What Is a Term Loan?

With several types of financing available to small businesses, you might wonder how a term loan fits into your business plans. When your small business has a specific, high-priority expense, a term loan from a bank, credit union, or online lender can help.

Loans from banks or credit unions are usually harder to qualify for and require a long term of several years, but they offer better rates. An online lender can get you a loan more quickly and with fewer conditions, but you should expect to pay more for that convenience.

Long-term business loans of three to ten years from a bank will usually carry an interest rate between 4% and 6%, depending on your credit history, cash flow, and other details. In addition, banks offer secured loans, where businesses provide collateral in case of an unpaid balance, and unsecured loans, where the business doesn’t provide collateral.

You can find both short-term small-business loans (some as short as several months) and long-term loans from different online peer-to-peer lending or institutional lending companies, and their interest rates can fluctuate a great deal. Some might compare with bank loan rates, but other rates may be nearly twice as much.

Remember that a fixed-rate loan will keep the same interest rate from when you first sign that promissory note (a legal written record of the loan between two entities), a variable-rate loan could end with significantly higher or lower rates than when you started the deal. Many borrowers prefer fixed rates for their reliability.

Some small businesses also qualify for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, which have impressively low-interest rates thanks to their backing from the federal government. But you don’t apply to the SBA directly for these loans. Instead, you work through a bank or other lender to secure and repay the loan. As long as you meet the base eligibility requirements listed on the SBA’s site, you can reach out to a lender to see if your situation qualifies for SBA long-term financing.

Let’s say a small clothing vendor has seen plenty of financial success and wants to expand to a new location in a nearby town. While they have plenty of cash flow, it would still take a long time to save enough money to open a new store. So a term loan lets the clothing company open that store right away—that way they don’t miss out on that extra income.

In some ways, a business loan works similarly to a short-term personal loan, like one used to buy a car. For example, a moving company with good credit could use the up-front cash from a loan to satisfy increasing demands with additional trucks. Other types of machinery required to run a business could also be purchased with a short-term loan.

However, business loans aren’t only for large single-item purchases. For example, if a sports equipment store needs to expand its inventory for a new season quickly, a small loan with a short term can help stock the shelves just in time for the ski or snorkel rush.

Your local bank or credit union likely offers business term loans, and it could be a good place to look first. However, if you weren’t approved by a bank or if you need a shorter approval period, Lendio helps business owners shop for a variety of online loans, including short-term or long-term loans.

There are actually a bunch of different ways businesses can borrow money that aren't just traditional term loans. If you don't want to take out a big lump sum all at once, you could look into getting a line of credit instead. Or, if you have a bunch of unpaid invoices, you could sell them to another company for a fee in a process called invoice financing, or invoice factoring. And there's also equipment financing, merchant cash advances, and even crowdfunding. Each of these options has its own pros and cons, so it's important to do your research and figure out what works best for you.

Term loans can vary greatly based on their rates, fees, length, collateral requirements, and lender origin, resulting in several distinct types available to borrowers. Be sure to compare the pros and cons of each, as well as the alternative options we mentioned, to find the best small business financing solution for you.

Disclaimer

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