Up to $250,000, on the strength of your credit profile.
No revenue required. This route underwrites who you are on paper rather than what your business has deposited, which is why a strong file can fund a young company.
All three, or this is not your route.
These are not preferences. They are the gate. If one is missing, the revenue-based route is the conversation you should be having instead.
A minimum 680 FICO
This is the hard floor. If you are below it, credit work comes first, and doing that in the right order usually costs far less than borrowing expensively today.
Credit restorationAn established entity
An LLC or a corporation. A sole proprietorship will not clear this gate, and forming an entity is inexpensive and fast relative to what it opens.
An EIN
A federal tax ID for the business, issued free by the IRS in minutes. Be careful with anyone who wants to charge you for one.
Funding amounts are primarily based on creditworthiness.
Not on your revenue, not on how long you have been trading, and not on how good the idea is. On what your credit profile tells a lender about how you handle obligations.
What strengthens the number
- → A clean, consistent payment history
- → Low utilization across your revolving accounts
- → Established accounts with real age on them
- → A mix of account types handled well
- → Few recent hard inquiries
What holds it back
- → Balances sitting near your limits
- → Recent late payments, collections or charge-offs
- → A thin file with too little history to read
- → A stack of inquiries from applying everywhere at once
- → No business entity or EIN in place yet
Credit-based, or revenue-based?
| Credit-basedThis page | Revenue-based | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified on | Your credit profile | Your business deposits |
| Credit requirement | Minimum 680 FICO | Not the primary factor |
| Revenue requirement | None | 3 months of consistent deposits |
| Entity required | LLC or corporation, plus EIN | Business bank account |
| Typical ceiling | Up to $250,000 | Up to millions |
| Best when | Strong credit, young or pre-revenue business | Real revenue, credit still being rebuilt |
About credit-based funding.
What do I need to qualify for credit-based funding?+
Three things: a minimum 680 FICO score, an established business entity such as an LLC or corporation, and an EIN. No revenue is required, because the approval is based on creditworthiness rather than cash flow. This is the route for people whose credit is strong but whose business is young.
Do I need an LLC to get business funding?+
For credit-based funding, yes, you need an established entity and an EIN. Some revenue-based products will work with a sole proprietorship that has a business bank account, but your options narrow considerably. Forming an entity is inexpensive and opens more doors than almost anything else you can do in a week.
Will applying for funding hurt my credit?+
A formal application creates a hard inquiry, which typically costs a handful of points and matters for about a year. Pre-qualification is usually a soft pull and costs nothing. The bigger risk is applying scattershot to many lenders at once, which stacks inquiries and signals distress.
How fast can funding come through?+
Credit-based funding can move in a matter of days once your profile and entity are in order. The slow part is almost never the lender; it is usually the documents on your side.
What if my score is below 680?+
Then this is not your route today, and it is worth saying that plainly rather than letting you rack up inquiries finding out. Either revenue-based funding fits your situation now, or credit work comes first. Which one depends on whether your business has deposits.
Find out which route is actually yours
Five questions, no email required, and an honest answer at the end about what you qualify for today.