Businessloans.com Review

Why BusinessLoans.com Is Best for Comparing Loan Options

BusinessLoans.com uses roughly a dozen of your most basic data points to recommend high-quality loans that could work for your business. These data points are all you need to get started, and BusinessLoans.com will educate you on the rest. The company’s website includes 101-level information on four key business loan categories — all of which it offers. Beyond that, the brand’s in-depth guides can introduce you to each loan type in greater depth and help you choose the right loan.

BusinessLoans.com also collects information from each of the roughly three dozen lenders in its network on why it approves or denies loans. It does this for every loan decision. This dovetails with BusinessLoans.com’s mission to find loans for everyone who fills out an application, even if they fall short of specific qualification criteria.

BusinessLoans.com is an easy way to compare and learn about loans with expert help. It’s also a system that’s improving its recommendations constantly. The company’s online resources and concierge-style assistance in choosing the best available loan options can guide any borrower toward the right decision. For these reasons and more, BusinessLoans.com is our choice for the best lender for comparing loan options. 

BusinessLoans.com educates borrowers on various loan types. Source: BusinessLoans.com

Borrowing Costs

BusinessLoans.com’s borrowing costs depend on the specific loan and lender. We like that the company is willing to work with virtually any borrower. However — as is often the case — low-credit borrowers may pay higher interest rates. It is unclear if certain lenders within the BusinessLoans.com network charge additional costs, including documentation and origination fees. Information on prepayment penalties — or a lack thereof — is also scarce.

Once you sign up for a loan, you’ll arrange a repayment plan with your lender. You’ll have monthly payments for short-term and long-term loans. Lines of credit work differently. You’ll pay interest only on the funding you use; your repayment schedule may require more frequent payments than monthly. Merchant cash advances (MCAs) will require payment directly from your credit card sales or incoming cash, with exact terms varying by lender.

Applying for a Loan

BusinessLoans.com makes applying for a loan and comparing your options easier than any other lender we reviewed. We like its simple online loan application that takes no more than three minutes to complete. 

You’ll provide information on approximately a dozen data points the service uses to find the right lender. This data includes your business’s legal structure, target loan amount, how you’ll use the loan proceeds, time in business, annual revenue and credit score range. 

While some minimum thresholds exist, a BusinessLoans.com representative told us the company tries to work with every borrower who completes its application. Thus, it may be worth applying even if you don’t match these criteria:

• Minimum annual income:com’s minimum annual income threshold is $100,000, which is relatively low. 
• Minimum time in business: The minimum time in business can be as low as one month for some loans but is often six months. 
• Minimum credit score: We like that there’s no minimum credit score requirement to apply for loans through BusinessLoans.com. This is a rarity in the business lending space. Most of our top business lender picks set a credit score minimum, even when the requirements are lenient. 

The BusinessLoans.com algorithm will match you with lending partners that best fit your needs. The company works with more than 35 lenders, so your likelihood of finding a lender is high. Lending company representatives will contact you after the application process to help you apply for their loans. 

This lender-matching model is similar to two other services we reviewed and liked: Noble Funding and Biz2Credit. However, there are some notable differences:

• Noble Funding: Noble Funding’s service is similar to BusinessLoans.com. However, its annual revenue threshold is orders of magnitude higher, blocking new business owners and many first-time borrowers from working with this lender. Read our Noble Funding review to learn more about this loan marketplace.
• Biz2Credit. Biz2Credit is also geared toward business owners who are already familiar with loans. This may not be true of newer business owners or those starting a business. Read our Biz2Credit review for more information about this lender. 

We appreciate that BusinessLoans.com uses its extensive network to make business lending work for about any customer.

The BusinessLoans.com application process is straightforward and involves only easy questions. Source: BusinessLoans.com

Loan Types

BusinessLoans.com offers four major loan product categories. We like that the service offers four major categories instead of only one or two, along with less familiar alternative products, as many competitors do:

• Short-term loans: Use short-term loans for inventory, marketing, equipment and working capital.
• Long-term loans: Long-term loans may have fixed or variable rates. They may also require business collateral, which isn’t the case with competitor SBG Funding’s long-term options. (Read our SBG Funding review to learn why this lender is our top pick for flexibility.)
• Lines of credit: With this type of loan, you can borrow as much money (up to a fixed maximum) as you need, as often as you need. You’ll pay interest only on the funds you use.
• MCA: MCA funding lacks repayment periods and schedules. Instead, you’ll regularly send the lender a set percentage of your incoming cash or credit card sales. Notably, this type of funding might not require a personal guarantee if you obtain it through BusinessLoans.com.

Loan Terms

Most short-term loans through BusinessLoans.com come with repayment periods of one to three years. Long-term loans typically come with five- to 10-year repayment periods, though occasionally, the repayment period can be 20 years.

It’s unclear how long repayment periods are for BusinessLoans.com lines of credit or MCAs. The company’s website doesn’t mention this and other loan contract terms, perhaps due to the “matchmaker” model involving more than 35 lenders. This is disappointing but not a deal-breaker, as the company has a strong reputation for transparency after you apply.

Here is some information on various loan terms:

• Loan amounts: Regarding loan amounts, a BusinessLoans.com representative told us that loan sizes range from $5,000 to $3 million. We were also told the company can occasionally find lenders that offer even more funding.
• Collateral and guarantees: Whether you’ll need to put up collateral or sign a personal guarantee depends on the lender. There’s a good chance you’ll need to provide a personal guarantee unless you obtain an MCA. 
• Repayment terms: Similarly, your exact repayment periods, repayment schedules and interest rates will vary by lender. A BusinessLoans.com representative told us that its credit line interest rates start at 3.5% and its term loan rates start at 9%.
• Loan timeline: Your timeline from application to funding will also vary by lender. This period may range from 24 hours to one week. The low end of this range is the same as with other lenders. However, the high end is significantly longer than with many competitors we reviewed. For example, Fora Financial’s funding timeline is 24 to 48 hours. That said, for business owners who aren’t familiar with loans, a slower decision-making approach can lead to smarter choices.

Helpful Tips

BusinessLoans.com doesn’t explicitly explain the paperwork and documentation you must provide to obtain funding. This is because requirements vary by lender. However, you can safely assume most lenders will ask for several recent business bank statements, tax returns and additional paperwork proving your business ownership. A business plan may also be necessary.

BusinessLoans.com offers several guides to common types of term loans and reading these guides is a great way to further compare your choices. The BusinessLoans.com blog can also be a useful resource, though new articles are added infrequently and sporadically. 

The BusinessLoans.com blog includes helpful articles on business loan approval and other aspects of business lending. Source: BusinessLoans.com

BusinessLoans.com Features

Simple Application

The dozen or so data points you must provide for the BusinessLoans.com application are things you’ll likely know offhand. You’ll need no more than three minutes to complete and submit the form. This speed is ever so slightly faster than with many other business loan providers we reviewed.

Variety of Loan Types

You can obtain loan products within four major categories through BusinessLoans.com:

• Short-term loans
• Long-term loans
• Lines of credit
• MCAs

Not every top lender offers all these widely sought-after loan types, making BusinessLoans.com a great pick for nearly any borrower. A company representative told us that 55% of borrowers whom BusinessLoans.com funds return for a second loan.

Likely Approval

BusinessLoans.com does its best to match every applicant with funding that works for them. In conversations with the company, it was clear that there’s wiggle room with the minimum annual revenue and time-in-business requirements.

On top of that, BusinessLoans.com requires that the lenders in its network share their reasoning for approving or denying borrowers every time. With this information, the BusinessLoans.com algorithm can make better matching decisions. Key criteria the lenders must share include the reason for declining loans, the amount and rate for approved loans and whether the borrower obtained funding.

BusinessLoans.com aims to match every applicant with funding. Source: BusinessLoans.com

BusinessLoans.com Customer Service

Unlike most lenders we reviewed, BusinessLoans.com lacks a clear customer service phone number and email address. It also lacks clear information on its customer service operating hours. While we were tempted to ascribe this to BusinessLoans.com’s borrower-lender matching model, Biz2Credit operates on a similar model and lists its contact information clearly.

However, there are plenty of indicators that BusinessLoans.com provides excellent customer service. For starters, the company’s Trustpilot rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars across more than 10 reviews. Although this number of reviews may seem low compared to Biz2Credit’s roughly 15,000 reviews, BusinessLoans.com has been in business only since 2020. Additionally, 97% of BusinessLoans.com’s reviews are five-star reviews and 2% are four-star reviews.

Furthermore, BusinessLoans.com obtained Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation in May 2022. Its BBB rating is an A, which is on par with the A+ the BBB has given to Noble Funding, SBG Funding and Fora Financial. This rating is impressive for a company that’s been in existence only since 2020. It’s also superior to Biz2Credit, which has a B+ rating with the BBB and some negative reviews.

BusinessLoans.com features online resources, including guides to various business loan types. Source: BusinessLoans.com

BusinessLoans.com Drawbacks

There’s much to like about BusinessLoans.com. However, we identified the following drawbacks: 

• Potentially longer loan funding time: The most obvious drawback to using BusinessLoans.com is that you may have to wait a week to obtain your loan funding. Many of our other top business lender picks can deliver funding within one to three days. That said, BusinessLoans.com can fund your loan within 24 hours as can other lenders. It’s the high end of its funding timeline range that we found to be a drawback.
• Collateral and guarantees may be needed: Additionally, BusinessLoans.com loans often require collateral, which isn’t true of some of our other best picks for business lenders. This may pose roadblocks for borrowers lacking the assets to secure a high-value loan. Personal guarantees may also be required, although perhaps not for MCAs.
• Not as much information upfront: If you’re looking for information about your loan before — not only after — you apply for it, BusinessLoans.com might not be the lender for you. The company’s website doesn’t state its loan amounts and interest rates. Additionally, information about BusinessLoans.com’s loan terms is available for short- and long-term loans only. However, you’ll get most of the information you need after you apply and the company’s strong customer reviews and BBB accreditation indicate transparency.

Methodology

When evaluating the best business loans, we researched multiple lenders offering various loan types and assessed borrowing costs, the application process, approval figures, customer service and more. During our evaluation process, we compared BusinessLoans.com to multiple competitors that also fund loans through third parties. We assessed their target audiences, tools and personalized services for comparing and contrasting loan options. 

Overall Value

We recommend BusinessLoans.com for …

• Business owners who need funding but lack familiarity with business lending terminology and processes.
• Business owners who need a quick loan application with the potential for similarly quick funding.
• Business owners struggling to qualify for loans from other lenders.

We don’t recommend BusinessLoans.com for …

• Business owners who don’t want to put up collateral to obtain a loan.
• Business owners who need a guarantee that their funding will arrive within well under a week.
• Business owners who like to read over loan terms, amounts and rates on a lender’s website before working with it.