Basic Types of Financing For A Start-Up Business
An alternative to financing through equity is debt.
To begin with, let me try to elaborate the key benefits of utilizing debt.
So here they are: • The time to secure debt financing is generally shorter compared to equity; • The cost of the money is easily quantifiable; • Paperwork charges for the transaction will most likely be less than an equity transaction; and, • The equity of the company is not diluted by new ownership.
The disadvantages to debt are: • Not like equity, the company needs to pay back debt; • The company must hold debt on its balance sheet as a liability, that can make it less appealing to some investors; • If the cash flow of the company is tight, debt service can put an unnecessary strain on the finances; • In lots of small businesses, commercial lenders have to have the principal to privately guarantee the debt and possibly pledge individual collateral; and, • Some lenders demand rather onerous record keeping by the debtor, for instance quarterly and annual financial statements, possibly audited, and impose limitations on certain business transactions without the lender's agreement.
Essentially the most basic types of financing are bank loans.
To be able to get a bank loan for a start-up business, you ought to provide a business plan or a loan proposal, which are similar documents.
The benefit of seeking a bank loan may be that you or your family has a pre-existing connection or background with a bank which makes the process simpler.
In any case, a bank will concentrate on a few things in analyzing your loan application.
Initially, they will need to know about your business and the business plan, the amount of money you need, and how you would like to spend it.
Equally important is showing to the bank the way your business intends to pay the loan back and over what timeframe.
Financial predictions are most helpful at this point.
Banks are in the business of lending money which is certainly one of their primary earnings centers.
Your task is to prove to them that you are creditworthy and that the profits from your business will certainly pay back the loan in regular basis.
You illustrate your capability to pay back the loan using your financial forecasts.
If you already have a good reputation for managing a profitable business, a historical financial statement along with a financial projection could win the day.
Until you have considerable assets in your company and proper annual earnings, banks will likely check out the creditworthiness of the owners of the business.
To put it differently, you and your partners' credit backgrounds will be examined and you will be asked to present a personal balance sheet.
In the matter of a start-up business, many banks will need, as a situation of the loan, that each of the founders, and perhaps their partners, guarantee the loan.
The need for individual warranties might also surface when you are signing a lease for your company office or plant.
If you should sign an individual assurance, check if the bank will accept to remove it after some reasonable timeframe.
Banks charge interest for loans, which is deductible as a business expense to the lender.
Rates of interest differ among banks and can be affected by the kind of loan taken and the perceived credit risk of the lender.
You need to investigate the various types of business financing loans designed to your business to figure out what matches.