You’ll often see businesses advertise that they are “Bonded”, but what does this really mean? When it comes down to it, there are a few different definitions and ways a company can be considered “Bonded”.

The most common type of bond a business has is usually some sort of a License Bond (also referred to as a Commercial Bond). These bonds typically have smaller values attached to them in the range of $5,000 – $50,000. However, Contract Bonds (which include Bid Bonds, Performance Bonds, etc.) are the type of bonds that enable a company to perform bonded works or bid on tenders requiring bonding.

Contract Bonds are facilitated by what we call a Bond Facility which we delve into next.

A Bond Facility is an annual program that enables you to provide the bonds that your business needs. Think of it like a gym membership – only, instead of having access to a gym, you have the opportunity to provide the required bonds when they’re needed. Once a Bond Facility is set-up, it is fairly inexpensive to maintain; however, setting one up does require a significant amount of information with a similar process to establishing a banking relationship.

As a Surety Bond Broker, we shop your business’ financial position to various Surety Companies to ensure you’re able to provide bonds for the projects and contracts you need them for at the best rates available.

The best way to get started is to apply today! There is a checklist of documentation we’ll need to get started to get your business a Contract Bond Facility. Surety Companies may request slightly different information based on their particular Underwriting philosophies, but in general we’ll require the following:

• Your Company’s Financial Statements: this includes Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Work On Hand Statement (Review Engagement Statements are preferred, but occassionally in-house can be accepted).
• Personal Financial Statements for each Shareholder: acquiring bonding for your business often includes a personal guarantee / indemnity.
• Contractors’ Questionnaire: we want to understand your business – it may be requested that you complete a brief summary document outlining your companies history and more details of ownership structure, etc.

The annual cost of a Bond Facility will vary depending on what we call the “Three C’s” of Surety – these are:

• Character: this includes the experience of key personnel within your business and history of completed contracts.
• Capacity: this references the size of projects that your company would be able to complete (enough employees, etc.).
• Capital: an evaluation of the funds available to bridge payments during a contract duration including operating lines, liquidity of assets, and more.

These factors will all play a role in not only the cost of your Bond Facility, but the limits of bond values you are able to provide. Essentially, the stronger you and your business are financially and historically in your field, the better. A good estimate for the annual cost of the ability to provide bonds is about $1,500. Final Bonds such as Performance or L&M bonds are an additional cost depending on contract size and the rate determined from your business application.

Once you’ve setup your company’s Bond Facility, you’re able to offer many types of bonds for contracts when required. These bonds include:

• Bid Bond
• Consent of Surety
• Guarantee Letters
• Labour & Material Payment Bond
• Maintenance Bond
• Performance Bond
• Supply Bond
• and other Surety documentation