When it comes to small business loans, you need the right solution. This guide helps business owners compare options available through a lender marketplace and a way to speak to a knowledgeable expert and ensure you as an entrepreneur get the best deal.
Fast, Simple & Easy Small Business Loans to Take You to the Next Level
Whether your small business is growing or facing a challenge, you need cash to cover the expenses. Finding the best small business loan gives you the resources you need to pursue opportunities or solve problems.
Unlike selling equity, getting a small business loan allows you to maintain business ownership, profits and full control.
There are countless fast small business loans available on the market today, but to truly invest in your future, you need the right one.
Our 75+ lender marketplace puts all your options in one place, allowing you to compare them with expert guidance and only apply one time.
Applying is fast, simple, easy, and doesn’t affect your credit score.
Why Cash Flow Is Important—and Most Businesses Need a Boost
Cash flow is like the oxygen of your business.
When cash flows smoothly, you can cover all of the essential expenses in your business, including payroll, operating costs, and other bills. More importantly, though, positive cash flow allows you to pursue new growth and expansion opportunities in your business.
At some point, all businesses face cash flow challenges like seasonal slowdowns and late-paying customers. Business credit cards and personal loans generally don’t provide enough cash to accomplish what you need to.
When you’re set on growing your business, it’s important to have enough working capital to stay ahead of the competition and not fall behind.
How to Use Business Financing to Grow Your Business Easier & Faster
Every owner wants to grow their business, but doing so requires money.
The only ways you can grow your business are reinvesting profits, raising equity, or using small business loans (or another business financing option).
At first glance, reinvesting your profits is the cheapest option. But with working capital covering every cost, it can take years for you to reach your goal.
Utilizing a small business loan can actually be more profitable for your business in the long run. You can obtain cash to cover all growth-related expenses right away, putting you on track to boost revenue as soon as possible.
Grow Your Business
Use cash to expand, open a new location, hire new employees, and more.
Have Extra Cash on Hand
Prepare for the unexpected by obtaining extra cash for sudden expenses.
Cover Expenses
Keep your business on track with cash for payroll, operating expenses, and more.
Buy New Equipment
Improve your business or offer new products or services with new equipment.
Buy Inventory
Purchase extra supplies or inventory ahead of your busy season to boost profits.
Weather Seasonal Slumps
Get working capital to keep your business moving during seasonal slow periods.
What’s the Easiest Way to Get a Business Loan?
You can apply at a bank, but you know that’s not easy. That’s why you’re here—to find an easy way to get a small business loan.
Banks aside, there are many other small business lenders, which makes finding the best option for you even more confusing.
Every lender offers different programs with varying interest rates, term lengths and funding amounts.
Online marketplaces like National simplify and speed up this process.
Our industry-leading marketplace brings the best small business lenders together in one place, making it easy for you to apply, compare options, and ensure you choose the right loan.
The entire process takes place electronically, meaning you don’t have to take time out of your busy day for a meeting. You can also submit required financial information online.
Small Business Loan Application Process
National’s simplified small business loan application process removes the usual pain and frustration, while giving you more options to choose from.
Apply
Fill out our simple 60-second application to begin the process. Then, complete your online application by connecting your bank statements through our bank-grade portal in under 3 minutes
Review
Consider multiple loan options available within our marketplace. Hear your options explained by a knowledgeable Business Financing Advisor, and ask any questions you have.
Get Funded
Select the best option available and get funded in as little as a few hours. Start using your cash to grow your business right away, without restrictions on how you can use the funds.
We take an educational approach to helping you get the best option.
By explaining—rather than selling—we can help you can find the right loan for your business.
What Do You Need to Be Eligible to Apply for Small Business Loans?
All lenders have different guidelines when it comes to small business loan eligibility, and the weight of each factor. Even if you don’t qualify for a bank loan because of a low credit score or personal finances, you may still be eligible for small business loans through an alternative lender. Showing a profit helps, but is not always essential to receive financing. At National, we focus on your business’s potential, rather than your history:
Six months in business
$120K in annual revenue
No minimum credit score
Even as a young, growing business, you can still find financing options
To qualify, your business must be generating a minimum of $10,000 monthly revenue
We have financing options for businesses with excellent and bad credit.
Apply Now
What’s the Minimum Credit Score Required for a Small Business Loan?
Bank rejections can be discouraging, but not all small business lenders have a minimum required credit score.
At National, you can find options regardless of your credit score. We have programs for small businesses with good credit, bad credit, and everything in between.
Instead of focusing only on your business and personal credit scores, we consider your annual revenue, and how your new opportunity could help you grow.
How to Get a Credit Approval for Your Small Business Loan
Getting a credit approval for a small business loan is no longer the tedious process it once was. New fintech platforms have expedited this process to make it faster and easier for you.
In fact, our streamlined digital application eliminates the need for any paperwork.
By completing our online application and connecting your bank accounts through our bank-grade security portal, you’ve already provided all the information we need to check your options.
Finding the Best Available Loan Programs
In today’s world, there are countless financing and loan programs available at your fingertips. But even though some of these loan programs are fast and easy to qualify for, they may not be the best.
Every lender offers different programs, and every business has different needs. It’s important to start your search for funding options with your needs in mind.
Direct lenders provide only a limited number of options. If you apply through a direct lender, you limit your potential to find the best option on the market.
Applying through a marketplace allows you to access options from numerous lenders, instead of just one. For example, National’s marketplace offers options through over 75 small business lenders.
In addition to small business loans, online marketplaces also offer other financing options.
You can find SBA loans, which are backed by the federal government through the Small Business Administration. Often, applying through a marketplace makes this a faster and easier process than applying through a bank.
You can also find other options, such as a business line of credit, merchant cash advances, and equipment financing.
By considering multiple options, you can choose the one that best fits your business and goals.
What are Secured & Unsecured Business Loans?
The difference between secured and unsecured business loans is simple. Secured business loans require collateral, while unsecured business loans do not.
Typically, traditional banking institutions will require your loans to be secured with collateral, like real estate or heavy machinery.
In the modern business financing world, however, you can find small business loans without collateral.
If you have collateral to back your small business loan, then you can choose to put it up. If not, then you can still find financing options. We can help you find either option within our marketplace.
What is a Term Loan?
One way in which small business loans are different is the repayment terms. Depending on your business needs and goals, you may be looking for options with short or long repayment terms.
Term loans are small business loan programs that have repayment terms lasting from 1-10 years. This gives you more time to repay the loan, but also means that you are financially responsible for a longer period of time.
Generally, term loans are the best option available when you are utilizing funding for something that doesn’t directly drive revenue. For example, building maintenance might be a necessity to operate your business, but won’t necessarily help you generate higher profits.
What are Short Term Loans?
Short term loans work just like term loans, but have shorter payback periods. Typically, short term loans have payment terms of 1 year or less.
While you have a shorter period of time to pay the full payback amount, there is also less time for interest to accrue. For this reason, short term loans can actually be the best option for some small business owners.
Short term loans are the ideal option for expenses that directly drive revenue, such as marketing, the costs of taking on a new project, and expansion.
Small Business Loans 101
Small business loans function a lot like personal loans, although they serve a different purpose—they’re only meant for small businesses.
If you’ve ever taken out a loan, such as a student loan or mortgage, then you probably already understand how they work. The lender provides you, the small business owner, with capital for a need. As the borrower, you’ll then repay the balance of the loan, plus interest
Depending on how and where you borrow, different financing products come with different terms. You may make payments based on a fixed interest rate in some situations, and with a variable interest rate in others.
Owners use the extra cash from small business loans to cover any expenses, whether they’re solving a challenge or pursuing an opportunity.
Curious about how small business loans could work for your company?
Speak to a Business Financing Advisor at National to learn more.