Published By Janet Gershen-Siegel at June 19th, 2018
What happens if you need funding but your personal credit is, shall we say, not so hot? We know the best online lenders if you have bad personal credit.
There are several online lenders but only some of them will provide a loan if you have less than stellar personal credit. Qualifications including annual revenue and time in business requirements can vary. So can the maximum available amounts. Here are the details.
We researched the following online lenders and asked about their programs, rates, terms, and features. Only BlueVine and QuarterSpot confirmed our research. Rates can rise and fall. This is normal when it comes to financing. We suggest you investigate all online vendors which interest you to confirm our numbers before requesting funding.
BlueVine confirmed this information when we asked. BlueVine offers invoice factoring and lines of credit. For invoice factoring, there are no reserves or minimums. So the BlueVine system syncs with your accounting software. And they connect to QuickBooks Online.
BlueVine also works directly with FreshBooks and Xero and others. Rebates distributed on the same day. BlueVine offers up to $2,500,000 in invoice factoring financing.
Your business must be either B2B or B2G (business to government). BlueVine does not work with medical or healthcare industry businesses at this time. So the business must have revenues of $10,000 or more per month. So a 620 or better FICO score is required for a line of credit. Submitted invoices must have a face value of $500 or more.
Payment term must be less than 13 weeks, but the due date also must be at least a week away.
The fees for invoice factoring are flat 85 to 90% advance rates. Free ACH (1 to 2 day delivery). So the cost is $15 per wire, with same-day delivery. But BlueVine will penalize you for deadbeat clients. If they don’t pay their invoice, you are responsible for paying. You have to have a consumer credit score of 530 or better.
BlueVine offers a true revolving line of credit for up to $150,000. So they have 24 hour approval. Your business must have revenues of $10,000 or more per month. Flex credit lines currently run from $5,000 to $100,000. Interest is as low as 4.8%.
No maintenance or unused credit fees. You must have a consumer credit score of 600 or better.
One advantage is how easy invoice factoring is. Interest is fairly low. You can get invoice factoring with a 530 or better FICO. One disadvantage is, with invoice factoring you will be penalized if your clients don’t pay their invoices.
Another is that you can’t use their services if your business is B2C.
Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.
Bond Street offers term loans of $10,000 to $1 million. So their terms are for up to 1 to 3 years. Bond Street will ask for both EIN and SSN.
Offer arrives within 3 days. Bond Street will only do a soft credit pull. 640 or better credit score is most likely to get a loan but Bond Street will look at other factors.
There is a 2 years’ time in business requirement. Required annual revenue is of at least $200,000.
Rates start at 6% and go up to 22%. APR works out to 8 to 25%. So there is a 3 to 5 % origination fee.
Advantages are the soft credit pull. Plus Bond Street will look at factors beyond your personal credit if your FICO score is low. Bond Street can offer very large loans if you qualify. Disadvantages are the longer time in business requirement. And the maximum APR is very high.
Lending Club offers term loans. Business loans from $5,000 to $300,000. Lending Club‘s loan terms are 1 to 5 years.
Get a quote in less than 5 minutes. Funds are available in as little as 48 hours if approved. So there are no prepayment penalties.
Annual Revenue must be $75,000 or more. You must be in business for 2 years or more. Personal FICO score of 620 or better is required.
Rates of 5.99% to 29.99%. Total annualized rates starting at 8%.
Advantages are that the annual revenue requirement isn’t too high. Funds are available quickly. Disadvantages include high maximum rates.
OnDeck offers short term loans and lines of credit. For short term loans, $5,000 to $250,000 is available. So their terms are of 3 to 24 months.
You must have annual revenue of $100,000 or more. Personal FICO Score of 500 or better. You must be in business 12 months or more. So there is an 8.5% to 79% APR.
For lines of credit at OnDeck, $5,000 to $100,000 is available. Also, there is a term of 6 months.
You must have annual revenue of $100,000 or more. Personal FICO Score of 600 or better. You must be in business 9 months or more. So there is a 13.99% to 36% APR.
Advantages include the low FICO score requirement for term loans. So there is some flexibility for term lengths. Disadvantages are the maximum APR for both term loans and lines of credit are extremely high.
If your company cannot pay back a loan or line of credit, it could sink you financially.
Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.
Quarter Spot offers short term loans. $5,000 to $150,000 is available. So the terms are 9 to 18 months. Quarter Spot will only do a soft credit check when you apply. QuarterSpot confirmed this information when we asked.
Your company must have annual revenue of $200,000 or more. You have to have a personal FICO Score of 550 or better. So there is no fee to apply.
The minimal time in business is 12 months. You must have a minimum average bank balance of $20,000. You must also show a minimum of $16,000 in monthly sales.
The borrower must own at least 50% of the business. So their rates are 25% to 40%.
Advantages are that the personal FICO score requirement is relatively low. Minimum average bank balance requirement is also fairly low. Disadvantages are that maximum rates are rather high.
Rapid Advance offers standard, select, and preferred loans. For standard loans, $5,000 to $1 million is available. So their terms are 4 to 12 months.
Your company must have annual revenue of $120,000 or more. You must have a personal FICO Score of 580 or better. So the minimum time in business is 2 years. So there is a 1.16 to 1.30 factor rate.
For select loans, $15,000 to $1 million is available. So their terms are 6 to 15 months. You must have annual revenue of $240,000 or more. Must have personal FICO Score of 620 or better. So the minimum time in business is 3 years. 1.12 to 1.31 factor rate.
For preferred loans with Rapid Advance, $15,000 to $200,000 is available. So their terms are 9 to 18 months. You must have annual revenue of $240,000 or more. You must have personal FICO Score of 660 or better.
The minimum time in business is 6 years. You must have minimum bank balance of $10,000 or more. Borrowers must have at least 10 deposits from 5 different sources every month. So there is a 1.11 to 1.25 factor rate.
So the advantages are a few choices for loan types. And the maximum available amounts are high. Disadvantages are minimum bank balance requirements are fairly high. So their annual revenue requirements are also high.
Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.
Getting funding with fairly poor personal credit is not easy. So here are some pros and cons.
The lowest personal credit score (FICO) requirement is 500 for OnDeck short term loans. But Bond Street will look past a low FICO score if other factors are favorable.
The most funding you can get is $2.5 million from BlueVine invoice factoring. And the shortest time in business required is one year at both OnDeck and QuarterSpot.
So borrowers with less than optimal personal credit might want to take the steps to repair their credit. Or they can have another personal act as a guarantor. Or they could offer collateral. And this collateral can take the shape of anything from equipment to a 401(k) account.
Any of those would provide more options. And online lenders would be less concerned about a low FICO score if any of these factors were present.
As with all funding sources, make sure to read the fine print carefully. Your own individual requirements and needs are most important when determining where to get business funding. Today, we want to hear from our audience! Share your voice with us about your experiences with online lenders.
And here’s another pro tip. Building business credit will mean your personal credit score will no longer matter when it comes to getting business funding.