Get the Best Business Loans for Veterans – It’s Bravery, Rewarded

The best business loans for veterans can be within your reach. Thank you for your service – this one’s for you. Here are some of our favorite options.

The Best Business Loans for Veterans: Collateral-Based Financing

Collateral-based financing offers low rate financing. Personal credit quality and revenue don’t determine your approval. Some acceptable collateral includes:

• Account receivables and purchase orders
• 401k, IRA, stocks, and bonds
• Inventory
• Equipment

So the concept behind collateral-based funding is that a lender requires an assurance. For the lender, an excellent assurance that you will pay back a loan is when your property is at stake if you do not.

The Best Business Loans for Veterans: Cash Flow and Unsecured Business Financing

Cash flow financing is another great loan program for veterans, if you have been in business one year or longer and have $10,000 in monthly revenue.

Unsecured business financing is available for entrepreneurs who are veterans, up to $150,000. You can get approval if you have good personal credit, and get 0% intro rates for 6-18 months… even as a startup.

The Best Business Loans for Veterans: The Small Business Administration

The SBA offers some great loan programs including their 7(a) loan for working capital. For approval you’ll need:

• 3 years of business and personal tax returns
• Good personal, business, and bank credit
• Collateral for 50-70% of what you’re borrowing

Learn more here and start getting the best business loans for veterans.

SBA Express

The SBA Express program is a great loan program for veterans. You can get approval for a loan up to $350,000. Get rates of 4.5-6.5%. Get a line-of-credit good for 7 years. No collateral is required for up to $25,000.  There is a turnaround in 36 hours.

The Office of Veterans Business Development

The Office of Veterans Business Development offers a number of programs and services to support and empower aspiring and existing veteran entrepreneurs and military spouses.

The SBA provides training and mentoring, access to capital, preparation for opportunities in federal procurement, and cultivation of connections within commercial supply chains and disaster relief assistance.

Boots to Business and Boots to Business | Reboot

Boots to Business is the two-step entrepreneurial program offered by the SBA on military installations around the world as a training track of the Department of Defense (DOD) Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Boots to Business |Reboot extends the entrepreneurship training offered in TAP on military installations to veterans of all eras in their communities.

Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE)

The Veterans Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) is an SBA funded program provided by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families which includes online training, a conference that harnesses the unique esprit de corps of women veterans and female military spouses, and follow-on mentoring through a community of partners.

National Center for Veterans Institute for Procurement

The National Center for Veterans Institute for Procurement extends the entrepreneurship training offered in TAP on military installations to veterans of all eras in their communities.

Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC)

The Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) provides entrepreneurial development services such as business training, counseling and mentoring for eligible veterans owning or considering starting a small business.

Leveraging Information and Networks to Access Capital (LINC)

The Leveraging Information and Networks to Access Capital (LINC) is an online matchmaking service.

It connects small business owners with nonprofit lenders that offer free financial advice and specialize in microlending, smaller loans (SBA Community Advantage program), and real estate financing (SBA 504 loan program).

SBA Veterans Advantage

SBA Veterans Advantage guarantees loans approval to businesses owned by veterans or military spouses.

Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015

The Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015 reduces the upfront borrower fee to zero dollars for eligible veterans and military spouses for SBA Express loans up to $350,000.

Learn more here and get going with the best business loans for veterans.

The Best Business Loans for Veterans: Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (MREIDL)

The Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (MREIDL) provides loans up to $2 million to eligible small businesses to cover operating costs that cannot be met due to the loss of an essential employee called to active duty in the Reserves or National Guard. This one comes directly from government benefits.

The Best Business Loans for Veterans: Alternative Lenders

If you have good personal credit and tax returns for 2 years that show a profit, alternative lenders have programs that may work. You can get approval with rates of 7% or lower. Lenders will want to see some type of profit on your tax returns.

Another Alternative: Business Credit Building!

Business credit is an asset which can help your business in years to come.

Since business credit is distinct from consumer, it helps to secure an entrepreneur’s personal assets, in the event of legal action or business bankruptcy. Also, with two separate credit scores, a business owner can get two different cards from the same merchant. This effectively doubles purchasing power.

Another benefit is that even startup ventures can do this. Heading to a bank for a business loan can be a formula for frustration. But building business credit, when done right, is a plan for success.

Consumer credit scores depend on payments but also other elements like credit usage percentages. But for business credit, the scores truly only hinge on whether a small business pays its debts punctually.

The Process

Establishing small business credit is a process, and it does not happen without effort. A corporation must actively work to develop small business credit. However, it can be done readily and quickly, and it is much speedier than establishing personal credit scores.

Vendors are a big component of this process.

Undertaking the steps out of order will lead to repetitive denials. No one can start at the top with corporate credit. For instance, you can’t start with store or cash credit from your bank. If you do you’ll get a rejection 100% of the time.

Business Fundability

A corporation needs to be reliable to lending institutions and vendors. Hence, a corporation will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address, with website hosting bought from a vendor like GoDaddy.

Plus company telephone and fax numbers ought to have a listing on ListYourself.net.

Additionally the company telephone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or the like).

A business will also need a bank account dedicated only to it, and it has to have every one of the licenses necessary for running. These licenses all must be in the correct, accurate name of the company, with the same corporate address and phone numbers.

So bear in mind that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Working with the Internal Revenue Service

Visit the Internal Revenue Service website and obtain an EIN for the business. They’re totally free. Select a business entity such as corporation, LLC, etc.

A business can start off as a sole proprietor. But they will most likely wish to switch to a variety of corporation or partnership to decrease risk and maximize tax benefits.

A business entity will matter when it pertains to taxes and liability in case of a lawsuit. A sole proprietorship means the business owner is it when it comes to liability and taxes. Nobody else is responsible.

If you operate a company as a sole proprietor, then at the very least be sure to file for a DBA (‘doing business as’) status.

If you do not, then your personal name is the same as the business name. Therefore, you can wind up being personally accountable for all company financial obligations.

Plus, according to the IRS, using this arrangement there is a 1 in 7 chance of an IRS audit. There is a 1 in 50 probability for corporations! Steer clear of confusion and significantly reduce the odds of an Internal Revenue Service audit at the same time.

Instigating the Business Credit Reporting Process

Begin at the D&B web site and obtain a cost-free DUNS number. A DUNS number is how D&B gets a company into their system, to generate a PAYDEX score. If there is no DUNS number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.

Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s websites for the company. You can do this at https://oldcs.creditsuite.com/reports/. If there is a record with them, check it for accuracy and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process.

By doing so, Experian and Equifax will have something to report on.

Vendor Credit Tier

Start with the vendor credit tier. First you need to build trade lines that report. This is also known as vendor accounts. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score.

And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin acquiring store and cash credit.

These kinds of accounts have the tendency to be for the things bought all the time, like coffee, shipping boxes, outdoor work wear, ink and toner, and office furniture.

But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who will give you preliminary credit when you have none now. Terms are generally Net 30, versus revolving.

Hence if you get an approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you will need to pay that money back in a set term, such as within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

Details

Net 30 accounts must be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts have to be paid completely within 60 days. Unlike with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you must pay back what you borrowed or the credit you used.

To launch your business credit profile the right way, you should get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting bureaus. When that’s done, you can then make use of the credit.

Then pay back what you used, and the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are merchants that will grant an approval with very little effort. You also want them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.

But you may need to apply more than once to these vendors, and you may need to purchase some things you do not need to have, to validate you are responsible and will pay in a timely manner.

Consider donating nonessential items to charitable organizations.

Retail Credit Tier

Once there are 5 to 8 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs move to the retail credit tier. These are businesses which include Office Depot and Staples. These companies are likelier to have things you need.

Use the company’s EIN on these credit applications.

One instance is Lowe’s. They report to D&B, Equifax and Business Experian. They need to see a DUNS and a PAYDEX score of 78 or higher.

Fleet Credit Tier

Are there 8 to 10 accounts reporting? Then progress to the fleet credit tier. These are businesses such as BP and Conoco. Use this credit to buy fuel, and repair and take care of vehicles. Make sure to apply using the small business’s EIN.

Cash Credit Tier

Have you been sensibly managing the credit you’ve gotten up to this point? Then move to the cash credit tier. These are companies such as Visa and MasterCard. Keep your SSN off these applications; use your EIN instead.

These are businesses such as Walmart and Dell, and also Home Depot, BP, and Racetrac. These are typically MasterCard credit cards. If you have 14 trade accounts reporting, then these are in reach.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and fix any errors as soon as possible. Get in the habit of checking credit reports and digging into the specifics, and not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs. See: https://oldcs.creditsuite.com/monitoring. Update the data if there are errors or the details is incomplete.

Fix Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to fix business credit if there are any mistakes in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be fixed. But the CRAs normally want you to dispute in a particular way.

Disputing credit report mistakes usually means you send a paper letter with duplicates of any proof of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals. Always send copies and retain the original copies.

Disputing credit report inaccuracies also means you precisely itemize any charges you contest. Make your dispute letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

A Word about Building Business Credit

Always use credit responsibly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay back. Track balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying off in a timely manner and completely will do more to elevate business credit scores than almost anything else.

Building corporate credit pays off. Great business credit scores help a business get loans. Your loan provider knows the company can pay its financial obligations. They recognize the corporation is bona fide.

The corporation’s EIN links to high scores and lending institutions won’t feel the need to ask for a personal guarantee.

Takeaways: The Very Best Business Loans for Veterans

The best business loans for veterans could be within your reach. The best business loans for veterans are out there. Not investigating them means you’re leaving money on the table. Many thanks for your service. This is for you.

Learn more here and get started getting the best business loans for veterans.