Dealstruck Review

Note: Dealstruck is no longer originating business loans. Take a look at our filterable business loan reviews to learn about other funding options that might work for your small business.

Highlights

• Mid-prime business lender
• Term loans
• Working capital loans
• Asset based lines of credit
• Inventory lines of credit
• Competitive rates and fees
• Excellent customer service

Dealstruck Overview

Dealstruck is a direct funder that loans to young but established businesses. Although this lender has only been in operation for fewer than three years, Dealstruck has quickly carved out a niche in the lending space.

The company is an mid-prime, which means their interest rates are more expensive than those of banks, but significantly less expensive than other alternative forms of funding. Their rates and fees are more-or-less competitive with other mid-prime lenders.

What makes Dealstruck stand out from the others is their loan offerings; this company offers mid-length term loans and two different lines of credit. Cash flow is a huge problem in many businesses, yet only the largest and most established can obtain a bank line of credit. Dealstruck is giving the same opportunity to mid-prime businesses.

This company also helps a lot of merchants refinance short term debt. Upon accepting a merchant cash advance or short term loan, many merchants discover they have trouble making the daily repayments and need a way out; Dealstruck is a good candidate for refinancing, given that their borrower qualifications are easier to meet than other mid-prime lenders.

Unfortunately, Dealstruck cannot help all businesses. To get a loan from this lender, you’ll need to have been in business for at least a year, make at least $150K annually, and have a credit score of 600 or above.

That said, Dealstruck might be easier to qualify for than other mid-length term lenders. While more established businesses may or may not be able to get a better deal on a term loan or line of credit elsewhere, Dealstruck is worth including in your comparisons, especially if your business is under two years old.

Read on for the details!

Services Offered

• Mid-length term loans
• Inventory lines of credit
• Asset based lines of credit

Borrower Qualifications

These are the minimum qualifications required to be eligible for any of Dealstruck’s loans:

Terms and Fees

Beginning July 1st, 2016, these are the rates and fees for Dealstruck’s term loans:

Dealstruck’s term loans are fairly standard; term lengths cap off at four years, and APRs range from 9.99% – 27.99%. Repayments are made on a monthly basis.

It should be noted that the term loans have a prepayment penalty of 1% for each year the loan is paid off early.

Dealstruck also offers two different lines of credit.

These are the rates and fees for the inventory line of credit: 

Inventory lines are intended to help businesses that regularly purchase inventory smooth out their cash flow. If you were to put a large chunk of your own cash up front to purchase the inventory, you might be forced to operate with a reduced cash flow until you’re able to sell that inventory. But, if you purchase the inventory with a line of credit, your capital is still available for other expenses, and you have six months to repay what you borrowed from your line.

These are the terms and fees for the asset-based line of credit:

Asset-based lines are a form of invoice financing. Dealstruck looks at your accounts receivable, and gives you a maximum borrowing amount based upon how much income you have outstanding (usually around 85% of your accounts receivable). While you’re waiting for your clients to pay, you can draw from the line of credit as needed. When your clients get around to paying you, the money will automatically be used to repay the outstanding balance on the line of credit, and anything left will be sent to you.

Application Process

Dealstruck’s application process begins with a five question “pre-qualification” form.

Once you’ve answered all the questions you’ll be notified whether you’ve been approved to continue the process or not. Be prepared to get a call from a Dealstruck loan specialist at this point, who will ask you questions about your business and let you know which loan options your business might benefit from.

After you talk to a loan specialist, you’ll get an email from your loan specialist inviting you to make an account. At this point, you’ll have to provide more detailed information about your business, especially regarding your business’s financial well being. At the end, you’ll get an estimated quote detailing which loans you can get and how much you might be eligible for.

Assuming you want to continue, in the next step of the application you’ll actually have to prove all of the information that you’ve provided. At this point, you must submit financial documents like business tax forms, bank statements, a/r aging reports (if applicable) and financial statements. You’ll also have to submit personal information for all business owners so Dealstruck can run a credit check on everybody.

Once you’ve completed the application, your file will be sent to underwriting. An underwriter will call if they have any additional questions or need any other documents. Regardless, you should get an email in the next 24 hours or so with an actual loan offer, which will include your interest rate and all the other fees you’ll need to know about. You can approve or deny the application online. If you approve, the funds will be wired into your account, or your line of credit will become available for you to draw from.

Time from application to funding can takes between two and 24 days.

Sales and Advertising Transparency

Dealstruck’s website offers plenty of information, along with loan calculators that you can play around with to help you understand their loan offerings. The only thing I’d like to see is a more overt disclosure of their additional fees, such as the origination and draw fees.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customer service is available though a number of outlets: email, live chat, or regular-old phones. Judging by how many complaints I’ve come across (none), you’ll have a good experience with customer service, regardless of which way you choose to contact them.

Dealstruck also has, hands down, the best educational information I’ve seen. They’ve published a number of quality documents and blog posts that explain loan options, how those options differ, borrower fees, and even the state of the lending industry at large. That’s transparency, folks.

Negative Reviews and Complaints

Evidently, Dealstruck takes complaints very seriously. Check out this person’s review:

Few days ago I rated this company with 1 star and wrote bad review about my experience with them.
Less than two hours from my review I got phone call from the director Steve,
He was really nice and professional person, clearly he wanted to understand the situation first so the issues can be resolved,
After we discussed the issues, it was misunderstanding between myself and the underwriter.
Steve promised me that he will look into my file and he will do the best he can to help me.
Very next day Steve contacted me with fair questions and concerns and we was really helpful and fair man.
My application still in process and moving forward, few people contacted me from dealstruck to follow up and complete missing doc.
I`m really very pleased and happy from the way dealstruck handled the issues, I personally felt that customer satisfaction is something dealstruck work hard for.
I do recommend this business to anyone looking for finance or line credit.

The 9.6/10 rating on TrustPilot and the lone (resolved) complaint on the BBB attest to Dealstruck’s commitment to communicating clearly and openly with the customer, and settling all disputes in a reasonable manner.

The only complaint circulating concerns the lender’s expensive borrowing fees. While these fees are more expensive than you would get with a bank loan, they’re about average for a mid-prime lender. Again, I’d advise anybody who qualifies to include other lenders in their comparisons; however, Dealstruck is a pretty good deal for those who don’t have that option.

Positive Reviews and Testimonials

A number of positive reviews can be found on the lender’s Trustpilot page, among other places. I am impressed that Dealstruck’s TrustPilot account doesn’t have a single review below 4 stars. Here is a common review of their services:

I rarely can say this about lenders, but the team members at Dealstruck are not only pleasant to deal with but they actually make things happen and appreciate the time constraints and work load a business owner deals with every day. Even when it is my mistake they still help to fix it. I have felt from the begining [sic] that they actually live up to the word ‘partner’.

Most customers praise Dealstruck’s honesty and transparency, and their customer service.

People also like the variety of loans offered by this lender. While there are other investment lenders that offer similar rates, Dealstruck stands out because they offer not one, but two different types of lines of credit. For many businesses, achieving a steady cash flow is an ongoing struggle. A line of credit could be a huge help.

Final Verdict

Not too long ago, if you couldn’t get a bank loan, you had to rely on expensive merchant cash advances for funding. Now that Dealstruck and others have entered the scene, affordable funding has become easier to get.

Dealstruck’s minimum requirements are more flexible than those of other lenders in its field; any business between one and two years old would benefit from including this lender in their comparisons. The rates and fees are competitive, the service is transparent, and Dealstruck offers plenty of products that are helpful for business owners who struggle with cash flow problems or need to refinance debt.

Merchants with businesses over two years old may (or may not) be able to get better rates from another mid-prime lender like Fundation, Funding Circle, Lending Club, or Bond Street.

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