Resources

Practical guidance for owners, and for the advisors who serve them.

Free tools, guides and reference material on funding, growth, succession and where to get help, written for owners of BC businesses. General information, not advice.

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Know where you stand

Grade the business, see what it is worth and read it the way a lender or a buyer would.

Free toolBusiness DiagnosticOne question at a time, five minutes, and a written report: how lender-ready your business is, how transferable, whether the sales engine runs without you, and your next three moves.Take the diagnostic → GuideThe Maturity ModelFive levels, from a business that runs on you to one that runs without you, measured across seven parts. What each level means to a lender and to a buyer, what it does to the price, and the one move that takes you up a level.See the model → Free toolFree Business CalculatorsForty-six calculators for valuation, financing, lender stress tests, the ratios a credit analyst reads first, starting a business, and business development: what a customer costs to win and what a dollar of marketing brings back. Every term explained.Open the calculators → Free toolReady-made ReportsEnter your figures once and download a branded PDF: a business health checkup graded against your industry, a valuation, loan application preparation, a growth and capital plan, or a start-up plan.Pick a report → ReferenceHow Your Figures ConnectA map of every figure the free calculators share: revenue, EBITDA, debt payments, close rate and more, and which calculator works each one out. Save a figure once and every tool fills in.See the map → GuideBy IndustryTwelve industries, each with the measures a lender or a buyer reads first, the typical figures they expect, the financing that fits and the programs worth applying for.See your industry →

Get funded

What kind of money fits, who lends it, and the file that gets it approved the first time.

GuideTypes of Business FinancingTwenty-one kinds of financing in plain language, from an operating line at prime plus one to a merchant advance at sixty per cent and up: what each is for, its benefits and risks, and who offers it. How A, B and C lenders differ, and raising capital from angels, venture funds and private equity.See what it costs → GuideBusiness LendersEvery kind of lender in British Columbia and Canada: the big banks, BC credit unions, BDC, EDC, Farm Credit Canada, the federal loan guarantee, equipment lessors, receivables finance, online lenders and private credit. What each one suits and what it costs.See who lends → Free toolLoan Application PackThe file a lender asks for, chosen for what you are funding: a start-up is not asked for three years of statements, a property deal is asked for an appraisal. Enter your figures once and every ratio in the pack is worked out for you.Build my pack → ReferenceFunding ResourcesHow a lender reads your business: the five questions every credit committee asks, and the tools that answer them before they are asked.Open → ReferenceGrant ResourcesFederal and British Columbia non-dilutive funding: research and development, export, hiring, training and innovation programs.Open → Free toolPitch Deck OutlineThirteen slides, what belongs on each, what the person across the table is deciding while they look at it, and the mistake that loses the room. Write your answers and take the outline away.Outline my deck →

Start a business

Build an asset, not a job: the plan, the first-year numbers and the money to open.

GuideStarting a BusinessThe whole start-up program in the open: the plan, the funding thresholds, every start-up loan and grant in BC with its terms, and the communities that help.Start with the exit in mind → Free toolBusiness Plan GeneratorForty-two sections across eight parts, in the order Canadian lenders expect, following the structure of BDC's own template. Each one says what to include and what a credit analyst is looking for. The plan downloads as a branded PDF.Start writing →

Grow sales

Where customers come from, what each one costs to win, and a sales engine that runs without you.

Free toolBusiness Development PlanWho the ideal customer is, where they come from, what each one costs to win, who wins them, and whether the business can deliver the growth. Fifteen sections with the conversion numbers worked out as you go.Start the plan → Paid toolCompetitive Landscape AnalysisA full read on the three to five businesses a customer weighs you against: website, search, Google reviews, social media, advertising, offerings and pricing, the local market, six scores, a positioning map and the moves to make first. See a worked example.See how it works → Free toolCustomer Profile & Prospect SearchWrite down who your best customer is, in words a salesperson could use, and list the customers that prove it. Legatis then searches the public record for businesses like them and for the referral partners already in front of them: long lists, with the route to each.Write the profile → GuideMarketing, Website & Brand GuidesEight working guides: the website audit, local search and reviews, the brand package, choosing channels, a referral system, the sales process, the marketing numbers, and the advertising, email and privacy rules in Canada.Read the guides →

Lead the team

What the evidence says about deciding, hiring, leading and building a team that performs.

ReferenceWhat the Research SaysStudies and books on how owners decide, hiring, leadership, teams, culture and purpose, summarized with what each means for your business.Open →

Sell or hand on

Preparing for a sale or a succession, and the rules that apply to the deal.

ReferenceLegal & ComplianceThe regulatory framework for business transactions in BC, partner roles, fee disclosure, conflicts and confidentiality.Open →

Coming soonThe Exit Readiness ChecklistForty items across financials, operations, people, customers and legal that a buyer's diligence team will examine. Score your business and see where preparation is needed.

Coming soonReading a Term SheetThe clauses that matter most in a letter of intent or loan term sheet, what is customary, and where owners most often give up value without realizing it.

Find help

Who to call when something is stuck, and a free account to keep your work.

ReferenceBusiness Owner's DirectoryWhere to go when something is stuck: registries, the CRA, grants, loans, hiring, WorkSafeBC, legal help, permits, exporting, succession and debt. Sorted by problem, in plain English.Open → Free toolCreate a Free AccountKeep your business plan, loan pack, calculators and net worth statement in one place, saved to a Business Profile and hosted in Canada.Create an account → ReferenceFrequently Asked QuestionsStraight answers on how we work, what we charge and who does what.Read the FAQ →

Glossary

Terms owners will encounter.

Asset sale: The purchaser buys specific assets and assumes specified liabilities; the selling corporation remains with the owner.
Share sale: The purchaser buys the shares of the corporation, acquiring everything it owns and owes. A trade in securities.
EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. A common basis for valuation multiples.
Normalized earnings: Earnings adjusted for one-time items and owner-specific expenses to show what a buyer would expect to earn.
Letter of intent (LOI): A non-binding outline of price, structure and key terms that precedes due diligence and definitive agreements.
Due diligence: The buyer's or lender's investigation of financial, legal, operational and commercial matters before closing.
Earn-out: Part of the price paid after closing, contingent on the business meeting agreed performance targets.
Vendor take-back: Part of a purchase price the seller lends to the buyer, repaid over time. It bridges a funding gap and keeps the seller invested in the transition.
Estate freeze: A tax-planning structure that fixes the value of an owner's shares so future growth accrues to new shareholders. Implemented by accountants and counsel.
Shareholders' agreement: The contract among shareholders governing control, decisions, transfers, buy-sell events and dispute resolution.
Exempt market dealer: A firm registered with a securities commission to trade securities sold under prospectus exemptions, such as private-company shares.
Chartered Business Valuator: A professional designated to provide independent valuations of businesses and securities.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): What it costs to win one new customer: sales and marketing spend for a year divided by the new customers won in it.
Customer lifetime value (LTV): The gross profit a typical customer brings over the whole relationship. Buyers and lenders compare it with the cost to win one; three times or more is healthy.
Return on ad spend (ROAS): Sales produced by a campaign divided by what it cost. It says nothing about profit until the gross margin is applied.
Conversion rate: The share of leads that become customers, or of quotes that become orders. It connects the marketing line in a budget to the sales line in a forecast.
Sales pipeline: The work being quoted or negotiated but not yet won. A lender reads it as evidence for the forecast; a buyer reads it as next year's sales.
Sales engine: The system that brings customers in without the owner: a named ideal customer, channels that can be turned up, a process someone else could run, and tracked conversion numbers.

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