Business loans can fund your business operations, help you cover inventory purchases or staffing costs and help you expand.
Having a good credit history makes you a safer borrower in the eyes of a lender. This matters more with unsecured loans because the risk to the lender is higher.
If you have a lower credit score, a lender may simply put you on a higher interest rate. For borrowers with serious credit problems, there are bad credit business loans as well.
Credit history is not the only factor. Lenders also look at your business track record when analysing your credit application.
Lenders big and small offer many different business loans. Often there is a specific name for a loan type, and then the borrower can choose a secured or unsecured version of that loan.
Line of credit loans are a flexible alternative to a standard business loan. Instead of borrowing a lump sum and paying it back, a line of credit is essentially a pre-approved amount of credit you can have access to.
You can then spend as much or as little as you need, up to the overall credit limit. This way you only pay interest on what you spend. It's a bit like a business credit card but with a higher borrowing limit and a lower rate.
A market loan, or market rate loan, is a business loan for medium and large businesses looking for larger but flexible loans.
A market loan's interest rate can be structured in different ways for greater flexibility or to protect against rate fluctuations.
These loans are useful for business owners who need to combine multiple loan accounts under one interest rate.
A business overdraft is linked to your transaction account. It allows your business to draw funds beyond what is currently saved in your account, with an approved total limit.
You pay interest on what you borrow. A business overdraft can be secured or unsecured.
While most unsecured business loans offer variable interest rates, many lenders give you the option to fix the rate.
You will get a more competitive interest rate with a secured business loan. These loans are lower risk for the lender because the lender can recoup its loss by selling the property you've offered as security if you fail to make repayments. Unsecured business loan rates are higher because the risk to the lender is higher. But even with these loans, rates vary quite a bit between lenders. Your credit score also impacts the rate you get.
So you can find a more competitive unsecured business loan rate by shopping around and making sure your credit score is in good shape.
Business loans are quite flexible as long as you use them for your business and not for personal use.
You can use an unsecured business loan to do the following:
Each lender has unique requirements but typically this includes the following:
With invoice financing, you can borrow against outstanding invoices. This is a quick, easy way to fix business cash flow problems without putting up property as collateral. Depending on the lender, you can have funds in your account within 1 business day. This kind of funding can be an option for when you're unable to fill an order because of a cash shortage.
If you're having trouble filling an order because of cash flow problems, you can apply for a loan where the lender pays your suppliers on your behalf. The supplier ships the order to your customer, who then pays the lender. Any profit from the transaction is deposited into your account.
With equipment finance, you can purchase business equipment. You won't have to pay for the equipment upfront. Instead, you can pay it off over time. You'll get to use the equipment in the meantime and use it to secure the loan. Depending on the lender, you can apply for a commercial loan or equipment loan, hire purchase, finance lease or novated lease.
With trade finance, banks and financial institutions act as intermediaries between the buyer and seller, providing a range of solutions addressing the complications that may arise while trading. It helps importing and exporting businesses manage cash flow issues that may arise due to changing marketing conditions and foreign exchange rates. There are a number of trade finance solutions available, including letters of credit, export and import finance, payment against documents and payment in advance. The lender acts as a third-party financier to facilitate the business deal while you're fulfilling the order. This type of loan is useful for business with suppliers and overseas customers.
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