CovenantGuard — Loan covenant monitoring software
Loan covenant monitoring software that tracks every ratio continuously and produces lender-ready compliance reports, straight from the ledger.
Works with QuickBooks Online
The problem
- Covenant ratios are recalculated in a spreadsheet right before each report is due.
- A breach is discovered after it happened, not before.
- Lender reporting is a manual scramble every quarter.
How CovenantGuard fixes it
Loan covenant monitoring software that tracks every ratio continuously and produces lender-ready compliance reports, straight from the ledger.
What you get
DSCR, leverage, and fixed-charge coverage tracked continuously.
Outcome 1A heads-up while there is still time to act before a breach.
Outcome 2Lender-ready compliance packets without the quarter-end fire drill.
Outcome 3CovenantGuard vs a spreadsheet
Covenant tracking usually lives in a quarter-end spreadsheet built the week the compliance certificate is due. That is exactly when a breach is most expensive to discover, because there is no time left to act.
| Area | Spreadsheet | CovenantGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Ratio calc | Rebuilt from exports each quarter | DSCR, leverage, and FCCR computed continuously from the ledger |
| Breach warning | Found after the period closes | Flagged while there is still time to act |
| Definitions | Re-keyed from the credit agreement each time | Encoded once to match your agreement |
| Lender packet | Assembled by hand every quarter | Generated lender-ready on demand |
| Headroom | Unknown between reporting dates | Visible continuously, so you see a trend before a breach |
Illustrative example
Take $1.5M of annual debt service under a 1.25x minimum DSCR: the business needs at least $1.875M of trailing-twelve-month cash flow available for debt service. If that figure slips from $2.1M (1.40x) to $1.92M (1.28x), the covenant still passes — but headroom has shrunk from $225k to $45k. A quarter-end spreadsheet reports two passes; continuous monitoring shows headroom down 80% while there is still time to adjust spend or talk to the lender.
Hypothetical figures to show the arithmetic, not customer results.
How it connects to QuickBooks
- 1.Connect QuickBooks Online with a secure, read-only authorization. CovenantGuard never writes to your books.
- 2.CovenantGuard reads the accounts and transactions it needs and builds its analysis from your live ledger.
- 3.Results stay current as your books change. Disconnect at any time to revoke access.
Frequently asked questions
Can covenant monitoring software track total leverage and fixed charge coverage automatically?
Yes. CovenantGuard recalculates total leverage (debt / EBITDA), the fixed charge coverage ratio, DSCR, minimum liquidity and capex limits from your QuickBooks Online ledger every time the books change, using the definitions in your credit agreement — including the EBITDA add-backs your lender allows — rather than a quarterly spreadsheet rebuild.
Can software flag a covenant breach before the quarterly compliance certificate is filed?
That is the point of CovenantGuard. It tracks headroom on every covenant against its threshold and projects the trend, so a ratio drifting toward a breach is flagged weeks before the compliance certificate is due — while there is still time to act or to talk to your lender first.
How do I monitor covenant headroom across several loans?
Each facility's covenants are set up with their own thresholds and test dates, and CovenantGuard shows headroom for all of them side by side, with alerts when any one approaches its limit. To check a single covenant today, use the free Covenant Headroom Checker.
Does CovenantGuard work with QuickBooks Online?
Yes. CovenantGuard connects to QuickBooks Online through a secure, read-only connection and builds its analysis directly from your live ledger. There is nothing to export or re-key.
How long does it take to get started?
CovenantGuard is not generally available yet. When it launches, setup is connecting QuickBooks Online — no implementation project or spreadsheet import.
How much does CovenantGuard cost?
Plans start at $49/mo (Starter: one tool, one company). The $199/mo Suite includes every Tech for CFO tool, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
Is my financial data safe?
CovenantGuard uses a read-only connection to QuickBooks Online and does not write to your books. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Is there a free way to try it first?
Yes. The free Loan Covenant Health Check runs CovenantGuard-style analysis on numbers you enter, no account required, so you can see the value before connecting QuickBooks.
Is CovenantGuard better than a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is flexible, but it has to be rebuilt every period and breaks easily. CovenantGuard is built to connect to QuickBooks Online and stay current as the books change, which removes the manual rebuild and the formula risk.
Can I keep using my spreadsheet too?
Yes. CovenantGuard reads from QuickBooks Online and does not change your books, so a spreadsheet for one-off analysis can sit alongside it. CovenantGuard is not generally available yet, so keep your spreadsheet until it launches.
Can CovenantGuard match my specific loan covenants?
Yes — the ratio definitions are set to mirror your credit agreement (DSCR, leverage, fixed-charge coverage, liquidity, capex), so the numbers match how your lender measures them.
Does it produce something I can send my lender?
Yes. It generates a lender-ready compliance packet on demand, so quarter-end is not a manual scramble.
How early will I know about a potential breach?
Because ratios are computed continuously from QuickBooks rather than at quarter-end, a slide toward a covenant threshold is visible in the weeks before it becomes a breach.
Ready to put CovenantGuard on your numbers?
CovenantGuard is not generally available yet. See what is live in the suite today.