Urgent business funding when time is running out

When your business needs money urgently, every day matters. A demand letter has landed, wages are due, a supplier has stopped your account or an opportunity closes on Friday. You don't need a lecture or a six-week bank process. You need a straight answer and a lender who can actually move.

fundU provides urgent business loans from $20,000 to $1m, secured on New Zealand property. We're a direct private lender, so our own credit team makes the decision and there's no panel or committee to wait for. In some cases, funding happens in as little as 24 hours once approved. Good businesses hit rough patches. Our job is to help you get through them.

What counts as urgent business funding?

Urgent business funding is money you need within days, not weeks, because a deadline or consequence is bearing down on you. It's usually tied to a date you can't move.

That might be a legal deadline, like the 15 working days a company has to respond to a statutory demand. It might be a practical one, like payroll on Thursday. Or it might be commercial: a deposit to secure a contract, a supplier offering stock at a big discount if you pay this week, or a business for sale with other buyers circling.

What these have in common is that a slow "maybe" is as bad as a "no". Speed and certainty are the whole point.

Urgent doesn't mean reckless, though. Even under pressure, we still look at the same things we always do: the property, what the money will fix, and how the loan will be repaid. The difference is that we do it in hours and days rather than weeks, and we tell you early if it isn't going to work so you can pursue another option without losing time.

Which situations do we fund urgently?

We regularly help New Zealand businesses with:

• IRD enforcement – overdue GST, PAYE, provisional or terminal tax, especially once Inland Revenue has started chasing
• Statutory demands – a creditor's formal demand under the Companies Act 1993
• Wages and PAYE – covering payroll when customer payments are late
• Suppliers on stop – clearing arrears so critical supply can restart
• Short-term lenders – paying out daily-repayment loans that are draining cash
• Lender demands – refinancing a lender that wants to be repaid now
• Opportunities with deadlines – contract deposits, stock deals or buying a business

Inland Revenue's January 2026 campaign on overdue GST and employer debt made the stakes clear. It said it would contact businesses, may then visit, make deductions from bank accounts, or take other enforcement action which may include bankruptcy or liquidation. For more on tax specifically, see IRD tax debt loans.

How fast can urgent business funding come through?

Fast, and faster when you're prepared. Because we decide ourselves, the loan decision isn't the slow part. In some cases funding happens in as little as 24 hours once approved.

Here's where time is usually spent, and how to shrink it:

Stage	What happens	How to speed it up
Enquiry and first call	You enquire online and a lending specialist calls you back	Enquire early in the day and keep your phone handy
Initial assessment	We review the property, purpose and exit	Have the property address, owners and mortgage balance ready
Valuation	Confirming the property's value	Give access to the property quickly
Approval and documents	Loan documents go to your lawyer	Have a lawyer lined up who can act straight away
Settlement	Mortgage registered, funds paid	Make sure all owners and guarantors can sign promptly

We'll never promise a fixed timeframe we can't control, but we'll give you an honest estimate on the first call and keep you updated throughout.

Why can a direct lender move faster than a bank in an emergency?

Because the people deciding are the people lending. There's no application form travelling between a relationship manager, a credit analyst and a committee in another city.

When you call fundU, the lending specialist you speak to is part of the team that assesses and approves your loan. Questions get answered on the phone rather than by email chains. We don't need financial statements or tax returns for the initial assessment, which removes the most common bottleneck of all: waiting on an accountant who's flat out. And because we're not a broker, your file isn't being shopped around a panel while the deadline gets closer.

Can you get urgent funding with bad credit or tax arrears?

Yes, often. Urgent situations rarely arrive with a spotless credit file, and we don't expect them to.

Missed payments, a default from a supplier, IRD arrears or a recent bank decline are all considered case by case. Because the loan is secured on property, what matters most is whether the funding genuinely fixes the problem and how it will be repaid. A loan that clears the debts causing the damage can be the first step to rebuilding your credit, not a reason to be turned away.

What should you do in the first 48 hours?

Act, don't freeze. The businesses that get through a crisis are usually the ones that make a few calls straight away.

1. Find the real deadline. Read every letter carefully and note the exact date by which something must happen.
2. Work out the full number. Add up what's needed to fix the problem properly, not just the loudest creditor.
3. Talk to the creditor. Let them know you're arranging funding. Many will hold off if they see a credible plan.
4. Check your property position. Note the value and mortgage balance of any property you, your company, trust or family could offer.
5. Line up your lawyer. Let them know a loan may need quick action.
6. Enquire with us. The sooner we know, the more options we have.

Our guide to the first 72 hours of a cash flow crisis goes into more detail, and how to talk to creditors and buy time helps with those conversations.

Don't ignore a statutory demand. The company has 15 working days to pay, settle or apply to set it aside. Once that window closes, the creditor can apply to put the company into liquidation. Read what to do about a statutory demand.

Why not just liquidate or appoint an administrator?

Because for a viable business, it's usually the wrong first step. Liquidation typically ends the company, liquidators charge fees, and directors lose control of the outcome.

The numbers show how many owners are facing this choice. Centrix reported 3,035 company liquidations in the year to May 2026, up 14%, with construction at 755 and hospitality at 421, up 51%. Behind every one of those figures is a business that ran out of time or options.

If your business is fundamentally sound and there's property equity available, being funded out of trouble can protect your staff, your customers and what you've spent years building. Paying IRD, clearing a statutory demand or replacing expensive debt with one secured loan can turn a crisis into a manageable plan. Our page on business rescue finance and the guide to alternatives to liquidation cover this in depth.

What does urgent funding look like in practice?

Here's a typical case where speed made the difference.

Example scenario

A civil contracting company in Northland received a statutory demand from a materials supplier for $96,000. It also owed Inland Revenue about $140,000 in GST and PAYE, and a large council job had been delayed, holding up progress payments. The bank declined an increase because the latest accounts showed a loss.

The two directors own their home jointly, worth around $1.25m with a bank mortgage of $560,000. The same week they enquired, fundU assessed the loan and issued terms. After valuation and legal documents were completed, a $260,000 second mortgage settled within the 15 working day window. The supplier and IRD were paid in full, and interest was capitalised so there were no monthly repayments while the council job restarted. The exit is the final progress payments and retentions due on completion.

What you'll need to move fast

Having these ready can shave days off the process:

• Every letter or notice driving the deadline, such as an IRD letter, a statutory demand or a lender demand
• The total amount needed to fix the problem, with a simple list of who's owed what
• The address of the property you can offer as security, and the names of all owners
• The value estimate and current mortgage balance for that property
• Your plan for repaying the loan, and roughly when
• Photo ID for all borrowers, owners and guarantors
• Your lawyer's name and contact details
• Recent bank statements, or other evidence like contracts, invoices or IRD statements, if requested

No financial statements or tax returns are needed for the initial assessment.

Need urgent business funding now?

If the clock is ticking, don't wait. Enquiring takes a couple of minutes, costs nothing and won't affect your credit score, and a lending specialist will call you back quickly. For the fastest response, call us on 09 875 4577. You can also read about our fast business loans for time-sensitive opportunities.

Start your enquiry now to see if you qualify for urgent funding.