Help centre
How to apply, what we need from you, and how to fix the things that go wrong — on the website and in the app.
Looking for something else? Guides — The questions worth answering before you sign anything, with the arithmetic shown. · Writing — News and argument about Canadian small-business lending.
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- How to fill in an applicationAll eleven steps, what each one is actually for, and the three that will not let you past them until they are done.
- What to have ready before you startFive things on the desk before you open the form, and the whole application is one sitting rather than two evenings.
- What happens after you send itThe four stages on the tracker, what each one actually means, how long it takes, and what an approval looks like when it arrives.
Getting started
What to have to hand, what the whole thing costs you in time, and how to give yourself the best shot.
4 articles
- What to have ready before you startFive things on the desk before you open the form, and the whole application is one sitting rather than two evenings.
- Creating your accountWhat we ask for at sign-up, what your password has to be, and why the account is made before the application rather than after it.
- How to fill in an applicationAll eleven steps, what each one is actually for, and the three that will not let you past them until they are done.
- Giving yourself the best shotWhat underwriters actually read, the four things that quietly sink a file, and how to ask for a number you will get.
Filling in an application
Every step of the form, what each question is for, and what happens once you send it.
9 articles
- Saving, and picking it up laterNothing has to be finished in one sitting. What gets saved, when, where it reappears, and the one deadline on an unfinished application.
- Sending it to usWhat has to be finished before the button works, who in the business is allowed to press it, and what happens in the first hour after you do.
- What happens after you send itThe four stages on the tracker, what each one actually means, how long it takes, and what an approval looks like when it arrives.
- Reading your offerThe four figures on an approved application, what each one means, and the questions worth asking before you accept.
- When we need something from youWhat the amber banner means, how to send exactly what was asked for, and why it is the only state that is your move.
- Changing or withdrawing an applicationWhy a sent application cannot be edited, what to do when something was wrong or has changed, and how to call it off.
- Applying againA second application for a business we already know starts nearly finished — everything you typed comes across, and the documents do not.
- The emails we send youEvery email Spark sends, what each one means, and the useful thing about them — you can just hit reply.
- When the website misbehavesThe handful of things that go wrong in a browser, in the order they are worth trying.
Documents and identity
Bank statements, company paperwork, the ID check — what we need, in what shape, and why.
5 articles
- Bank statementsSix months, from the bank, every account the business uses — the four rules, how to get them out of your bank on a phone, and what gets a file sent back.
- Company paperworkWhich documents prove the business is real, which are required, and why the list is different in Canada and the United States.
- File types and sizesWhat we accept, the ten-megabyte limit, and where to send something that does not belong to an application yet.
- Verifying your identityWhat the ID check is, what it does with your documents, what to do when it fails, and why you only ever do it once.
- If you sent the wrong documentThere is no delete button, and that is deliberate. What to do instead, on both surfaces, and when it matters enough to call.
Your account
Signing in, passwords, your details, and closing the account if you want to leave.
4 articles
- Signing inWhere to sign in on each surface, what to do when it will not let you, and what one account covers.
- Resetting your passwordHow the reset link works, how long it lasts, and what the new password has to be.
- Your detailsWhere your own contact information lives, how to change it, and why it is separate from the business's.
- Closing your accountHow to delete your account, exactly what is removed, and what we are required to keep.
Your team
A business applies, not a person. Invite the people who hold the information.
3 articles
- Inviting someone to helpHow to get your bookkeeper, accountant or partner onto the application without handing over your password.
- Someone invited you to helpYou have a link from a client or a colleague. What it gives you access to, what to do if it does not work, and what you can and cannot do once you are in.
- Owners and employeesTwo roles and exactly one difference between them — an employee can fill in every part of an application, and an owner is the one who sends it.
The Spark app
The iPhone app: what it does, how it lines up with the website, and what to try when it misbehaves.
3 articles
- The Spark appWhat the iPhone app does, the four tabs, what it needs to run, and how to do each job in it.
- Using the app and the website togetherOne account, one set of applications, two places to work on them — and which surface is better for what.
- When the app misbehavesThe handful of things that actually go wrong on the phone, in the order they are worth trying.
Still stuck?
Nothing here is a substitute for a person who can look at your file. If something is wrong with an application, calling is the fastest way through it.