Resources · Answer Center
80 plain-English guides on business financing, industry funding, personal loans, and credit readiness — written to explain qualification considerations, costs, and tradeoffs so you can make a better decision before you apply anywhere.
First Capital Funding is a commercial finance brokerage and business consulting firm. We help businesses evaluate financing options from independent third-party funding and lending providers; we do not issue loans or advances ourselves. These pages are educational — nothing here is an offer, a quote, or a prediction of approval.
Last reviewed September 1, 2026
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“I need business funding quickly.”
Where the time actually goes by product, and the difference between a fast approval and money landing in your operating account.
Read the answer →“I have bad credit but my business makes money.”
How revenue, deposit consistency, and time in business factor into underwriting when personal credit is weak — and what the tradeoffs usually look like.
Read the answer →“How much could we actually get?”
How each product is sized, the five inputs that move the number, and a way to sanity-check your own range.
Read the answer →“Daily payments are hurting my cash flow.”
Stacking, payment compression, and the realistic paths out — consolidation, refinancing, restructuring — including when none of them are available.
Read the answer →“What paperwork do you need?”
The standard package, what changes by product, and the paperwork problems that cause the most delays.
Read the answer →“My bank declined my business loan. What now?”
Why banks decline, why other providers underwrite differently, and which financing categories are worth understanding before you reapply anywhere.
Read the answer →Existing advances, thin credit, recent NSFs, limited history, collateral, seasonality, amounts, and paperwork — the questions business owners ask most before they apply.
“I have bad credit but my business makes money.”
How revenue, deposit consistency, and time in business factor into underwriting when personal credit is weak — and what the tradeoffs usually look like.
Read the answer →“My bank declined my business loan. What now?”
Why banks decline, why other providers underwrite differently, and which financing categories are worth understanding before you reapply anywhere.
Read the answer →“My business needs $100,000.”
What providers actually review at that request size, and how the right structure changes depending on the business behind the request.
Read the answer →“Daily payments are hurting my cash flow.”
Stacking, payment compression, and the realistic paths out — consolidation, refinancing, restructuring — including when none of them are available.
Read the answer →“I need business funding quickly.”
Where the time actually goes by product, and the difference between a fast approval and money landing in your operating account.
Read the answer →“I already have an advance open.”
How existing positions are counted, what remaining capacity means, and when adding another advance makes the problem worse.
Read the answer →“Can I refinance out of this advance?”
Payoff balances versus remaining balances, what a true refinance requires, and the difference between refinancing and stacking.
Read the answer →“What does second position actually mean?”
Position order, why pricing rises with each one, and the questions to ask before adding another position.
Read the answer →“The daily debit is squeezing me.”
How payment frequency changes the real burden of a facility, and how to size a payment your slowest week can absorb.
Read the answer →“I have nothing to pledge.”
What unsecured really means, the role of personal guarantees and UCC filings, and where the unsecured ceiling sits.
Read the answer →“Four good months pay for twelve.”
Financing an uneven revenue curve, timing the request before the season, and structures that flex with volume.
Read the answer →“We have only been open a few months.”
What is realistically available at three, six, and twelve months, and how to build a fundable file faster.
Read the answer →“Strong revenue, rough credit report.”
What revenue-led underwriting rewards, where credit still decides the outcome, and which structures fit this profile.
Read the answer →“How much could we actually get?”
How each product is sized, the five inputs that move the number, and a way to sanity-check your own range.
Read the answer →“What paperwork do you need?”
The standard package, what changes by product, and the paperwork problems that cause the most delays.
Read the answer →“My FICO is in the 500s.”
Which products still consider a file in the 500-600 band, what compensates for the score, and the cost tradeoff that comes with it.
Read the answer →“My statements have negative days.”
Why negative days often outweigh credit score, how they are counted, and the practical 30-60 day cleanup that changes an outcome.
Read the answer →“The work is done. The money is not here yet.”
Financing the receivable gap: factoring, AR lines, and revolving credit compared against how long your customers actually take to pay.
Read the answer →“My returns are not filed yet.”
Which products are bank-statement reviewed, which require filed returns as a program rule, and what to do while you are on extension.
Read the answer →“What can a business my size actually get?”
How the menu of realistic options changes across revenue tiers, and why deposits set the ceiling on most revenue-based offers.
Read the answer →“I need a machine, not a cash advance.”
Loan versus lease, new versus used, deposits and soft costs, and how the process changes as the ticket grows.
Read the answer →“I need capital without a daily debit.”
The realistic ways to move off a daily repayment clock, what each requires, and the order to try them in.
Read the answer →“I am buying a business.”
The capital stack behind most acquisitions, what buyers are judged on, and the diligence items that decide whether a deal is financeable.
Read the answer →“I need stock before the season, not after.”
Matching financing term to sell-through, which structures fit inventory, and the mistake that turns a good buy into a cash-flow problem.
Read the answer →“We have not been open long enough.”
Where startup capital actually comes from, which commercial products open first, and how to build the record that unlocks the rest.
Read the answer →“How do I finance a commercial construction project?”
What lenders evaluate, what belongs in the project package, and how draw-based financing differs from a permanent mortgage.
Read the answer →“Do I buy this machine with a loan, or lease it?”
Ownership, end-of-term options, obsolescence risk, and the questions that actually decide the loan-versus-lease call.
Read the answer →“What will factoring actually cost me, and will my invoices even qualify?”
Advance rates, factor fees, reserves, recourse versus non-recourse, and the invoice characteristics that decide eligibility.
Read the answer →“We have receivables and inventory. Can we borrow against them?”
Borrowing bases, advance rates, eligibility rules, reporting obligations, and how ABL differs from a cash-flow loan.
Read the answer →“Is this a line-of-credit problem or a term-loan problem?”
Revolving versus amortizing capital, the cost of mismatching structure to need, and what each is underwritten on.
Read the answer →“These two offers look similar. What am I actually comparing?”
Purchase of receivables versus revenue-linked repayment, how cost is expressed, and the questions to ask before signing either.
Read the answer →“What am I really signing when they ask for a personal guarantee?”
Guarantees, UCC filings, blanket liens, secured versus unsecured structures, and the clauses worth reading twice.
Read the answer →“I am acquiring or refinancing an investment property. How is it underwritten?”
Property-level cash flow, sponsor review, bridge versus permanent debt, and the diligence package that moves a deal forward.
Read the answer →How the cash cycle works in specific sectors, what tends to be financeable, and which structures fit the way each industry actually gets paid.
“Fuel, repairs, and slow-paying brokers.”
Freight receivables, equipment purchases, and downtime — how carriers and owner-operators typically approach each.
Read the answer →“Retainage and Net 60 are killing my cash flow.”
Progress billing, mobilization costs, retainage, and the financing categories built around a negative cash cycle.
Read the answer →“My walk-in went down and I need equipment now.”
Equipment replacement, buildouts, seasonality, and an honest look at the cost of fast options in a thin-margin business.
Read the answer →“Insurance pays slowly and I need to expand.”
Clinical equipment, buildouts, acquisitions, and the working-capital gap created by reimbursement timing.
Read the answer →“Weekly payroll, Net 60 clients.”
Why growth increases the cash requirement, and how payroll funding, factoring, and AR facilities scale with billing.
Read the answer →“Parts are out the door before the insurer pays.”
Equipment, parts float, and insurance receivables — the three cash problems specific to repair and collision shops.
Read the answer →“Peak season needs trucks I cannot buy in the off-season.”
Seasonality, fleet and equipment purchases, material float on commercial work, and the difference between residential and commercial cash cycles.
Read the answer →“The operatory pays for itself — if I can fund it.”
Chairside equipment, imaging and CAD/CAM, practice acquisition, and the reimbursement gap between treatment and payment.
Read the answer →“Caregivers are paid weekly. The payer is not.”
Payroll-versus-reimbursement mismatch, payer mix, census growth, and the financing structures built for it.
Read the answer →“My cash is sitting in inventory and payout reserves.”
Inventory cycles, marketplace payout timing, ad spend, and how underwriters read platform deposits.
Read the answer →“I pay suppliers fast and get paid slow.”
The distributor's double squeeze — money in inventory and money in receivables at once — and the facilities built for it.
Read the answer →“The order is won. The materials still have to be bought.”
Machine tools, raw material float, purchase-order gaps, and why manufacturing has the longest cash cycle of any sector we work in.
Read the answer →“Carriers want quick pay. Shippers pay on terms.”
The broker's spread problem: paying carriers in days while collecting from shippers in weeks.
Read the answer →“The brand wants a renovation before the strong season.”
Property-secured financing, brand-mandated improvement plans, seasonality, and the operating capital between peaks.
Read the answer →“The franchisor approved me. Now I need the capital.”
Initial fees, buildout, equipment packages, multi-unit growth, and why system performance data helps your file.
Read the answer →“There is a book for sale and a window to buy it.”
Book-of-business purchases, producer ramp costs, and why recurring commission income changes the underwriting conversation.
Read the answer →“The work is done. The billing cycle says otherwise.”
Case cost advances, billing cycles, partner buy-ins, and seasonality in accounting practices.
Read the answer →“The award is signed. Performance starts before payment does.”
Mobilization costs, agency payment cycles, prime versus sub position, and the documentation that makes government receivables financeable.
Read the answer →Prequalification, documentation for self-employed borrowers, consolidation math, what moves a rate, and how a personal loan interacts with your credit. Ready to talk numbers? See the personal loan program.
“Will checking my options hurt my credit?”
What a soft-pull prequalification is, what it is not, and when the hard inquiry happens.
Read the answer →“I own the company, so who verifies my income?”
Income verification without a W-2, the effect of write-offs, and how to prepare.
Read the answer →“What will they actually ask me for?”
The common document list, what each item proves, and how to avoid the back-and-forth.
Read the answer →“I need capital. Does it matter which side it comes from?”
Liability, underwriting basis, credit reporting, and the practical test for choosing.
Read the answer →“One payment sounds better. Is it?”
The total-cost math, the behavioral risk, and when consolidation genuinely improves a situation.
Read the answer →“Why did I get that rate?”
Credit profile, income and debt ratios, term length, loan amount, and lender-specific policy.
Read the answer →“My credit is okay, not great. What is realistic?”
Realistic expectations, careful comparison, and the warning signs worth knowing.
Read the answer →“What number should I expect?”
The inputs that determine loan size, and the difference between what you can borrow and what you should.
Read the answer →“Should I pledge collateral for a better rate?”
What collateral changes, what it risks, and how to decide.
Read the answer →“Will this help or hurt my credit?”
The inquiry, the new account, payment history, utilization effects, and payoff.
Read the answer →Utilization, inquiries, disputes, business versus personal credit, and how to prepare a profile months before applying for bank or SBA financing. Related service: Credit Repair.
“What will they see when they pull my credit?”
A pre-application review you can do yourself in an afternoon.
Read the answer →“I pay in full every month. Why is my utilization high?”
Statement-date reporting, per-card versus overall ratios, and practical management.
Read the answer →“How many times can my credit be pulled?”
When each type occurs, who sees them, and how to shop carefully.
Read the answer →“I had a rough stretch. How much does it still matter?”
Recency, severity, pattern, and what underwriters actually do with derogatory history.
Read the answer →“Why are they pulling my personal credit for a business loan?”
Two separate files, different rules, and why both usually matter.
Read the answer →“How do I get the business to stand on its own?”
Foundation, reporting trade lines, payment behavior, and realistic timelines.
Read the answer →“If I pay for monitoring, am I protected?”
Detection versus prevention, what alerts cover, and what a freeze does that monitoring cannot.
Read the answer →“This account is not mine. Now what?”
Your rights under federal law, the practical steps, and honest limits.
Read the answer →“I want the bank option, not the fast option.”
A months-ahead preparation plan covering credit, banking, and documentation.
Read the answer →“We do good numbers. Why was this declined?”
Revenue is one input. Here are the others that decide the outcome.
Read the answer →For CPAs, tax professionals, consultants, and other advisors who introduce business owners to a financing partner. See our referral, affiliate, and ISO partner program.
“What happens after I refer someone?”
How introductions are tracked, who does the work after the handoff, how compensation is typically structured, and what to check before joining a program.
Read the answer →“Is this allowed for my practice?”
Licensing, independence, disclosure, and firm-policy considerations for accountants who want to introduce clients to a financing partner.
Read the answer →“I already broker deals. What does an ISO relationship actually involve?”
The responsibilities, submission process, and written-agreement structure behind an Independent Sales Organization relationship.
Read the answer →“Three partner tracks are offered. Which one am I?”
A plain comparison of the three partner structures and who each one actually suits.
Read the answer →“If I introduce a client, what happens to them — and to me?”
The full path from introduction to funded transaction, and where the partner sits in it.
Read the answer →“How much do I actually need before I hand the deal over?”
The minimum viable introduction, what genuinely speeds a file up, and what not to collect.
Read the answer →“My clients ask about financing constantly. Should I be referring it?”
Trigger moments for equipment vendors, insurance agents, bookkeepers, consultants, and attorneys — plus the obligations that come with each role.
Read the answer →“My buyer needs debt. Who handles that without taking my client?”
Bring us the deal. We'll help find its home — how CRE brokers hand off financing while staying in their own transaction.
Read the answer →“This file does not fit anyone's box. Is it worth submitting?”
Bring us the deal. We'll help find its home — how difficult or structured commercial transactions are packaged and reviewed.
Read the answer →