A Partner Approach: Advanced Digital Solutions Combines Financing Options to Meeting Working Capital Needs

Since 2007, Advanced Digital Solutions (ADS) has been designing, testing, installing, integrating, and deploying accessible and advanced security management systems to customers across the Southeast United States. From their offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Lexington, Ky., ADS serves a variety of industries, but their primary expertise lies in filling the unique needs of government agencies, schools, and universities.

The Challenge

In early 2022, ADS won the bid to design and install a physical security system for an essential Kentucky state educational campus. For the company and CEO David Smith, the nature of the job created a unique problem.

“This educational campus project was very heavily weighted for equipment supply versus the usual installation and subcontract services.” said Smith. “The large amount of equipment put us over some credit limits with key vendors, so there was a requirement to put some down payments to those large equipment suppliers.

“This was a state-funded project with the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the payment terms were such that there was no negotiation for any down payments.”

A situation that would put ADS in a short-term cash-flow crunch.

The Solution

ADS turned to LSQ for help. Since 2019, the company has been using LSQ to finance certain invoices and, while the educational campus project was different, Smith was confident in a solution.

After a discussion with LSQ VP of Business Development Sherry Featherston, it was determined that a purchase order finance option – in conjunction with their current accounts receivable facility – would help meet ADS’s near-term needs.

“We worked through Sherry to give us some sort of sense of which would be the best partner in our case,” said Smith. “Then Sherry made an introduction with Trade Cap.”

Since ADS had a relationship with LSQ, the company was able to leverage the partnership between LSQ and Trade Cap to make the transaction quick and simple.

“One of the significant advantages we found was that LSQ already had inter-creditor agreements in place with Trade Cap,” said Smith. “The due diligence and vetting process was very easy, and we were able to get a funding source in place in a relatively short time frame.

“The funding that came from Trade Cap and LSQ was almost immediate and helped us place purchase orders for the equipment for this important campus.”

Results

With the equipment ordered, ADS was able to plan and get started on the work at eight buildings on the Kentucky educational campus. The job is scheduled to be completed by late June 2022. Utilizing purchase order and invoices financing has allowed ADS to pursue opportunities that weren’t available before to help grow their business.

“Financing our purchase orders and invoices was invaluable for us to complete this important project,” said Smith. “As we grow our business, working with Trade Cap and LSQ will help us take on similar projects that we couldn’t otherwise.”