest in a fortnight. The owner asks the timber supplier for an extra week on half the bill, and they agree.
• Remaining gap: about $19k by Friday.
• Tier 3: With clean statements, a small unsecured loan is funded the same day and repaid when the builder’s second payment arrives.

The whole problem was solved without touching the family home — because the owner worked down the list rather than jumping straight to the biggest option.

What should you avoid when you need cash fast?

Speed creates pressure, and pressure leads to a few predictable mistakes:

• Using the ATO as an unofficial lender by skipping BAS or PAYG payments without a plan. Debts grow, and the relationship becomes harder to manage later.
• Stacking several short-term products at once, each with its own repayments debiting the account.
• Borrowing without an exit. If you can’t say how and when the money gets repaid, the gap hasn’t been solved, just moved.
• Ignoring the total cost. Always ask for the full dollar cost for the period you’ll actually need the money.
• Leaving it until the deadline. A gap spotted a week out has every option on the table; a gap spotted an hour out has very few.
• Answering loan forms loosely. Guesses about amounts, property or existing debts send files down the wrong track and cost the time you don’t have.

Work out your fastest route with a real person

Sometimes the quickest cash is a phone call to a customer; sometimes it’s a loan that settles this afternoon. If outside funding is part of the answer, the enquiry takes about 60 seconds and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. Your details stay with one team — no spray-and-pray, no pile of lenders calling — and a real person looks at the gap, the deadline and the exit together before suggesting anything. Please fill in the form accurately, especially the amount and the date you need it, so the first option you hear about is the right one.

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