Credibly Business Loans: 2023 Review
Pros and cons of Credibly
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Fast funding Good customer service ratings Quick Draw option for more funding Many different options to choose from Don't necessarily need excellent credit | May come with high fees Website not always up-to-date High monthly revenue requirement Not available for startups or new businesses |
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Credibly small business loans review
For a small business owner, having a lot of options available for funding is a real asset. That’s exactly the main selling point for the online small business lender Credibly, which offers at least six different types of funding options that are accessible to a wide range of people. These small business financing products include working capital loans, lines of credit, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing, invoice factoring and merchant cash advances. Credibly itself doles out financing for working capital and merchant cash advances, and it partners with other lenders to offer its other services. It’s not right for everyone, though — read on to see if it’s a good fit for your business.
Who is Credibly for?
- Established businesses. You’ll need to have been open for at least six months to qualify for funding.
- Business owners who want cash fast. Depending on the type of financing you’re applying for, you could get funding as soon as the same day in some cases.
- Business owners who aren’t sure what they need. Credibly offers six different types of small business financing and can help you decide which one is best for your situation if you’re not sure.
- Business owners who want good customer service. A live small business loan specialist from Credibly will reach out to you and be available for any and all questions as you go through the process.
Credibly small business financing at a glance
| Product | Loan amounts | Repayment term | Starting interest | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital loan | $5,000-$400,000 | 3-15 months | Starting from factor rate of 1.15 | Origination fee: 2.50% |
| Merchant cash advance | $5,000-$400,000 | 3-18 months (average term length) | Starting from factor rate of 1.09 | Underwriting fee: 2.50% Admin fee: $50 per month |
| Line of credit | $1,000-$250,000 | 6-24 months | Starting from 4.80% | Origination fee: 3.00% |
| Equipment financing | $10,000-$10,000,000 | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
| SBA loans* | Up to $20,000,000 | 24-60 months | Starting from 6.99% | Not specified |
| Invoice factoring | Up to $400,000 | N/A | Starting from factor rate of 1.09 | Factoring fees: 0.50% - 4.00% |
*Terms and rates based on SBA guidelines
Working capital loan
Credibly is a direct lender of working capital loans, which means you’ll work entirely with Credibly on everything (as opposed to it connecting you with another potential lender, as per most of its products). These are relatively short-term loans best for quick business needs like buying new inventory or hiring new employees. Unlike with most business loans that are repaid monthly, Credibly actually requires you to set up daily or weekly payments to repay your loan. Credibly may also require you to secure your loan with collateral valued up to 90% of your loan amount.
Merchant cash advance
Credibly is also the direct lender for its merchant cash advances (MCAs). Merchant cash advances work a bit differently in how you repay them. Credibly will set up automatic deductions every day based on a set percentage of your sales so that your payment amount fluctuates depending on how well you do. It takes most business owners between 3 and 18 months to pay off their MCAs, and if you pay yours off earlier than anticipated, Credibly may offer you a discount.
Line of credit
With Credibly’s business line of credit, you can choose from a fairly wide range of amounts to borrow — anywhere from $1,000 to $250,000 — and you can choose from secured or unsecured options. (Typically, secured lines of credit offer better rates and/or higher credit limits, although a representative from Credibly declined to elaborate.)
Equipment financing
Credibly doesn’t provide very many details for its equipment financing program, but then again, it partners with other lenders to offer this product to you indirectly. You can use it to purchase equipment across a wide range of prices ($10,000 to $10,000,000), which would be sufficient for most business purposes. In addition, since equipment financing is typically secured by the equipment you’re purchasing, it’s often easier to be approved. Indeed, Credibly doesn’t even have a minimum required credit score for this loan, and it claims that over 90% of business owners it works with are successfully prequalified for these loans.
SBA loans
Credibly‘s partner lenders offer a wide range of loan options through the SBA program, including the standard 7(a) loans that can be used for a wide range of purposes and SBA 504 real estate loans. These loans do have stricter requirements than other options available through Credibly. For example, you’ll need to have been in business for at least two years and have a personal credit score of 620 or higher. The loans can also take two to three months to process. On the flip side, they’re generally much more affordable, so if you can afford to wait, an SBA loan might be your best option.
Invoice factoring
If you work in a line of business where it can take a while to get paid from invoices you send out, such as contracting, a particular product you might be interested in is invoice factoring. With this option, you essentially sell the debt that your customer owes you to the factoring company in exchange for cash within one to two days but at a lower rate than what your customer owes. It’s generally best to run your business so that you can sustain a gap between when you send invoices out and when payments come in. But if that’s not an option, invoice factoring can really help smooth out those bumps.
Credibly borrower requirements
Compared to other lenders, Credibly‘s business loan requirements tend to favor higher-income, established businesses that may have poorer credit from past mistakes.
It’s relatively easy to apply with Credibly, and the application only takes a few minutes. There is also no adverse credit impact from checking your rate because Credibly only does soft credit pulls for prequalifications. Getting approved can take as little as four hours for many of its funding options, and once you’re approved, the company deposits the cash into your business bank account as soon as the same day.
Credibly Quick Draw program
One of the unique things about Credibly is its Quick Draw funding program. This lets you quickly get access to more funding for some of its financial products in the event you take less than Credibly offers and decide to change your mind shortly thereafter.
For example, let’s say Credibly approves you for a $25,000 merchant cash advance, but you only decide to borrow $10,000 instead. If you’re eligible for this program, Credibly would reach out and let you know that you have a $15,000 balance available through its Quick Draw program. If you decide you actually do need more funding over the next 45 days, Credibly will verify that your details are all still the same and deposit that extra funding pronto.
Required documents
You’ll need to have a few required documents on hand when you’re applying for funding through Credibly:
- Government-issued photo ID for all business owners
- Three most recent statements from your business bank account
- Most recent business tax return (only if you’re borrowing more than $100,000)
- Business mortgage or lease statement, if you work out of a brick-and-mortar business location
Alternatives to Credibly
| Credibly | Funding Circle | Elevation Capital | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum credit score | 500 | 680 | 500 |
| Loan products offered |
|
|
|
| Time to funding | As soon as same day | As soon as same day | As soon as 24 hours |
| Starting interest rate |
| 6.00% for SBA 7(a) loan | Factor rate: 1.12-1.36 |
| Maximum loan size | $20,000,000 | $5,000,000+ | $5,000-$10,000,000 |
| Minimum annual revenue | $180,000 | $120,000 | $150,000 |
Credibly vs. Funding Circle
Funding Circle is another online lender. If you’re looking for more traditional business loans and lines of credit, then Funding Circle is definitely a good option to check your rates with, but it doesn’t offer any of Credibly‘s alternative financing products like invoice factoring or merchant cash advances. Also, you’ll need a good credit score to get approved with Funding Circle.
Credibly vs. Elevation Capital
Elevation Capital is a bit of a question mark compared to Credibly, with very little information offered on its website. Still, it’s a decent option to check your rates if alternative financing products — like MCAs, invoice factoring or purchase order financing — are what you seek, which Elevation Capital specializes in. It also has the ability to approve you for a potentially larger amount, since Credibly‘s MCAs and factoring products are capped at $400,000, whereas Elevation Capital offers a ballooned-out amount up to $10,000,000.