Business Loans
It is easier to get loans today because of technology. It is still difficult for businesses, especially small businesses, to get a loan. There are so many things that you must do before you can get a loan as a business. The majority of businesses that ask for loans are rejected.
There are many ways that they can make this an easier process. There are many types of loans that they can try for. One way is to ask friends and family, or they can try the Small Business Administration if you are trying to get a small business loan. There are other avenues they can take, as well.
It might be difficult to even get a loan for most businesses, but this can be done. You can even get bedriftslån på dagen or business loans on the same day. There are many things that you need to know before you can make this happen.
This article will help you learn more about what you need to know to get a business loan. It will give you some ideas about how to get one. You can also do more research to find the information that you need.
What You Should Know
- Startups – If you are a startup, you shouldn’t even try to get a business loan. You most likely won’t get one because you don’t have any evidence that you have the money to make the payments. This also has a lot to do with underwriting, as well. Underwriters want to make sure that you are worth the risk.
The best way for a startup to get the funding that they need is to go to friends and family. As a startup, you could also try the Small Business Administration, or the SBA, to get the funding. You could also try to get a personal loan if you have good credit. These are the best ways to get money for your startup business.
- Credit Pulls – You must be careful about having too many credit pulls on your credit report. This happens when you go to too many lenders and authorize them to do a hard pull on it. A hard pull happens when the lender pulls your entire report and doesn’t just look at the credit score. This can damage your credit more than most other things.
To get around having too many credit pulls, you can ask the lender to do a soft pull. They can do this to get you pre-approved for a loan. If you get pre-approved for a loan, you can take it or look for another one that fits your needs better. You can do this as many times as needed, and it won’t hurt your credit report.
- Personal Credit – Before you attempt to get a business loan, you will need to clean up your personal credit history. You need to check your history at least once a year to see that it is accurate. If you have issues with it, you need to fix them before you apply for a business loan.
You should check all the debts that are listed to make sure that they are yours and that you do owe them. If there are mistakes, you need to dispute them with the three main credit bureaus. Disputing them is a simple process and won’t take you long to do. If you have legitimate debts there, make sure that you get them paid off as soon as you can.
- Credit – You can also get a credit check for your business, but it is different than a personal credit check. Unlike a personal check, you must pay for the business check. This usually costs around thirty-five dollars, so it’s not too much: https://www.ondeck.com/resources/how-to-read-business-credit-report. You can go to the three main credit bureaus to get this check done, too.
To get this information, you will need to file business taxes and a business tax identification number. For the money, you will get a brief overview of your history, including any liens that you might have. You can also find out if there are any judgments against your business.
- Bank Statements – You need to make sure that you manage all your bank statements carefully. Your bank statements show lenders how you manage your money for your company. This will help them to see if you will be able to make your payments on time each month. It is very important to make sure that you are checking your bank statements each month.
If you have a negative balance on any month, you will need to do something to turn that into a positive balance. You can negotiate with vendors so that you will pay less each month for a few months. You could also deposit any cash that you have into the bank.
- Borrow Only What You Need – This is something that many business owners overlook. They are approved for a certain amount that could be more than what they need. The business owner then accepts all the money instead of only what they need. This causes problems when it comes to making monthly payments.
- Outstanding Liens – Be on the lookout for outstanding liens that might have happened and that you have forgotten or not been aware of. This happens often to companies that have been in business for a few years. They might come from forgotten vendor payments or old judgments that have already been satisfied. Sometimes, it just takes a little work to clear these out.
- Check Your Documents – Make sure that you read all the documents before you sign them. You want to know exactly what you are agreeing to. There are newer online lenders and merchant cash advances that don’t have standard loan agreements. Because of this, you really need to read each document carefully to make sure that you aren’t agreeing to things you didn’t know about.
- Don’t worry about the APR. The APR or annual percentage rate will be high, so you need to count on that. You will need to make daily or weekly payments that might be taken directly from your bank account. Since you have decided that this is the only option that you have, just expect it to be high. By the time you get to this portion of the agreement, it has already been decided that you can afford to make the payments.
- Build Your Credit – Use this loan to help you build your future credit. Make your payments on time and in full each payment period. Pay the loan in full early if you can. Doing these things will help you build credit and your reputation.
Conclusion
There are many things that you should know before you try to take out a loan for your business. It is a tough thing to do, and you might not get one on the first try. You may have to clean up your credit report before you are approved. There are other things that you might need to do, as well.
If you are a startup business, you might not get a loan at all. You might need to talk to family or friends. Often, you can go to the Small Business Administration to see what kinds of loans they can direct you to.
Bob Duncan is the lead writer and partner on ConversationsWithBianca.com. A passionate parent, he’s always excited to dive into the conversation about anything from parenting, food & drink, travel, to gifts & more!