Small business funding questions, answered

No. Checking your options uses a soft credit inquiry, which doesn't affect your credit score. A lender may run a hard inquiry only if you accept its offer, and you are told and asked to agree before that happens.

There is no single minimum. Each lender sets its own standards for each kind of funding, and weighs your credit alongside your revenue, time in business and bank activity. A score one lender turns down, another may accept, often at a different cost. With 37Lend, one application is matched against 75+ lenders, and checking uses a soft inquiry that doesn't affect your score.

Possibly. Credit history is one of several things lenders weigh, and some kinds of funding, such as a merchant cash advance or invoice factoring, lean more on your sales or your customers' invoices than on your score. Offers for a weaker credit profile can cost more, so compare every offer by its total cost. Checking your options uses a soft inquiry, so looking won't lower your score.

It varies by lender and by kind of funding. Each lender sets its own requirement for time in business, so no single number decides it. The application asks when your business was formed, and it is matched to lenders whose criteria fit your business.

Not always: it depends on the lender, the kind of funding and your business profile. With equipment financing, the equipment itself usually secures what you borrow, and many lenders ask owners for a personal guarantee even when there is no collateral. Each offer in your account says whether it requires a personal guarantee or collateral, so you know before you accept.

You can apply if you're 18 or older and have the authority to apply for financing on behalf of a business operating in the United States. The financing must be for business purposes: 37Lend does not arrange personal, family or household loans. The full conditions are in the terms of service.

37Lend is for businesses operating in the United States, but each lender decides where it lends. Terms, rates and eligibility vary by lender and by state, so the lenders and offers open to you can depend on where your business is.

It depends on what the money is for and how your business gets paid. A one-time cost with a clear payback, such as a renovation or a vehicle, suits a lump sum like a term loan, an SBA loan or equipment financing. Costs that come and go suit revolving credit such as a line of credit, and if you're waiting on customers to pay, invoice factoring or A/R financing turns invoices into cash sooner. If you're not sure, leave the type blank in the application and it is matched to whatever fits, or compare all nine kinds first.

A term loan gives you one lump sum up front, repaid in installments on a fixed schedule. A line of credit gives you a limit you can draw from as you need it, repay and draw again, and you usually pay interest only on what you've drawn. A term loan suits a single known cost; a line of credit suits needs that come and go.

No. A merchant cash advance is a sale: a funder buys part of your future card or bank sales, pays you now, and collects an agreed amount from those sales over time. Its cost is usually stated as a factor rate rather than an APR, and some rules that protect borrowers may not apply, so compare it with loan offers by total cost. Invoice factoring and a purchase of receivables are sales too, not loans.

With invoice factoring, you sell your unpaid invoices to a factor, which pays you part of their value now and usually collects from your customers: it is a sale, not a loan. With A/R financing, you borrow against your invoices, keep them, and collect from your customers yourself. Factoring leans on your customers' credit, while A/R financing usually looks harder at your own business's finances.

Yes: SBA loans are one of the nine kinds of funding your application can be matched to, and lenders in our network quote them at 7% to 18.99% as of September 2026.^[1] That is the range quoted in our network, not an APR and not an offer. The loan is made by a lender, such as a bank, and partly guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.^[6] SBA loans usually ask for more documents and take longer to arrange than other options. The SBA sets each program's rules and limits, which you can check at sba.gov.

You may be able to: lenders in our network also offer home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), quoted at 7% to 16.5% as of September 2026.^[1] That is the range quoted in our network, not an APR and not an offer. A HELOC is secured by your home: you borrow against the equity in it, and you could lose your home if you don't repay. The application doesn't ask for one by name yet, so talk to a funding advisor before you apply.

You can apply for $5,000 or more, and how much a lender offers varies by lender, kind of funding and business profile. Lenders look at things like your revenue, time in business, credit and existing debt. Each offer you receive shows the amount that lender will provide, and some let you choose a smaller amount or a different term within a range.

As of September 2026, lenders in our network quote SBA loans at 7% to 18.99%, equipment financing at 8% to 30%, term loans at 16% to 25% and lines of credit at 2% to 5% a month.^[1] What lenders and funders quote for invoice factoring and A/R financing (15% to 40%) and for merchant cash advances and purchases of receivables (20% to 60%) is pricing rather than a rate, and for the sales among them usually a factor or discount, so compare those offers by total cost.^[5] These are all quoted ranges, not APRs and not an offer. The rate or pricing you're offered depends on your credit profile, revenue and time in business, and on the lender or funder that takes your application.

Lenders in our network quote lines of credit by the month: 2% to 5% a month as of September 2026.^[1] That is the range quoted in our network, not an APR and not an offer. A monthly rate adds up over a year, so its APR is higher than the monthly figure suggests. Compare a line of credit with other offers by total cost, which every offer in your account shows beside its fees and payment.

No. 37Lend doesn't charge you to apply, to receive offers or to accept one. Lenders in our network may pay 37Lend a fee when financing they offered is funded, and any fee a lender charges you is stated in its offer and its agreement. The terms of service explain this in full.

About six minutes. You say how much you need and what it's for, add your business and its owners, agree to the credit authorizations and review before you send. Documents and the bank account for funding can be added later if you don't have them to hand, though offers take longer when lenders are still waiting on documents.

Yes. One application covers them all: pick one or more kinds of funding, or leave the choice blank and it is matched to whatever fits. Lenders may then come back with offers for different products, such as a term loan and equipment financing, and you compare them side by side.

It varies by lender and by kind of funding. Lenders commonly ask for recent business bank statements, and some ask for tax returns, a profit and loss statement or a quote for what you are buying. The application shows what you are likely to be asked for, based on the kinds of funding you pick, and you can upload it then or later from your account.

You choose the order. Every offer a lender sends back is shown, none buried, newest first until you sort them by lowest cost, largest amount or fastest funding. Each one shows the amount, rate, term, payment, fees and total payback, so you compare them on the same terms.

It depends on the lender and the kind of funding, so no one can promise a time before lenders have seen your application. Each offer shows the lender's estimated time to fund, and you can sort offers by fastest funding. SBA loans usually take longer than other options, and sending the documents lenders ask for early helps avoid delays.

Each lender decides for itself, so a decline from one is not a decline from all. A lender that declines sends you its own notice with the reasons. If no lender makes an offer, your account says so and your advisor follows up with you.

No. You're under no obligation until you accept, and you can decline any offer, or all of them, from your account. When you decline, you can say why, which helps your advisor look for a better fit. Each offer has an expiry date, so one you leave alone lapses.

That lender takes over closing. Accepting authorizes its hard credit inquiry, which you are shown and agree to first, and your other open offers are declined on your behalf. The lender may ask for final items, which appear in your account, and then sends its agreement for you to sign. Once closing is complete, it sends the funds directly to your business.

Third-party lenders and funders in our network do; 37Lend is a funding marketplace, not a bank or a lender. Your application is matched against a network of 75+ of them, and each one that makes an offer sets its own terms. If you accept an offer, the agreement is between you and that lender, and the lender sends the funds.

Your information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Full Social Security, EIN and bank account numbers are passed on once when you submit and then erased, leaving only the last four digits. Nothing about your application reaches our funding partner or any lender until you submit it, and 37Lend does not sell your personal information. The privacy policy explains who sees what.

Yes. Book a call with a funding advisor to talk through what you need, which kinds of funding might fit and what the application asks for. You don't need an account to book, and the call doesn't commit you to anything.

Yes. Book a call with a funding advisor whenever suits you, or start with the guide to each kind of business funding. Once you've sent an application, you can also message your advisor or our assistant from your account.