Credit-challenged financing
A low personal FICO closes the bank door — it does not close the capital market. Seven of the fifteen products we index will fund a business between a 500 and 600 score, because they underwrite deposits, receivables or collateral instead of your credit report. Below is exactly which ones, what they cost in 2026, and where each one bites.
Ordered from lowest cost of capital to highest. Ranges are 2026 market benchmarks, not offers.
You sell the invoice, not your credit. The factor underwrites your customer's ability to pay, which is why a six-month-old company invoicing a Fortune 500 buyer can fund faster than a ten-year-old company with thin credit.
Watch out: Recourse factoring puts the loss back on you if the customer never pays. Confirm recourse vs. non-recourse in writing.
View product deep dive →A purchase of future receivables, not a loan — which is why it sidesteps usury caps and clears in a day at a 500 credit score. It is the fastest and most expensive money on this page, and we will tell you plainly when you do not need it.
Watch out: Stacking multiple advances is the single most common path to insolvency in small-business finance. Confession-of-judgment clauses still appear in some contracts — refuse them.
View product deep dive →Repayment flexes with the top line: a slow month costs less, a strong month retires the balance faster. No fixed maturity, no equity dilution, and no personal collateral — but the total cost is well above bank debt.
Watch out: Factor rate is not APR. A 1.35 factor paid back in nine months is roughly a 70% APR — do the conversion.
View product deep dive →The asset secures the loan, so the equipment's resale value carries much of the credit decision. This is why a 560 FICO can finance a titled truck at rates a 700 FICO cannot get on an unsecured loan.
Watch out: Section 179 and bonus depreciation can materially change after-tax cost — model the deal net of the deduction, not gross.
View product deep dive →A compressed term loan built for speed over price. Cheaper and better structured than an advance, faster and looser than a bank note — the middle rung most second-chance borrowers should aim for.
Watch out: Weekly debits compound cash-flow pressure. Confirm the payment fits your worst historical week, not your average one.
View product deep dive →A revolving facility sized to a borrowing base — typically 80–85% of eligible receivables plus 50% of inventory. Credit history matters far less than collateral quality, which makes it a genuine option for a business recovering from a bad year.
Watch out: Reporting burden is heavy and ongoing. Audit fees, unused line fees, and lockbox control are standard.
View product deep dive →A lump sum with a fixed amortization schedule. Simple, predictable, and the correct instrument whenever the use of funds has a known cost and a known payback — a build-out, a hire cohort, a marketing push with measurable CAC.
Watch out: Online lenders quote in 'total payback' rather than APR. Always convert to APR before comparing against a bank term sheet.
View product deep dive →Deposits beat FICO. Revenue-based and working capital lenders price primarily off your last 3–4 months of bank statements: average daily balance, deposit consistency, and negative days. Three months without an NSF moves pricing more than fifty FICO points.
Collateral rewrites the box. Equipment finance underwrites the resale value of a titled asset, which is why a 550 score can finance a truck at rates an unsecured borrower with a 700 cannot touch.
Factoring underwrites your customer. When you sell an invoice, the factor is betting on the payer's credit, not yours. A six-month-old company invoicing a large creditworthy buyer can fund with no score at all.
Recency matters more than depth. A discharged bankruptcy from four years ago is a very different file than an open tax lien or a current default. Explain the event up front; it usually costs less than the lender finding it.
500. Below that, options narrow to invoice factoring, where your customer's credit carries the file rather than yours.
No. Reviewing your profile and matching products is a soft pull. A hard inquiry only occurs if you accept an offer and move to final underwriting with a specific lender.
A completed application and your last 3–4 business bank statements. That covers intake for nearly every product on this page.
Revenue-based financing, working capital and merchant cash advances commonly fund within 24 hours of a complete file. Factoring and equipment finance typically run 1–5 business days.
That is the goal. Six clean months of payments on a short-term product is the most reliable path to a cheaper term loan or line of credit.
Submit your profile and we will tell you which of these products your file actually clears — including when the honest answer is to wait ninety days and save the fee.
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