#business-loans
Explore business loan options, rates, and financing strategies
How asset-based lending converts inventory and receivables into working capital — receivables typically earn 80–85% advance rates while inventory gets 50–80%, and your available credit moves with a weekly or monthly borrowing base calculation. Costs, qualification requirements, and how ABL compares to term loans, inventory-only financing, and equity.
The quick ratio (acid-test ratio) measures whether a business can cover current liabilities using only cash, marketable securities, and receivables — deliberately excluding inventory and prepaid expenses. Covers the formula with a worked example, why loan covenants often set a quick-ratio minimum instead of a current-ratio one, why 1.0 is the textbook benchmark but fast-turn retailers healthily run 0.3–0.4, and the mistakes that make the ratio misleading.
The asset coverage ratio measures whether tangible assets could repay total debt in a liquidation — [(total assets − intangibles) − (current liabilities − short-term debt)] ÷ total debt. Below 1.0 is a red flag, 2.0 is a common healthy benchmark, and lenders often write a minimum ACR into loan covenants that can trigger technical default.
The prime rate — not the federal funds rate — drives variable business loan payments. It sits at 6.75% in mid-2026, with SBA 7(a) loans priced at Prime + 2.25%–3.0%. Here's the payment math on a quarter-point cut (about $37/month on a $250,000 loan) and how to plan around the Fed's uncertain rate path.
As of July 4, 2026, the SBA decoupled its 7(a) and 504 loan caps, letting qualified borrowers combine up to $5 million from each program — $10 million in total SBA-backed financing. Here's who benefits, how the two programs differ, and the structuring mistakes to avoid.
Net debt to EBITDA measures how many years of operating cash flow it would take to repay your debt. Lenders typically cap leverage covenants at 3.0x–4.5x, read below 2.0x as strong, and flag anything above 6.0x — here's how to calculate yours in ten minutes and avoid the mistakes that distort it.
As of March 1, 2026, SBA 7(a), 504, Microloan, and Surety Bond programs require 100% U.S. citizen or national ownership (with a 5% carve-out), ending green card holder eligibility. Here's who is affected and the financing alternatives — conventional loans, CDFIs, ITIN lending, and revenue-based funding.
A 1.3 factor rate on a $50,000 merchant cash advance means $65,000 owed no matter how fast you repay — an effective APR that can exceed 300%. How confession-of-judgment clauses let lenders freeze bank accounts without a hearing, why stacked borrowers default at 3–5x the normal rate, and which states now ban COJs.
The SBA's 2025–2026 Community Advantage overhaul caps CA loans at $350,000, requires lenders to hold $750,000 in unencumbered capital as of May 15, 2026, and freezes new CA SBLC licenses — here's what the shrinking lender pool means for startups and underserved borrowers seeking SBA-backed financing.
ConnectOne Bank cut policy lookups from 20 minutes to 30 seconds and grew banker adoption 41% in 10 weeks after deploying AI agents built on nCino's platform across commercial lending. Here's what agentic underwriting means for small-business borrowers — why DSCR math, standard-format financial statements, and clean, auditable books now decide whether approval takes days or weeks.
On July 13, 2026, the FDIC, OCC, and NCUA directed banks to tighten underwriting on loans to borrowers without U.S. work authorization, following a June CFPB statement reversing 2023 fair-lending guidance. Here's what the guidance says, how it affects immigrant entrepreneurs and their employers, and five concrete steps to keep financing accessible.
The SBA's new MARC loan gives NAICS 31-33 manufacturers up to $5 million in revolving working capital secured by business assets only, priced around prime plus 3.25%, with no personal real estate collateral and no borrowing base certificates required.
