SBG Funding Review

Why SBG Funding Is Best for Flexibility

SBG Funding offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment terms, making it one of the most flexible options for business financing we reviewed. Loan amounts from SBG Funding go up to $10 million, depending on your funding needs and the loan type. Repayment terms span six months to 10 years, also based on your funding needs and loan type. There are several loan types, including term loans, lines of credit and equipment financing. SBG Funding also offers Small Business Administration (SBA) 7 (a) loans. 

We like that SBG Funding’s interest rates are low and that there are no prepayment penalties. There are also options for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit; SBG offers loans to those with credit scores as low as 600. Invoice financing options are available if you have a score of at least 550.

SBG Funding customizes its loan approvals for each applicant. We were impressed that the company often advises prospective borrowers on the best loans for them based on their specific situation. User reviews for SBG Funding even emphasize that the company will guide, not push, you toward taking out a loan; this is flexible business funding on your own terms.

Borrowing Costs

The rates on SBG Funding’s business term loans and lines of credit start at 1.75% per month, but ultimately, they depend on your credit score. The higher your score, the lower your rate. Equipment financing rates begin at 3.75% per month, while invoice financing rates start at 0.25% per week. Rates for bridge capital loans start at 1.92% per month, with SBA 7(a) loan rates starting at 2.5% plus the prime rate.

Applying for a Loan

To begin the qualification process with SBG Funding, you fill out a one-page online application. This form asks for basic business information, including your business’s name, address and other contact information. You also must provide your federal tax ID, your date of birth and your business’s legal entity type.

The application requires a fairly significant amount of financial information as well, including your business’s yearly revenue, average daily bank balance and monthly credit card sales. You also must detail your intended use for the funds and how much money you’re requesting. In addition, you must provide your past four months of business bank statements alongside your driver’s license and a voided business check.

To qualify for a loan with SBG Funding, you must have been in business for at least six months, have a credit score of at least 600 and earn at least $150,000 in annual revenue. Note that some loans have slightly different requirements. For example, if you apply for equipment financing, you also need to provide an invoice for the cost of the equipment you want to purchase with the funds.

These are relatively lenient qualifications, making SBG Funding a viable option for all sorts of business owners. But even if you don’t meet all of these criteria, the company is willing to work with you to find financing for your small business. This is also true of one of SBG Funding’s competitors; read our BusinessLoans.com review to learn why this lender is our top pick for businesses that are particularly interested in comparing loan options.

Once you’ve applied, an SBG Funding representative will contact you to discuss your financing options. This is a good way to get an understanding of what you qualify for, without committing to a loan with the company. We liked that you can expect a funding decision within 12 to 48 hours, with the funds following shortly after approval. SBG Funding offers same-day funding options for some loans. 

Loan Types

SBG Funding offers six types of loans:

• Term loans: With SBG Funding, you can borrow up to $10 million for a term loan and pay it back biweekly or monthly over six months to seven years. Not all lenders offer these repayment term options. For example, Balboa Capital’s terms max out at 24 months, although this lender is still among our picks for the best business loans thanks to its easy approvals.
• Lines of credit: SBG Funding offers lines of credit for between $5,000 and $1 million, with repayment terms between six months and four years. These are longer options than those offered by another competitor, Fundbox, which caps its terms at 12 and 24 weeks for lines of credit. We also appreciate that SBG Funding can approve your line of credit in 24 hours and doesn’t charge a penalty for paying it off early. Interest rates on SBG Funding’s business lines of credit start at 1.75% per month.
• Equipment financing: Similar to Crest Capital, SBG Funding’s equipment financing allows you to finance 100% of your equipment purchase. Terms run from one to seven years. Payments are due each month, and you won’t be hit with a prepayment penalty if you want to pay it off early. SBG Funding can make an approval decision in 48 hours, and interest rates start at 3.75% per month. See our detailed review of Crest Capital to compare offerings. (You also might want to consider equipment leasing.)
• SBA 7(a) loans: Through SBG Funding, you can obtain SBA 7(a) loans of up to $10 million, with repayment terms ranging from two to 10 years. There are no prepayment penalties, and you’ll repay your loan monthly. Rates start at 2.5% plus the prime rate. However, as with most SBA loans, you might wait several weeks for approval.
• Bridge capital: SBG Funding can disburse up to $1 million of bridge capital and make approval decisions within 24 hours. You can repay this funding weekly or monthly over six months to two years, and your rate will be at least 1.92% per month. As with all SBG Funding loans, no prepayment penalties apply, but unlike with the other products, prepayment can earn you a discount with a bridge capital loan.
• Invoice financing: You can receive a loan that’s up to 90% the size of your accounts receivable if you choose invoice financing with SBG Funding. You can repay your loan monthly or weekly at a rate as low as 0.25% per week. For this type of loan, SBG Funding can typically approve or decline your application within 24 hours. Note that SBG’s invoice financing works a little differently than invoice factoring.

Loan Terms

We selected SBG Funding as the best lender for flexibility because it offers a wide variety of terms and loan amounts. The company’s loan lengths, which range from six months to 10 years, are among the most flexible of the financiers we reviewed. We like this level of flexibility from SBG because it means the company can support your needs both now and in the future.

SBG Funding doesn’t require collateral to secure a loan, although a personal guarantee might be required. This puts the lender at a disadvantage compared with rival Fora Financial, which requires neither of these provisions. Regardless, with SBG Funding, you can pay back your loan on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis, depending on the loan type. The money can be deducted automatically from your business’s checking account, which ensures you make the payments on time and won’t have to worry about late fees or negative impacts on your credit score.

You can pay your loan off at any point; SBG Funding doesn’t charge any prepayment penalties. Additionally, loan discounts are possible if you repay your bridge capital funding early.

SBG Funding Features

Loan Selection

Flexibility in the choice of loan is an important attribute for business borrowers. We like that SBG Funding lets you choose from a variety of loan types. If the company’s term loan doesn’t make sense for your business, you can apply for a line of credit, invoice financing, equipment financing, an SBA 7(a) loan or bridge capital. That’s a wide breadth of service for an alternative lender.

Flexible Terms

SBG Funding’s terms are some of the most flexible in the industry. You can pay off certain loans in under a year or spread your payments over five, seven or 10 years. This range of repayment options enables you to manage cash flow better. Many lenders don’t provide this extensive selection of repayment term lengths.

Various Loan Amounts

Whether you need to borrow tens of thousands of dollars or millions, SBG Funding can deliver. It can extend financing up to $10 million, depending on the loan type, to meet all of your capital needs.

Customer Service

Based in New York City, SBG Funding provides customer support during standard business hours by phone and email, but you are also welcome to visit the office. Phone calls are answered promptly by knowledgeable representatives. The site houses a funding calculator, which business owners can use to determine how much funding they might qualify for.

SBG Funding works with most industries and has a great online reputation. The company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), with which it has accreditation. Customer reviews on the BBB profile earn 4.94 out of 5 stars. SBG Funding also has a strong track record on customer review sites like Trustpilot, where users have given the lender 4.9 out of 5 stars, on average.

Drawbacks

SBG Funding requires a large amount of information about your business during the application and approval process. This includes your federal tax ID, legal entity type, yearly revenue, average daily bank balance and monthly credit card sales. Some lenders we evaluated allow you to connect your bank account to the application, which reduces the documentation you have to provide. Because SBG Funding doesn’t offer such an integration, the application might be more time-consuming to complete if you don’t have all of the necessary information on hand.

Another potential downside of SBG Funding is that the company requires businesses to have at least $150,000 in annual revenue to qualify. That’s more than $12,000 a month in average sales. If you’re a new business still getting off the ground, that sales minimum may keep you from securing a business loan with SBG Funding. 

However, as noted above, the SBG Funding team does try to work with business owners to find a suitable financial solution even if they don’t meet all of the requirements.

Methodology

To find the top business lender for business owners looking for flexibility, we started by searching for lenders that offer a variety of reasonable loan terms, amounts and rates. We then examined customer reviews to see if the companies made it a priority to match borrowers with loans that met their needs.

From there, we reached out to lender representatives to learn more about their flexible options. Through these conversations and our independent research, we identified SBG Funding as the ideal choice for flexible funding options. The company offers myriad loan amounts, terms and rates that it customizes to each borrower. It’s a clear standout for any borrower who wants a business loan that matches their ideal vision as closely as possible.

Overall Value

We recommend SBG Funding for …

• Borrowers who want a variety of loan options with different terms.
• Businesses that have been in operation for at least six months and bring in at least $12,000 in monthly sales.

We don’t recommend SBG Funding for …

• Business owners who have a low credit score and can’t afford the high interest rates they will be charged.
• Startups that have been in business for less than six months and make less than $12,000 a month in sales.

Miranda Marquit contributed to this review.