How Do I Fund My Business, Answered in 4 Questions

The 30 Second Answer

The Routing Table

Your profile	Your route	Why
6+ months, about $250k+ a year	National Funding, or compare on the RBF ranking	Fastest working capital, factor rates from 1.10, funding in about 24 hours
Ecommerce, $10k+ a month, 6+ months	Wayflyer	One fixed 5% to 10% fee, remittances flex with sales, no credit score minimum
6+ months, revenue below the bar	Credibly or Lendio	Deposit reading approval from the low 500s, or 75+ lenders from one form
Under 6 months, or pre revenue	Microloans, grants, 0% APR cards	Built for businesses without a lending profile yet, Kiva runs at 0%
Buying equipment	Equipment financing	The machine secures the deal, so it prices below unsecured money
Buying a business	SBA 7(a) plus seller financing, see the laundromat and gas station guides	Acquisitions run on the target's books, about 10% down on strong deals
Invoices paid on net 30 to 60	Invoice factoring	Sells the wait, not the business, priced per invoice
No debt, thanks	Grants and state grant pages	Free money is slow money, 3 to 6 month timelines, worth running in parallel

Running an ecommerce brand at $10k+ a month?

Wayflyer reads your store data and quotes in 24 to 48 hours. One fixed fee, remittances flex with sales, no credit score minimum.

Get a Wayflyer offer

Why We Route by Revenue

Because lenders do. Every eligibility page is a revenue floor wearing marketing copy. Applying above your floor costs nothing extra. Applying below it costs a hard pull, days of waiting, and a decline that was certain before you typed your name. We tested our roster's floors and wrote them down. The routing above is those floors made visible. One number to remember. Clear about $250,000 a year in sales and nearly every door on this site is open. Below it, the right doors are different ones.

Clear the $250k bar?

National Funding quotes established businesses in about 24 hours, factor rates from 1.10, deals to $500,000. Six or more months of history and fair credit required.

Check your options at National Funding

Starting from zero instead? Our startup funding guide covers the pre revenue world, every option from SAFE notes to grants. This page begins where revenue begins.

Step-by-Step Process

1. 1

   How old is the business

   Six months is the line. Almost every online lender draws it, and banks draw a second one at 2 years. Age is not bureaucracy. It is how lenders see whether revenue is a pattern or an event. Under 6 months, skip lender applications entirely, each one costs a credit pull and the answer is written in advance. Microloans, grants, Kiva, and cards are your lane, and they are a real lane, not a consolation.

   

   Tips

   • Count from first revenue, not from LLC formation, that is how underwriters count.
   • If you are 4 or 5 months in, spend the wait building clean bank records, they become your application.

   Common Mistakes

   • Burning hard credit pulls on lenders whose floor you cannot clear yet.
   • Treating the under 6 months lane as lesser, a 0% Kiva loan is the cheapest money on this site.
2. 2

   What does it earn

   Revenue decides which door opens. Around $250,000 a year opens the fastest working capital products. Ecommerce brands get their own door at $10,000 a month, their sales data is machine readable and a funder can watch the store perform. Between roughly $50,000 and $250,000 a year sit the deposit readers. Those lenders care about steady bank activity more than your FICO. Below that, the lane from question 1 was built for you.

   Tips

   • Use gross deposits from your bank statements, that is the number underwriters read.
   • Seasonal business? Lenders read trailing averages, apply after your strong season, not before.

   Common Mistakes

   • Quoting projected revenue, every lender on earth ignores it.
   • Forgetting that revenue floors are annual at some lenders and monthly at others, read which.
3. 3

   What is the money for

   Purpose changes the product. Equipment has its own financing, secured by the machine at better rates. Buying a business runs on SBA acquisition loans plus seller financing. Factoring exists to smooth invoice gaps. Working capital and revenue based products cover marketing, inventory, and growth. Matching purpose to product is free margin. An equipment loan prices lower than a cash advance for the same machine.

   Tips

   • Name the purpose in dollars before shopping, the amount often picks the product for you.
   • Mixed purposes are fine, stack an equipment loan for the machine and working capital for the launch.

   Common Mistakes

   • Funding a long term asset with short term daily debit money.
   • Taking general working capital for something a cheaper secured product covers.
4. 4

   Can the business carry debt

   Honest answer required. Some lenders track your revenue, others debit daily. A business that cannot carry the payment should not borrow at any price. The no debt lane is real. Grants never repay. Cards at 0% intro APR buy 12 to 18 months of float. Slower money, but it is yours.

   Tips

   • Model the payment against your worst recent month, not your average one.
   • Grants take 3 to 6 months, start applications while you evaluate everything else.

   Common Mistakes

   • Borrowing to cover a structural loss, funding buys time, not a business model.
   • Ignoring the 0% card lane because it feels small, 12 to 18 months of float is real financing.