Behalf Review

Pros

• Borrower qualifications are lower than banks
• No extra fees
• No prepayment penalties
• Financing is suited for startups & small businesses
• Applicants can quickly be pre-qualified
• Application process is fast & easy
• Website advertising is clear & informative
• Builds personal credit

Cons

• Rates can be expensive

Behalf Overview

Behalf (formerly called Zazma) is a business funder that offers financing to small- and medium-sized businesses. Similar to providers of purchase order (PO) financing, Behalf pays the bills for your goods and services; that way, your vendors get their cash up front, and you can repay Behalf when you have the funds.

If you’re familiar with invoice financing, it might help to think of Behalf as the reverse. The loan and costs are picked up by the invoicee, not the invoicer. Because of this, Behalf is an excellent resource if your vendor will not extend credit to your business, your vendor’s terms do not work for your business, or you simply want to pay your vendors as soon as possible.

While many invoices have maximum repayments of 90 days, Behalf’s repayment terms can be as long as six months. Additionally, the repayment schedule is flexible and completely up to the borrower — you get to choose the repayment frequency and the term length, which means that you will be able to set terms that work best for your business.

However, the convenience does come with a cost. Fees run between $10 and $30 per month for every $1,000 borrowed. With term lengths up to six months, you’re looking at a maximum fee of $180 for each $1,000 borrowed. That said, while expensive, these fees are about standard for a service such as this.

Behalf is available to most small businesses, regardless of your time in business, business revenue, or credit score.

Sound like something you’re interested in? Read on for the details!

Services Offered

Behalf offers purchase financing. Merchants can use Behalf to pay for goods or services immediately and set up a payment schedule to repay Behalf in installments. Repayments to Behalf are made weekly or monthly, up to a maximum of six months.

Borrower Qualifications

Here are Behalf’s minimum borrower requirements:

• At least two years of personal credit history
• At least three open accounts that are paid on time
• No more than one recent delinquency
• No recent defaults

As always, eligibility for the service is determined by many business characteristics, so the lender might find that you are not eligible for the service after taking a close look at your business finances and credit history. Additional business requirements include:

• Positive annual income
• At least one open business account
• A US-based business that is in good standing with the state in which it’s registered
• Low or no outstanding balances on payments beyond the terms of the business

Terms & Fees

These are the terms and fees for Behalf’s services:

Most users will not have access to the full $250,000 when they sign up for this service. However, Behalf might increase your credit limit as you use the service and your business grows.

You can use Behalf to pay for most goods and services, with a few exceptions. Behalf can fund purchases for most inventory or services, such as material for a new clothing line or product photography, but you cannot use the service to pay bills, make loan payments, cover payroll, or deal with any other form of existing debt.

When you use this funder to pay for something, you can choose to repay on a weekly or monthly basis. Behalf claims that borrowers who choose the weekly repayment option will receive a 10% reduction of their borrowing fees.

You can also choose any term length, up to the maximum length granted to you by Behalf. Repayments are made via automatic ACH deductions from the bank account hooked up to your Behalf account.

The only fees you’ll be charged for certain are the fees on the principal. This lender does not have origination or maintenance fees. Behalf charges between 1% – 3% every 30 days. So, if you’ve borrowed $1,000 and you’re repaying in 30 days, it’ll cost you somewhere between $10 and $30. If you’re repaying in 180 days, then you’re looking at fees somewhere between $60 and $180.

On its website, Behalf offers a calculator that you can use to clearly see fees and your total cost of borrowing.

Application Process

Behalf has a very simple application process.

The application can be started via the company website. The first step is to create an account and verify your email address. After that, you’ll need to fill out a short questionnaire that includes questions about your business and yourself. Behalf will use the information gathered from you to come to an instant preliminary decision regarding your eligibility. If you are eligible, the service will let you know your fees, term lengths, and maximum credit limit. Be aware that when you apply, Behalf will perform a hard check on your credit account, which will show up on your credit history.

Although you have been pre-approved, Behalf doesn’t officially approve borrowers until you have entered your bank account information and requested your first payment. As such, you might want to test the service before relying on it for important or time-sensitive payments.

Once approved, you’ll be provided with a virtual Visa that can be used up to your approved credit limit for purchases made in-store, online, or over the phone.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Behalf provides a fair amount of information on their website and FAQ. Borrowers shouldn’t come across any surprises during the application and funding process.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Customers can get in contact with Behalf via email, phone, or live chat. Additionally, the answers to most basic questions can be found in the FAQ.

A few customers have claimed difficulty getting in touch with customer service or frustration that Behalf does not adequately communicate why they or their customers were rejected. However, most reviewers appear happy with the level of support offered, claiming that Behalf’s service is responsive, friendly, and helpful.

User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Behalf is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has a presence on other customer review sites, such as Trustpilot. Here is what customers have complained about:

• Hard Credit Check: Perhaps because Behalf doesn’t specify a minimum score, some customers are surprised when they learn that Behalf performed a hard check (which might have a small negative effect on your personal credit score). Behalf does a hard check during the application process to help decide if you’re eligible for the service.
• Denial After Pre-Approval: Some customers have signed up for the service, received information about their terms and fees, and then been unexpectedly denied the first time they tried to use Behalf to pay for goods or services. Be aware that Behalf doesn’t officially approve you to use its service until you’ve entered your bank account information and requested your first payment.
• Customer Service Confusion: Some customers have reported difficulty getting in touch with customer service.

Overall, Behalf has relatively few complaints across the web, and it appears to make an effort to resolve any complaints brought up by customers.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Behalf has received generally favorable ratings from its users, earning a rating of 4.3/5 stars (based on 532 reviews) on Trustpilot. Customers are happiest with the:

• Friendly Customer Service: While some customers had problems with customer service, others cited customer service as a high point of working with Behalf.
• Flexible Repayment Terms: Behalf gives you a lot of options regarding when and how you want to repay your loan.
• Credit Building: Behalf reports your payment activity to personal and business credit bureaus, which might increase your credit score if you make timely payments.

We’d like to hear from you, though! Have you used Behalf’s service? Was your experience good or bad? Leave a message in the comments!

Final Verdict

Behalf is best for businesses that need an intermediary to pay for goods and services. This service is especially helpful for businesses that need more flexible payment options than their suppliers are willing to give them. Additionally, startups and new businesses might be eligible for this service, which may be helpful as those types of businesses do not have many financing options.

However, some businesses may find that they need a larger credit line or that they don’t want to go through a middleman to pay their vendors. For those merchants, a more traditional business line of credit or a business credit card might be a better option.

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