The real bars for approval are lower than most owners think, and higher than the ads pretend. Here is what each product actually requires and how to show up ready.
Most owners guess wrong about qualifying, in both directions. Some assume they need bank-level credit and two years of tax returns, so they never apply. Others believe the “everyone approved” ads and get surprised by a decline. The truth sits in a practical middle: clear bars, different for each product, and almost all of them things you can influence in 30 to 60 days.
Monthly revenue. Real deposits into a business account. Around $15K a month opens most doors; more revenue opens bigger ones.
Time in business. Six months gets you in the game for advances and working capital. A year or more unlocks better pricing, and two years plus opens term loans, lines of credit, and SBA territory.
Bank account behavior. Negative days, NSFs, and balance consistency. This one moves offers more than owners expect, and our guide on what funders look for in your bank statements covers it line by line.
Credit. It matters least for advances, moderately for lines and terms, and most for SBA. Plenty of funding happens in the 500s and 600s; the score mostly steers which product and what price.
For the full breakdown of how these four trade off against each other, see time in business, revenue, and credit: what matters most.
Rough bars, not promises, and files get placed outside these ranges all the time:
If you have a few weeks before you need the money, use them. Route all revenue through one operating account. Keep a floor under the balance and break any drain-to-zero pattern. Put one clean NSF-free month on the board. Pull payoff balances on anything you already owe. Every one of those moves your offer, and the full playbook lives in how to strengthen your file before you apply.
This is literally what we do all day: read a file, name the products it qualifies for today, and name what one more clean month would unlock. No cost, no obligation, no guessing.
Start the application, upload your statements right in the app, and get the straight answer, usually within a day. Or call or text (848) 420-8444 and talk it through first.
Send us your positions and we will run the real math, free. One straight answer about whether consolidation gives your business room to breathe, with no pressure either way.