Merchant Cash Advance Blog Posts

Since your personal cash and assets are still on the hook with an unsecured loan — particularly if the lender requires a personal guarantee — it’s usually best to get a secured loan in order to qualify for a higher lending limit and lower interest on your payments.

Sometimes called medium or long-term loans, installment loans are what most people think of when they hear the word loan. In most cases, a business that successfully applies for a term loan will receive a lump sum of cash which can then be used for business expenses. In some cases, there may be restrictions on what the money can be used for.

Small business owners searching for a merchant cash advance (MCA) or short-term business loan (STL) are often surprised to learn that their capital has come with a very high effective annual percentage rate (APR) that’s sometimes in the triple digits.

Short-term business loans are a relatively recent addition to a merchant’s arsenal of business loan options. Introduced in the last decade or so, short-term loans are similar to traditional installment loans, but fees are calculated a little differently.

A merchant cash advance is a sales agreement where the merchant (the “seller”) is selling their future revenue at a discount to the merchant cash advance company (the “buyer”). Because merchant cash advances are sales agreements, they generally aren’t covered by usury laws that govern loans. This is where they get their dubious reputation. The effective APRs of merchant cash advances can easily crawl into the triple digits.

Frustrating as it may be, applying for a business loan or other funding can have a negative effect on your credit. Knowing the difference between soft and hard credit inquiries can help you keep your credit score intact while going through the loan shopping and application process. How much can a loan application hurt your […]

Although factor rates and interest rates appear similar, there are some important differences which potential borrowers need to be aware of. Fixed fees (the fee determined by a factor rate) are only calculated once, before the loan is issued. The fee will stay the same, regardless of how long repayment takes. On the other hand, interest rates are accrued over time—the longer your loan is outstanding, the more fees will build up. Read on for more about the difference between factor rates and interest rates.

To repay your loan in a timely manner, it’s important to know whether or not your payments are fixed or variable, how often you have to repay, and how repayments are made. In this post, we’ll break down all the elements involved in paying back a business loan.