- Short-Term Loans:Short-term loans can be used for a wide variety of short-term business purposes. Working capital, hiring/training, business expansion, and marketing are just some of the things a short-term loan can cover. Just be aware that the fees are relatively high and that you’ll need to be able to repay the loan relatively quickly (at the same time, it’s likely you won’t save any money by repaying the loan early).
- Lines Of Credit: Having a line of credit is similar to having a business credit card in that you get (typically) a revolving line of credit that replenishes when you pay off the amount you’ve borrowed. However, compared to a business credit card, business lines of credit tend to sport lower interest rates and higher credit limits, so if you plan to carry a balance month-to-month or you need to borrow more than an average business credit card account will allow, you should seek a line of credit over a business credit card. Likewise, business lines of credit are better than business term loans when you can’t predict exactly how much money you’ll need to borrow.
- Invoice Financing/Factoring:Invoice financing involves putting up your customers’ invoices as collateral in exchange for a loan – a loan you repay once you’ve collected your customers’ outstanding payments. Another means of funding involving the use of your customers’ invoices is invoice factoring, which entails selling your outstanding invoices to a factoring company – the company then collects your customers’ invoices on your behalf. These forms of financing can be helpful when your business suffers from inconsistent cash flow due to customers not paying their invoices in a timely manner. However, these forms of financing can carry higher fees than other loan types, and, in the case of invoice factoring, can involve monthly minimums and maximums. Read our articles on invoice financing and invoice factoring for more information.
- Merchant Cash Advances: A merchant cash advance (MCA) can provide funding to businesses whose short time in business or poor credit scores make traditional loans hard to come by. This type of funding involves selling your future revenue at a discount to a merchant cash advance company; in return, the MCA company takes a portion of your sales revenue on a daily basis (though some providers may offer weekly or even monthly repayment schedules). This arrangement lets you pay less when your sales are slow and more when your sales are higher, thus smoothing out your cash flow. However, the fees are high, you’ll have to repay the advance payday loans Greeneville TN quickly, and you’ll have to avoid the shady operators in this space. Read our piece on merchant cash advances to get the full story.
Have a look at our article on emergency business loans for even more information on how to get fast business funding.
How Do I Avoid Disreputable Lenders?
Not all lenders are honest and forthcoming about the fees they will charge you. To avoid unscrupulous lenders, look for customer feedback on the lender in question and see if you detect any concerning patterns emerging. Another way to weed out the bad actors is to check review sites like ours to see how they stand up to scrutiny.
FAQs About Same-Day Business Loans
Just be aware that even with the speediest lenders, there’s no guarantee that you will receive same day funding. The approval process can always take longer than anticipated, as can the distribution of funds.
There’s no definitive answer as to the types of business loans that are easiest to obtain. However, there are some general rules of thumb: