What You Need to Know Before Applying for a Business Loan

On the internet, it might seem quite easy to start a business of your own. In most cases, all you need is a domain name, web hosting, and an idea for your business. However, if you’re going to start a much larger business where you might be hiring employees and need investment money, you might be considering your different options for funding the company or even taking out a business loan.

While there is nothing wrong with investing in your company and getting funding for the necessary start-up phases, it is wrong to not have a clear understanding of what you should know beforehand. Not all business loans are the same, nor are the methods of getting funding for your business. Just like the internet has changed the rest of the world, it definitely changes the way people can create a business, get access to investment money, and build a successful brand in the process.

To help with this process, below you will find a list of resources and key data points that you should know before applying for a business loan.

Review Online Lenders and Banks

Not only has the internet completely change the way business is done in the world today, it’s now offered the opportunity for anyone to get started with an online business of their own. At the same time, it’s also eliminated the need to walk into a bank and apply for a loan in person. Now everything can be done online, along with the necessary research and due diligence to find a quality lender or bank that is right for you or your business.

With this in mind, it’s important to read through online reviews of top lenders and banks, while also searching what the best small business loans are. Not only will you find ratings for each lender, you will also find real reviews from customers and clients who have already gone through the process. No matter what type of loan you might be looking for, it’s likely there is already a resource guide online covering that exact topic and focus. Once you’ve found a selection of top lender that fit your needs, you should narrow down your list to just a few and then make your final decision based of each of the key points below.

Explore Your Funding Options

As mentioned earlier, there are many different options when it comes to borrowing money. Gone are the days when you have to dress up in a suit, throw together a huge business plan and walk into a local bank and pray they will accept your idea. Now it’s all about filing online and finding the right investor or bank for your loan request.

For those in need of getting their hands on money fast, cash advance and payday loan websites are an opportunity (though they usually come at a higher cost), while PayPal also has their own working capital borrowing program as well (which has proven to work well for many existing online businesses). The benefit to having so many options is having the ability to find the right borrowing method that not only fills your need but also has a wide range of payment options to choose from.

Know Your Credit Score

One of the most important factors when getting any type of loan is going to be your credit score. Individuals have a personal credit score and businesses actually have a credit score as well. Depending on the quality of the score and your financial history, the amount that you can actually borrow will vary along with the interest rate that you will have to pay the loan back.

A high credit score is anything above 700, while a low credit score it would be anything below 600. The higher your credit score, the more success and lower fees you will find when borrowing.

A recent article in HuffingtonPost had the following to say in reference to credit scores and loan financing:

FICO credit scores range from 300 to 850. Higher figures represent greater creditworthiness. Anything above 600 is typically considered all right, but you ideally want a score in the 700-850 range for optimal borrowing capability.

As Experian notes, credit scores are calculated using the following formula:

• 35 percent: Payment history
• 30 percent: Amounts owed
• 15 percent: Length of credit history
• 10 percent: New credit
• 10 percent: Types of credit used

Have a Good Idea on How Much You Need

Before applying for a financial loan, it’s best to know why you are going to need the money in the first place and also how much you are going to need. Based on your personal and business history, along with your credit score, the amount of money you can apply for it and be accepted will vary. Another consideration here for how much you should be borrowing will also come down to your repayment plan and interest rates charged by your bank or lender. There is also a big difference between a credit line and a bank loan, as one will charge interest on the total amount borrowed versus the other which will only charge interest on the amount you actually take out.

Understand Loan Repayments and Interest Rates

As a business owner or entrepreneur, you are very good at what you do — which is running your business. However, this doesn’t mean that you will know everything there is about business financing and the terms and conditions that might be placed into your potential long. This is why it’s extremely important to take the time and research all loan repayments and interest rates before applying for your next loan. with so many different options now available online, not all loans are built the same way as traditional bank loans. Some might have upfront costs, others will have interest rates that you can pay over time and some will have a combination of both.

After reading through each of the resource guides and key points above, you should have a much better understanding of what it takes to get a loan for your business, while also knowing how much to request in the process. For more resources and business funding options, be sure to read through our six ways to fund your startup idea article.