A practical BDC LIFT application walkthrough
Prepare the project case, confirm suppliers and planning requirements, then review the actual financing offer before implementation.
1. Define the investment before asking for a loan
Start with a one-page description of the workflow, its baseline cost or service problem, the proposed change, and the systems and people involved. A receptionist project, for example, needs a call-volume baseline, a human escalation route and a booking-system integration plan. “We want AI” does not establish a budget or a repayment case.
2. Ask BDC which LIFT path applies
Use the current LIFT comparison to prepare the conversation. Digital transformation and AI has a $1 million revenue floor and a mandatory BDC Advisory Services Digital Plan. The equipment route has a $5 million floor, specified industries and a current productivity plan. The paths have different loan ranges and repayment limits.
3. Confirm suppliers and the planning sequence
Give BDC the proposed supplier names, locations, products and scope. Ask the advisor to confirm the Canadian sourcing requirements. A vendor’s Canadian incorporation alone is not a financing decision. Confirm who provides the BDC plan, its price, deliverables and its relationship to the implementation scope.
4. Build a complete cost and cash-flow picture
- Separate planning, software, integration, equipment, data preparation, training and ongoing operations.
- Show which costs you propose to finance and which you will fund yourself.
- Include fees, debt repayments, subscriptions and support in monthly cash flow.
- List other grants, loans, contributions or expected tax credits and ask about overlap.
- Ask BDC when expenditure can begin and what evidence it needs before disbursement.
5. Review the written offer
Request the interest rate, whether it is fixed or variable, fees, security, term, principal postponement and disbursement conditions. Use the illustrative calculator only for a standard equal-payment scenario; obtain BDC’s schedule for a loan with postponed principal or a different structure. Do not treat an online rate or an implementation supplier’s timeline as an offer from BDC.
6. Tie delivery to measurable acceptance
The implementation contract should say what will work, which integrations are included, how failures escalate to staff, who owns accounts and data, and what happens at handover. Measure the baseline and review results after launch. Keep a fallback process and avoid paying for an ambitious second phase before the first phase demonstrates value.
Creatrixe can prepare an implementation scope and deliver technical work. BDC controls its advisory process, supplier review and lending decisions. There is no universal application-to-cash timeline; ask your advisor what is outstanding on your specific file.