photo credit: striatic

Finding proper business financing is not easy at the best of times for most small and medium sized business owners and managers.

There are a number of reasons that collectively explain why the business financing market can be so difficult to understand and navigate.

But probably the single biggest reason is the lack of useful information about how the business financing market actually works.

Business financing information and education sources predominantly come in two forms: 1) Text books; 2) Major bank advertising.

If you’ve ever read through a educational finance text book or taken a business financing course, you already know how difficult it can be to apply the theories, principles, and strategies to a small or medium sized business.

Our formal education system provides limited information as to how the market place works, how to plan for financing requirements, how to manage periods of growth, decline, transition, start up, etc.

Sure academic books and courses can go through all these areas in great detail, but is the information practical, real world, something you can relate to and apply yourself as a manager or owner of a small or medium sized business?

In most cases, the answer is a resounding NO.

Most finance text books speak to big business financing dynamics that are not easily transferable to small and medium sized business scenarios.

Outside of the formal education system, the next great source of business financing information is the information provided by the major banks, which they tend to make available to you by the boat load through their broad based marketing campaigns.

Unfortunately, the information by itself seldom helps you determine if a particular institution would be able to provide you with financing, or what would be required to qualify for a loan.

The good news is that business financing sources continue to grow in numbers as more and more lenders carve out a particular piece of the market to service.

In order to take advantage of these alternatives, you need to have a solid approach in place when seeking business financing.

Here’s a short list of things to consider

Develop a solid, ongoing, understanding of both your personal and business assets, income, and cash flow.

Regardless of the business financing model, these elements will always come into play to some degree.

Being able to demonstrate a solid understanding of your business financials is also an indication of your ability to manage the underlying business.

Monitor and manage your personal and business credit.

Small and medium sized business financing is focused on both personal and business credit histories.

Regular reviews of both personal and business credit reports from the major credit reporting agencies are important to avoid errors and credit practices that can severely damage your borrowing power.

Develop your marketing position.

Yes, seeking business financing is a marketing exercise.

When applying for business financing, you’re marketing your business to lending sources and they in turn are marketing their business financing programs to you.

Think of the lender as a customer to better understand what they’re looking for. Then, develop a business proposal that addresses all their potential needs and concerns.

Research Lending Sources

There are lots of business financing sources. But there is also lots of variation in the types of business applications each one is prepared to consider.

Broad based lenders rely on credit history and net worth. As you get more specific in terms of financing application and industry, lender programs become more narrow and can be harder to locate.

You need to consider things like industry, sector, and geography when looking for business financing sources.

Financing consultants and business loan brokers can be an excellent source of information to aid you in this process.

>>> Qualify The Lender

Before you make a formal application, find out if the lender has the programs and lending track record to meet your specific needs.

Too often, the lender is doing all the qualifying.

>>> Compare your options

Depending on the scenario, there can be several financing strategies that could work for your business.

Make sure you take the time to compare before making a decision. The extra time spent could save you considerable time and money in the long run.

Start Today

Regardless of what your business financing needs are right now, you should regularly invest time staying on top of your business financials, monitoring your credit, and researching financing sources that fit your industry and potential future requirements.

When the time comes to acquire capital, your proactive efforts can make all the difference in getting the capital you need with terms and timing that are acceptable to your business.

Brent Finlay makes it easy to understanding business financing. Learn how to locate and secure proper financing for your business. To receive your free 6 part mini-course visit the business financing website

photo credit: Photo Mojo

Do you own a growing business that needs financing? If you are like most business owners, whenever your business needs money you head over to the bank. Unfortunately, as most small business owners soon find out, most banks do not lend money to businesses unless they have significant collateral and a history of successful operations. This presents quite a challenge for business owners.

When banks are not an option, small business owners turn to what is known as the alternative financing funding market. Although the financing options discussed in this article fall under the alternative financing category, they are actually quite widely used and should be considered mainstream. Most major companies (including public companies) have used this alternative financing at one time or another during their growth history.

Most of the tools described in this article can only be used by businesses that are already in operation, and whose main requirement is working capital. Although startups can benefit from these tools, the companies will need to be in operation for a little while and have a growing list of clients.

General Invoice Factoring

Invoice factoring (also known as accounts receivable factoring) is ideal for business owners who cannot afford to wait 30 to 90 days to get paid by their clients. It allows a business to sell invoices from commercial customers to a financing company for immediate payment. The financing company buys the invoices at a discount and waits for the customer to pay.

The main advantage of factoring your invoices is that the financing company makes its decision using the credit of the payer, rather than yours. That means that if you own a small company that is doing business with a large credit worthy company, you are almost certain to have the transaction approved. Another advantage of factoring is that it does not have set limits like lines of credit.. The level of financing is limited only by the amount you sell to credit worthy clients. General factors can work with most industries, although there are two main industry subspecialties – freight bill factoring and medical factoring.

Freight Bill Invoice Factoring

Trucking companies tend to be very cash hungry businesses. The owners need money to pay their drivers, pay gasoline and pay suppliers. However, most trucking companies also work with a high volume of freight invoices from credit worthy clients. That makes freight bill factoring an ideal solution for their cash flow issues. Just like in general factoring, the factoring company buys the freight invoices from the trucking company for immediate cash.. Furthermore, the risk for these types of transactions is lower than in general factoring. This means that trucking companies can qualify for preferential financing terms.

Medical Factoring

Most medical industry businesses (doctor’s offices, hospitals, medical testing centers and medical supply companies) make the bulk of their earnings by billing 3rd party insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, insurance companies are notorious for paying their invoices in 30 to 90 days, creating cash flow problems at the medical office. Factoring medical offices is a subspecialty of general factoring. Given the complexities of the insurance industry, it usually requires the participation of a factoring company with extensive industry experience.

Generally speaking, the medical factoring company will provide you with financing based on your NET collectables rather then your gross collectables. They will also need to be part of the billing process, to ensure that they finance the right amounts. Due to its complexity, medical factoring is only accessible to medical businesses making at least $100,000 a month. However, if your business qualifies for it, you will find that it is a great tool to streamline your cash flow and grow.

Purchase Order Funding

Most distributors and import/export companies tend to be very cash hungry businesses, in part because of how the sales process works. Usually, the process starts when the distributor gets a purchase order (PO) from a client. They then purchase the items from their supplier, who then drop ships it to the end customer. This works well as long as the company has enough money to pay the suppliers and wait for their clients to pay for the product. However, sometimes a payment can take up to 60 or 90 days to arrive, creating a big cash flow challenge for the distributor. Other times, the company may become too successful and get a purchase order that is too big for them to finance. In these instances, the company should consider purchase order funding financing. With PO financing, a finance company handles your supplier payments and ensures that the goods are properly delivered. Once the client pays for the product, the transaction is settled and all parties are paid. PO funding is a product that truly allows you to grow your company – sometimes exponentially – while using someone else’s money.

About Invoice Factoring Group

Invoice Factoring Group can provide you with an accounts receivable factoring, PO funding financing, freight bill factoring, or medical factoring quote for free. Marco Terry, its president, can be reached at 1 866 730 1922

photo credit: gurms

What are you going to use for money to keep your business operating when your bank says “NO” to your loan request? You say “Oh my bank won’t say NO to me. I have been a customer of theirs for twenty years”.

Ask thousands of small and medium sized businesses people that said the same thing. One day they left their bank stunned from what their banker said, “NO” to their loan request. They no longer had a line of credit, purchase order loan or any bank financial assistance that had once provided the funds to keep their businesses operating.

Do you think the recent decisions of Congress are going to fix this problem for you? I don’t think so, certainly not in time to save your cash starved business. Those recent financial decisions by Congress are to bail out some of the world’s largest financial institution to hopefully save America’s entire economic system. Until that is fixed, money for the small business owner is likely to dry up completely.

Would you agree it would be a good idea to have an alternative source of funds?

The good news is there is a solution for the small business owner. There is an alternative source of funds for Business Owners. It is The Secondary Market, often referred to as the “cash flow” market or Alternative Commercial Financing ( ACF ).

I have written several articles for my readers on how to take advantage of the Secondary Market, and its benefits. The previous articles recommended that homeowners to include “Owner Financing” in their ads and signage when trying to sell their homes. In this scenario, private investors furnished the money for the purchase of the home, and providing the loan for the homebuyer who could not qualify for a conventional loan.

This article is to introduce you to the

Secondary Market and Alternative Commercial Financing
( ACF )

for the small business owner.

The Secondary Market and Alternative Commercial Financing ( ACF ) have been around for over sixty years. These markets are financed with private investors monies. They maintain a low profile. Private Investors do not advertise how much money they have for obvious reasons. However the Secondary Market is a legitimate, legal, and ethical industry. Those virtually unlimited private funds are readily available for you and other business owners, through ACF Consultants. These consultants are usually entrepreneurs, financial planners and others that work in the financial arena.

The Secondary Market has exploded since the home loan problems began in the mid-nineties, and is now even more in demand because business owners are now loosing their businesses, while still trying to get money from banks.

ACF is marketed primarily by individuals or small groups of entrepreneurs, and financial consultants. ACF fulfills all of a bank’s lending functions, and much more, including purchasing of most types of cash flow, structured settlements, and bankruptcy funding, to name a few.

If you now depend on any bank for money to help grow and maintain your business, I recommend that you contact an ACF consultant NOW for a free consultation. You can arrange an active or back up working financial plan for your business.

By taking this action now, you should never have to worry about loosing your business and livelihood because your bank said “NO”. If you are already in financial trouble because of a lack of money, contact an ACF consultant anyway, and let him help you devise a plan to get your business back on track.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Louten Hedgpeth, CFP ( Ret ), Alternative Commercial Financing (ACF) Consultant, continues to provide “Solutions” to financial problems, whose answers often are not always readily found in print, if at all.

Since the mid 1990s when the banking and credit systems started coming apart, Louten has been working in the “Secondary Markets” full time to help business owners who are in financial trouble or heading there because of their inability to get money from banks and other financial sources. Louten may be contacted toll free at 877 262 5614 or Email Loansuccess1@aol.com Free Consultation.

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

The credit markets have been tightening for the last year and personal credit has become more and more elusive. Now, more than ever, we are starting to see a tightening on business credit and loans offered by banks. Banks are tightening their standards and dropping more liberal business loan programs as well.

Just a few months ago, BofA offered an express business line of credit program that even entrepreneurs in business just a month or two could qualify for with the right credit scores. They pulled the program in the last quarter. American Express for years has offered a Business Line of Credit program that entrepreneurs could apply for in addition to their American Express credit cards. The line of credit was competitive in the industry with interest rates and most small business owners with an American Express credit card were getting approved. The program was pulled in the last quarter.

The closing of great programs such as the BofA Express Line of Credit and Amex Business Line of Credit are signaling the need for small business owners to find alternative ways to finance their businesses. There are several unconventional methods that most entrepreneurs can use to build up access to capital they will need from time to time. Some of these methods include: merchant account cash advance programs, equipment leasing, equipment sale-lease back, A/R Factoring and trade credit (also known as corporate credit or business credit).

Trade credit is the single largest source of lending in the entire world. It is when one business sells services or products to another business on credit terms. For example, when Dell Computers sells a laptop to a small business owner, the business owner is given a choice: pay now with a Mastercard/Visa/Amex credit card, apply for a Dell Computer line of credit or apply for a Dell Computer Credit Card. When the small business owner chooses to apply for a Dell Credit Line or Credit Card they are using trade credit. Dell will then offer terms to the applicants who qualify. Terms may include no-interest for 30 days if paid in full, or an interest rate charged each month a balance is carried and a small monthly payment that must be made on the credit card.

If the business owner has structured their company properly before applying for the credit, they will likely receive an approval based solely on the business credit profile, business credit score and how compliant the company is with the business credit market. If the business is prepared and built some initial business credit before applying with Dell, they will likely get approved regardless of what the personal credit score of the owner looks like. This is True trade credit (corporate credit), when you rely completely on the business’ ability to obtain the credit and not just that of the individual owner or officer of the company. Every entrepreneur should have a business credit profile and score. That includes also being in compliant with the lending market.

A business credit profile and score need to be created with all the major business credit bureaus, not just one. D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) is the oldest business credit bureau, although Experian Business and Equifax Business have created very competitive products and services to compete directly with D&B over the last few years. Most credit bureaus create a business credit profile and score when companies report to the bureaus the payment history of their clients. The more companies reporting to a business credit profile, the better. Companies who purchase a business credit report for analysis to determine credit approvals, like to see when others have granted credit already. They would prefer to see several credit accounts with the business, whereas with an individual you may find it more difficult to obtain credit when you have a lot of credit accounts.

Most small business owners seeking financing are looking for the money to purchase a product or service. The majority of time the product or service can be found through a company offering credit terms. Trade credit is used by household supply stores, marketing companies, printers, graphic designers, internet marketing companies, gas stations, equipment companies, auto-dealers, shipping companies, office supply companies, furniture companies and many more.

In addition to trade credit as an alternative financing option there is merchant account cash advance programs. Although this type of financing can be expensive it is still a great option for some businesses. This type of financing is for businesses with a merchant account charging more than $10,000 per month on the account. Many merchant cash advance companies will advance up to three months charges on a merchant account with very little personal credit information required to obtain the loan. The loan is then paid back out of future merchant account activity as a percentage of the total amount charged that month.

Another alternative source of financing is A/R Factoring. If a company has accounts receivable with other businesses with decent history and credit scores, a factoring company will come in and buy the receivables for a discount on the future value. The business gets money now and the factoring company waits for the invoices to be paid. When they are paid by the customers of the business, the factoring company gets their share and repayment on the advance.

A company can also use leasing as an option to finance their business. A lot of equipment and even software can be leased. There is extremely beneficial to start-up companies and those looking for large equipment purchases. The company doesn’t have to pay up front for a large ticket item, which than conserves cash for the growth and day to day operations of the company.

Small business owners need to get creative when it comes to building a business and finding the financing they need. Using trade credit and other alternative financing options just may help your business avoid the obstacles and pitfalls so many have fallen into and lost. For creative solutions for your business financing needs go to www.bcscredit.com and get a free ebook on Building Business Credit for Business Owners.

Receive the booklet How to Build Business Credit by David Gass – President and Founder of Business Credit Services. It will share with you how more than 10,000 businesses across the nation have achieved over $175 million in combined financing in their business name only, all using his patent-pending system to build corporate credit separate from your personal credit.

You will also learn the first steps required to getting a business loan, lease, and other lines of credit without the use of a personal credit check or guarantee.

photo credit: Geoff604

Trying to run your own business enterprise, calls for numerous fiscal challenges. High leverage, fiscal losses, low net worth, bad credit record, or no credit record in the least could impact your ability to qualify for a commercial loan. Whether you are facing a leveraged buyout, restructuring, or a turnaround position, there’s a poor credit business loan out there for you that guarantees the viability of your business enterprise.

Even if you’re a budding Bill Gates, your business concern battles to make ends meet, within the 1st 2 years of inception. Tenured businesses may likewise battle just every bit easily when the times are hard. A business enterprise relies strongly on the economic system and additional outside factors. When those factors are experiencing a depression, it filters down to the business; thereby impacting or challenging the business’s credit.

These credit challenges do not need to be harmful to the business enterprise. A poor credit business loan can aid a business get back on its feet, improve a business’s active operations, and even aid a business with past bad credit problems to expand. What you are searching for is the respect, courtesy, and service you merit and not be penalised by the hard times in the past. That’s why a loan of this type is so important when you require that additional cash to reach your goals and aspirations.

Points to consider

You have to accept that a bad credit commercial loan may have a minimum limit to borrow. In a lot of cases, this limit is around $5,000 while the upper limit may be anything your lender chooses per the conditions of the bad credit business loan. These loans might also ask that you have the payment automatically drawn off a credit card every month. Likewise take into consideration that a lot of these loans might only have a one-year repay time. There might also be additional charges, in addition to the rate of interest that is loaded on your poor credit loan.

In conclusion

While a loan of this type may not bear all of the conveniences a regular good credit business loan has, it essentially permits a business to build up and sustain in difficult times. It assists the business owner in keeping his/her business dreams alive without permitting the tough times to get the better of the business.

Carrying out the proper research for that ideal loan is extremely important. There are a lot of different companies out there who provide various rates of interest, varied payment conditions, application charges, and so forth. Determining what suits you best will likewise be what is best for your business enterprise. To close, there are numerous lenders out there who are prepared to contribute to the economic system by making sure your business concern stays a part of it.

photo credit: Dennis Wong

Qualifying for a small business acquisition loan can be quite an ordeal to say the least.

If the business being sold is very profitable, the selling price will likely reflect a significant amount of goodwill which can be very difficult to finance.

If the business being sold is not making money, lenders can be difficult to find even if the underlying assets being acquired are worth substantially more than the purchase price.

Business acquisition loans, or change of control financing situations, can be extremely varied from case to case.

That being said, here are the major challenges you’ll typically have to overcome to secure a small business acquisition loan.

Financing Goodwill

The definition of goodwill is the sale price minus the resale or liquidation value of business assets after any debts owing on the assets are paid off. It represents the future profit the business is expected to generate beyond the current value of the assets.

Most lenders have no interest in financing goodwill.

This effectively increases the amount of the down payment required to complete the sale and/or the acquisition of some financing from the vendor in the form of a vendor loan.

Vendor support and Vendor loans are a very common elements in the sale of a small business.

If they are not initially present in the conditions of sale, you may want to ask the vendor if they would consider providing support and financing.

There are some excellent reasons why asking the question could be well worth your time.

In order to receive the maximum possible sale price, which likely involves some amount of goodwill, the vendor will agree to finance part of the sale by allowing the buyer to pay a portion of the sale price over a defined period of time within a structured payment schedule.

The vendor may also offer transition assistance for a period of time to make sure the transition period is seamless.

The combination of support and financing by the vendor creates a positive vested interest whereby it is in the vendor’s best interest to help the buyer successfully transition all aspects of ownership and operations.

Failure to do so could result in the vendor not getting all the proceeds of sale in the future in the event the business were to suffer or fail under new ownership.

This is usually a very appealing aspect to potential lenders as the risk of loss due to transition is greatly reduced.

This speaks directly to the next financing challenge.

Business Transition Risk

Will the new owner be able to run the business as well as the previous owner? Will the customers still do business with the new owner? Did the previous owner possess a specific skill set that will be difficult to replicate or replace? Will the key employees remain with the company after the sale?

A lender must be confident that the business can successfully continue at no worse than the current level of performance. There usually needs to be a buffer built into the financial projections for changeover lags that can occur.

At the same time, many buyers will purchase a business because they believe there is substantial growth available which they think they can take advantage of.

The key is convincing the lender of the growth potential and your ability to achieve superior results.

Asset Sale Versus Share Sale

For tax purposes, many sellers want to sell the shares of their business.

However, by doing so, any outstanding and potential future liability related to the going concern business will fall at the feet of the buyer unless othewise indicated in the purchase and sale agreement.

Because potential business liability is a difficult thing to evaluate, there can be a higher perceived risk when considering a small business acquisition loan application related to a share purchase.

Market Risk

Is the business in a growing, mature, or declining market segment? How does the business fit into the competitive dynamics of the market and will a change in control strengthen or weaken its competitive position?

A lender needs to be confident that the business can be successful for at least the period the business acquisition loan will be outstanding.

This is important for two reasons. First, a sustained cash flow will obviously allow a smoother process of repayment. Second, a strong going concern business has a higher probability of resale.

If an unforeseen event causes the owner to no longer be able to carry on the business, the lender will have confidence that the business can still generate enough profit from resale to retire the outstanding debt.

Localized markets are much easier for a lender or investor to assess than a business selling to a broader geographic reach. Area based lenders may also have some working knowledge of the particular business and how prominent it is in the local market.

Personal Net Worth

Most business acquisition loans require the buyer to be able to invest at least a third of the total purchase price in cash with a remaining tangible net worth at least equal to the remaining value of the loan.

Statistics show that over leveraged companies are more prone to suffer financial duress and default on their business acquisition loan commitments.

The larger the amount of the business acquisition loan required, the more likely the probability of default.

Brent Finlay makes it easy to understanding business financing. Learn how to locate and secure proper financing for your business. To receive your free 6 part mini-course visit the business financing website

photo credit: mockney_piers

But as companies confront a tight credit market coupled with lower than expected results, many CFOs are viewing asset based lending as a viable option in the financing tool kit. Even successful companies with strong banking relationships can quickly fall out of favor with lenders and lose access to unsecured financing, especially if they’ve shown recent losses. A few bad quarterly results doesn’t necessarily mean that a company is in bad shape, but stringent bank underwriting parameters can cause existing loans to be called and prevent the firm from qualifying for new financing. A company facing such a scenario can use asset based lending (ABL) arrangements as bridge loans to pay off banks and provide liquidity until bank financing is achievable.

What is asset based lending?

An asset-based loan is secured by a company’s accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, and/or real estate, whereby the lender takes a first priority security interest in those assets financed. Asset-based loans are an alternative to traditional bank lending because they serve borrowers with risk characteristics typically outside a bank’s comfort level. These assets typically have an easily determined value. The financing can take the form of loans to revolving credit lines to equipment leases and can range from $100,000 to $1 billion, depending on needs and circumstances.

How can ABL be a beneficial financing option?

Acquisition

To grow a business, a company may look to acquire a strategic partner or even a competitor. Asset-based financing is often an efficient means to obtain funding for business acquisitions.

Turnaround Financing

Turnaround financing is often used by under-performing businesses that are not achieving their full potential. In some cases, it is used for businesses that are either insolvent or on their way to becoming insolvent. Asset-based lenders are accustomed to the bankruptcy process and asset-based financing is ideal for turnarounds because of its flexibility.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditure is the money spent to acquire and/or upgrade physical assets such as buildings and machinery. Capital expenditure is also commonly referred to as capital spending or capital expense.

Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) Financing

Debtor-in-possession (DIP) refers to a company that has filed for protection under Chapter XI of the Federal Bankruptcy Code and has been permitted by the bankruptcy court to continue its operations to effect a formal reorganization. A DIP company can still obtain loans–but only with bankruptcy court approval. DIP financing, which is new debt obtained by a firm during the Chapter XI bankruptcy process, allows the company to continue to operate during a reorganization process. Asset-based lenders also provide exit financing or confirmation financing to companies coming out of bankruptcy.

Growth

Typically, as a company grows so does its need for financing. Also, as a company’s collateral grows, its assets can strengthen its ability to borrow. An experienced and creative asset-based lender can assemble a credit facility that can scale to grow with a company.

Recapitalization

Recapitalization is the process of fundamentally revising a company’s capital structure. A company might recapitalize due to bankruptcy or replacing debt securities with equity in order to reduce the company’s ongoing interest obligation. A leveraged recapitalization typically achieves just the opposite–by taking on a material amount of debt, the company increases its ongoing interest obligation but is able to pay its shareholders a special dividend.

Refinancing/Restructuring

When a company enters or exits a growth stage, refinancing or restructured financing may be key to creating a capital structure that better meets the needs of the company. This type of financing is often used for market expansion, completing an acquisition, restructuring operations, or following a successful corporate turnaround.

Buyout

A buyout is the purchase of a controlling percentage of a company’s stock. In a leveraged buyout (LBO), the acquiring company uses the minimum amount of equity to purchase the target company. The target company’s assets are used as collateral for debt, and its cash flow is used to retire debt accrued by the buyer to acquire the company. A management buyout (MBO) is an LBO led by the existing management of a company.

What are the advantages to ABL?

· Tends to feature fewer covenants than other types of financing and those it does include tend to be more flexible. Cash flow loans, by contrast, often have four or five covenants including total leverage, fixed charge coverage, and minimum net worth.

· If a company is growing, the receivables and inventory it uses to secure the asset based loan is likely growing as well. Thus, the company has a greater collateral base and can borrow funds to fuel its growth.

· ABL instills discipline. Since the loans are based upon accounts receivable and inventory, the company is motivated to improve collections and complete the production cycle in a timely manner.

· As mentioned earlier, ABL imposes less stringent covenants compared to cash flow loans. These type of loans also provide better security to the lenders, which in turn allows them to grant more time to the borrowers to turn their company around in difficult times.

What are the disadvantages of ABL?

· Since the level of funding is contingent upon the asset values on the balance sheet, there may not be sufficient liquidity. Only asset rich companies would likely benefit, while many service companies would not.

· Such a requirement can be difficult for the company.

· Asset based lending tends to be more expensive than other types of financing, often three to five percentage points above traditional bank financing.

· ABL runs counter to the thinking of a lot of CFOs who believe it is dangerous to tie short term assets to long term financing.

Although ABL is now a common financing tool, it is not for everyone. It makes sense to explore all types of financing before deciding if asset based lending is the right choice. The CFO must review the state of the company’s credit, analyze the firm’s asset structure, and its current debt load. Asset based lending can provide the liquidity needed for the company to grow until less expensive bank financing is available.

Kent Harlan has been a CPA since 1984 and has provided consulting, accounting and financial services to several industries. He is the owner of Ozarks Capital Funding, LLC, a Springfield, MO based company offering financing in the areas of accounts receivable factoring, equipment leasing, asset based lending, and healthcare provider financing. Website: http://www.ocflink.com

photo credit: box of lettuce

- Working capital
- Purchasing real estate
- Renovating, or construction on, an existing building
- Purchasing inventory
- Taking advantage of business opportunities
- Purchasing equipment or furniture

When most business owners think of business loans, they immediately look to commercial banks to meet their business financing needs. There is nothing wrong with this since banks do provide some of best and least expensive types of financing to small businesses. The only problem is that many do not realize how difficult it is to get approved for a bank loan or line of credit. Small business bank loans have much more strict approval criteria than other forms of business financing. Expect to be able to show good revenue, great personal/business credit scores, significant time in business, assets to secure the loan amount (in some cases), and the most important part is convincing the banker they can trust you with their money. Some call this the 5 C’s:

1. Character
2. Capacity
3. Capital
4. Collateral
5. Conditions

If your business is in less than ideal condition and cannot qualify for bank financing, but still needs a small business loan, where else can you go? Luckily there are countless forms of alternative small business loan sources to consider. Here are some of the more popular options.

Factoring-

If a business is in need of working capital, but has a lot of its cash flow tied up in accounts receivable, then receivable factoring may be the way to go. Accounts receivable factoring involves selling off a portion of receivables at a discount for immediate cash. A factoring company will purchase your receivables with an advance payment of between 70 – 90% of the total value.

Equipment Lease-

Instead of using a significant amount of a company’s working capital to purchase equipment outright, leasing the equipment can be much more effective for newer businesses with limited resources. An equipment lease is when a lender purchases the equipment and then rents it to the business for a flat rate for a specified period of time. In many cases the business will be able to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease for fair market value, or a previously agreed upon amount.

Merchant Advance-

Technically, a merchant cash advance is not a loan, but rather a cash advance based on future credit card sales. Also called a credit card receipt advance, a merchant advance is when a lender advances a sum of money that is automatically repaid through a small percentage of each successive credit card sale. An amount 1-2 times the average monthly credit card revenue of a company can usually be expected.

There are many more types of financing available. These are just some common alternative forms of small business loans. Before you apply for a small business loan, educate yourself on the details of the loan and how it compares to alternatives. The more informed a business owner is the better.

Jarrett Pflieger holds a BA in Entrepreneurship and is a featured writer for BusinessFinance.com. Jarrett specializes in helping small businesses establish business credit and obtain business financing.