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FAQ

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Application

I am unable to obtain a tax clearance cert as I have some tax arrears/arrangement/ connected entity tax issues can I still qualify for funding?

Yes – GRID understands there may be arrangements in place or some tax arrears at certain times of the year. If a tax clearance cert is not available you can provide Revenue screenshots or a letter from your accountant outlining the situation so we can understand your position and assess your funding application accordingly.

Do you take security for flexible financing?

There is no formal security such as property required for the financing. In all instances we seek a personal guarantee from the signatories of the financing agreement. For larger funding amounts we may also seek a deed of assignment over the merchant/card/ transfer receivables or a debenture. More details are provided in our FAQ “What are the GRID product types and information requirements?”.

Can I have more than one financing facility with GRID Finance?

Yes, you can have more than one financing facility with GRID. The GRID Team will assess all existing facilities and debt before approving a new facility. If your current repayment levels are low we can fit an additional facility alongside your current facility(ies). Depending on your current repayment levels with us, we may need to refinance your balance to ensure there is no pressure on your daily cashflow. In this case the further along you are repaying your facility the more finance that can be provided to you and the better value you secure from the finance. When you can reapply for next facilities is at the dicretion of GRID. 

What are the GRID product types and information requirements?

The GRID product suitable for you will be determined on your business type, how you receive your income , sector, length of time trading, repayment capacity & credit criteria, monthly income and amount of finance you require. For more information, please see “Which Funding Option is the Best for My Business“.

What is the likelihood of my application being approved?

We have a high approval rate because our approval decisions are based on the strength of the revenue that you are receiving, your time trading as a business and the tax status of the business. If a tax clearance cert is not available, a letter from your accountant stating the tax status/ outstanding position or Screenshots from ROS (revenue) will also be accepted. (Instructions are available during the application process) 

How quickly can I get a funding facility?

When our team have a complete application, approval can be given within 24 hours. To complete the online funding facility documentation and to set up your flexible repayments, this may take 3 – 7 workings days, after which we will transfer your funds to your nominated bank account.

What paper work do I need to start the process?

The application itself takes 3 minutes to complete online. At minimum, you will be asked to upload: 

  1. 6 months up to date bank statements, (or a read only Open Banking Connection) 
  2. Up to date tax clearance cert  (or you can provide the details of any gaps in taxes presently for assessment)  

For larger facilities, we may also require audited financial accounts and management accounts. For more details please check our FAQ “What are the GRID product types and information requirements?”.

How can I apply?

We know that your time is limited which is why we have made it easy for you to apply 24/7 from the comfort of your own office, premises or home. Apply online by completing some simple information about your business and uploading easy to access supporting up to date documents. This is best completed on your desktop computer for ease of uploading documents.

Business Finance

What is GRID Finance Flex and a Receivables Purchase Agreement

GRID Finance Flex is an innovative way to finance your business. Rather than a traditional “term loan” with our product GRID are purchasing your future sales (Receivables Purchase Agreement) to repay an “Advance” .

If you are selling to consumers (B2C) and using an online payment processor or physical card machines to sell your product or service such as AIBMS, Stripe, deliveroo, Shopify (to name but a few) GRID will set up a “Smart Settlement Account” where your payments will land and seamlessly repay your facility by a % of your sales. This means when you are quiet payments towards the facility reduce and will catch back up again when you get busier. You can always see all your live transactions on our cutting edge platform so you know where your funds are and can reconcile everything seamlessly. This works with the natural ebb and flow of your business and relieve pressure on your cashflow in quieter times. See here for more details

If you are selling to other businesses (B2B) and don’t have any payment processers you simply connect your Current account through Open Banking and GRID will take a Flexible direct debit every day based on your 5 day rolling average of turnover. Again this provides you with the flexibility on payments based on your sales volumes. You can see on your platform account all transactions and the coming 2 days repayments. See here for more details

Once your facility is mostly repaid or at a level determined by GRID on your Offer letter , you can seek another facility and GRID will reassess how much is suitable for your business. As your business grows so can your facilities and provides an excellent source of repeatable working capital finance.

Can we use multiple businesses to fund the repayment of the funding advance?

We understand that businesses can be structured in many ways. The GRID Team will aim to design a repayment structure to suit your business needs.

What’s the longest term available for GRID funding?

GRID business funding is designed to be short-medium term finance and are most suited for working capital purposes. The financing is designed to be a rolling credit facility over time and once onboarded you will be building up information and credit history with GRID to support further applications. Each individual finance option runs for up to 12 months but we can design funding solutions with multiple drawdowns over time (tranches). 

Shorter term finance solutions such as leasing may also be more suitable for your business i.e. to replenish your stock more frequently and your GRID facility will be repaid in time for when you want to complete a new stock order.

You can apply for additional facilities during the course of your GRID facility by simply accessing your GRID account, GRID will also contact you when you have repaid your current facility sufficiently to invite renewal applications.

How much can I apply for ?

Facilities are available from €10,000. The amount you are eligible for will depend on how much revenue you are generating. For typical businesses, this would mean a minimum income amount of €10,000 per month.

We consider larger facilities up to €500,000, if you are a new customer to GRID you can commence a new application here, if you are an existing GRID customer, please login to your account, a member of the GRID team will be in touch to guide if required. 

Who can apply for finance?

Any business (limited company, sole trader, partnership) that takes some, a lot or all of their revenue through debit/credit card, by card machine or online using a payments processor. The business must be registered in the Republic of Ireland, trading for 9 months minimum (we can take account of previous trade as a sole trader). Your facility will be repaid by a small % of your income as you receive it.

Personal Finance
We only provide funding to Irish-registered B2C and B2B businesses – if you are seeking a personal financing, please contact your Bank / Credit Union or other provider.

Existing Users

How do I register a formal complaint

If you would like to make an official complaint you can email business@gridfinance.ie. Please read our Customer Complaints Policy before doing so.

Other queries

If none of the above suggestions address your query, please submit your query to our Support Team.

Forgot password

To request a new password, look for the “Forgot your password” link under the password input on the login page.

Account access

Accessing your account for the first time? Submit your access request to our Support Team.

Fees

How are the GRID Finance Flex products priced.

The funding advances are designed to be flexible so that it will flex with your business cashflow and there are no fixed monthly amounts to be paid. If you have a quiet period in your business over a three‑month period, you’ll pay less during slower months, and the funding balances out during busier periods. We simply add the cost of the facility to your specific “Advance” at the outset and for simplicity purposes and you pay it off with your future sales.

The facilities do not operate like a traditional term loan and so are not priced as APR but your facility offer is very clear including all costs and estimated term it will take to redeem . As you are selling your future sales to GRID and these are repaying your facilities the facility is based on a “Discount Cost of your sales” – more information can be found here.

How much does GRID Flexible Finance funding cost?

All GRID Products operate at a fixed discount cost and are priced on risk so may vary slightly depending on the output of the underwriting assessment. For more details please check our FAQ “What are the GRID product types and information requirements?”.
 
There are no hidden fees on a GRID Flexible Finance business facility. The cost of your funding advance is made up of two items. 

The first item is the GRID Arrangement Fee, this is fixed at €5 per €100, for instance, a €10,000 facility would translate to a GRID Arrangement Fee of €500 (excl. VAT at 23% which you can reclaim if VAT registered (€615 incl VAT)). This is only charged when you activate the facility and we will incorporate this into your facility so you receive the full €10,000 you have requested  

The second item is the Discounting cost, In taking a GRID Finance Flexible Facility you are selling GRID your future sales until the advance is fully redeemed. The Discounting cost is determined by the estimated term and amount of the funding.

With the above example with an estimated term of a 12 month advance for €10,000.00 + €615.00 Arrangement fee Incl VAT would cost €1,401.18. The facility cost is simply added at the outset of your activation and redeemed over the estimated term of your facility. The facility operates on a “Discounting basis” as you are selling your “Receivables / Future Sales” rather than a traditional “Loan” from a Bank. For display purposes only this discounting rate works out as 11.66% . This is based off of the discounting cost/ future sales required to redeem the Advance i.e. €1,401.18/(€10,615+€1,401.18). Your discounting Cost and % will be clearly contained in your facility letter.

With the above example but over an estimated term of a 6 month advance for €10,000.00 + €615.00 Arrangement fee Incl VAT would cost €700.59. The discounting rate is 6.19% and is worked out by €700.59/ (10,615+ €700.59). Your discounting Cost and % will be clearly contained in your facility

GRID Finance Flex - For B2B Businesses "Selling to other businesses"

What fees are associated with the Flexible Funding Facility?

Outside of the costs outlined in the FAQ “How much does the GRID Finance funding cost?” Each direct debit costs 49c. Bounced direct debit repayments also attract a surcharge which are noted in funding agreement’s terms and conditions

Can GRID exclude certain transactions that are not trading income from their repayment calculations.

Yes – if we see frequent inter-company transfers for example we will exclude this from our calculations. If you require certain other transactions excluded please let us know via the support page 

Why do I need to maintain my open Banking connection with GRID

This is so we can calculate how busy or quiet your trade is and collect the set small % of average trading income. It will also allow your case to be re-assessed when you are seeking a new facility after the present one is mostly paid down. If the open banking connection is not maintained Grid will collect the average daily repayment +15% as standard to ensure repayment of the facility by the expected date.

How can I tell what my next repayments will be

On your repayments dashboard you will see what payments have been exported for the next 3 business days based on your 5 business day rolling average. This rolling average smooths out the repayments from any “Spikey” receipts and repayments. 

When do payments from my bank account get applied to my GRID Flex Finance Facility.

Payments from your current account are taken by GRID via direct debit – it usually takes 3-5 5 business days for the payment to be confirmed as completed and funds to be received by GRID so it can be applied against your facility.  Your repayments dashboard will show you the date of presentation from your current account and the date it was applied to your facility but there will typically always be some payments in transit.

When will payments be taken from my current account

A small repayment will be taken, typically every business day. This repayment is based off a small % of your trading income. This means there is no bulky repayments on specific day each month like there is with a traditional term loan. When your business is quiet, the repayments will reduce and leave spare funds for other costs, as it gets busy again it will increase and the facility will catch back up. 

GRID Finance Flex - For B2C businesses "selling to consumers"

How much does the smart settlement account cost to set up and operate?

GRID will cover the cost of setting up the account on your behalf.
 

The ongoing cost will depend on the amount of activity in the account. Each transaction in or out costs 49 cents so if there was 1 lodgement received and 1 payment back to your current account then this would cost 98 cents for that day. For a typical customer with 1 terminal settling 5 days a week, this would cost €4.90 each week. It does not vary based on the value of the transactions simply the amount of activity. 

For a larger facility that had 3 terminals settling, if they were all from the same provider and lodgement received at the same time of the day this would cost €1.96 (3 lodgements in and 1 withdrawal out).

Does it take long for my card or online receipts after repayments are deducted to be transmitted to my own bank accounts?

No, depending on when they are received to us within the day they are typically received by you within half a business day to your own bank account. For example, if they are received by us before 9:30am you will receive them by c 2pm.

Between 9:30am and 1pm will be received by you before 5pm the same day and anything received after 1pm will be received by you by c 2pm  the next day. You can use your GRID account to see all payments coming in and out and easily reconcile all your transactions on a live basis.

What happens to the smart settlement account when my advance has been repaid?

Many customers keep the smart settlement account in place so that they can renew their funding, draw down further funds and continue to make flexible repayments. If you do not require further funds and do not wish to renew your flexible funding arrangement, the smart settlement account can be changed with your merchant services provider, and your settlements will revert back to your own bank account.

Where does the smart settlement account come from?

GRID have partnered with Fire Financial Services to provide GRID customers with a smart settlement account. Fire is a digital payments processor that is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.”

How is the smart settlement account set up?

We will provide you with a dedicated settlement account that will become your settlement account for the duration of your facility. We will provide you with what you need to instruct your merchant services provider to add your smart settlement account to their system. 

We have a dedicated specialist to assist with this process and your onboarding. Click here to see a visual version of how getting a business flexible finance facility works

Repayments (General)

Is there a penalty if I repay my funding early?

There are no early repayment fees on our products the cost of the facility for the duration are set at the start and are simply repaid over the life of the facility. GRID also allow a 7 day cooling off period if you decide subsequently you do not require the funding. Please refer to Clause 13.4 & 13.6 of our terms and conditions for further details.

My facility is ahead of plan. Can I reduce my batch % ?

How do I make a change to my daily batch repayment %?

You can request changes to your repayment levels by emailing your account manager or via our support page and we will review your case. 

How do GRID calculate the repayment (daily batch) % on the funding facility?

1. We review your last 6/12 months of income and set the % based on that. If we expect seasonality we apply an additional % (Buffer%) to ensure that the facility is repaid on time. A buffer % may also be applied if the case is deemed higher risk. 
 
 2. The funding advance is designed to be flexible so at different times of the year the funding may be behind target and at other times it may be ahead but we are okay with that as we set the overall % to ensure the facility is repaid on time. 

When do my repayments begin?

Repayments will begin the same day that the funds are transferred to your nominated bank account.

How are my flexible repayments made?

The advantage of the GRID facility is that your repayments are flexible and are made using a small portion of your trading income as it is received. These small portion repayments are collected from either: 
a) your debit card / credit card/ online sales/ platform income if available OR 
b) your current account if you only receive your income from customers via bank transfer.  

You can find further details on option A in FAQ section ” Repayments – Cash Advance Facility (Your business receives trading income from debit card , credit card, online or other platform sales)”  OR 
option B in FAQ section ” Repayments – Flexible Repayment Facility – (Your business receives trading income via bank transfer to your current account from your customers)”