8 Best Cash Flow Loans for Small Businesses in 2023

Fundbox offers a small business line of credit with low starting rates and the ability to fund quickly, making it our pick as the best overall provider for a cash flow loan. Rates start as low as 4.66% on the 12-week repayment term whereas rates for a 24-week term typically start at 8.99%. Loan amounts up to $150,000 are available.

One potential downside to this provider is that it requires payments to be made weekly. This higher frequency can deplete your cash reserves depending on when you receive payment from your other clients, so you’ll want to ensure this does not cause any additional challenges for your business.

In addition to its existing line of credit product, Fundbox is testing a program called Fundbox Plus. Currently, it isn’t available to all customers, but those selected for the program can get additional benefits for a monthly fee of $99. Some benefits include discounted fees on new draws, the option for a 52-week repayment plan, and the ability to make payments once every four weeks.

Fundbox has a fast application, approval, and funding process. You can complete an online application in as soon as 5 minutes, receive a decision within 3 minutes, and have funds available as soon as the next business day. This quick process also earned it a spot on our list of the best fast business loans.

Bluevine is another provider that has an excellent small business line of credit with low rates and fast funding. It made our roundup of the best working capital loans; however, it does have more strict qualification requirements compared to Fundbox, which is why we didn’t select it as the overall best lender for this guide.

To be considered for financing, you must be in business for at least 24 months and have monthly revenue of $40,000. Newer businesses with difficulty meeting these criteria may want to consider other providers, such as Fundbox. However, businesses that do qualify can get low rates with annual percentage rates (APRs) that can start as low as 6.2%.

Loan amounts up to $250,000 are offered, with repayments made weekly or monthly. Businesses looking to make monthly payments must meet additional requirements. Your business must be a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), have a credit score of 650, be able to show $80,000 in monthly revenue, and have been in business for at least three years with no bankruptcies in the past 36 months.

Bluevine can offer loans to a wide variety of industries in most states—with the exception of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Puerto Rico, and the United States territories. To learn more or to apply, visit the Bluevine website.

National Funding reviews loan applications on a case-by-case basis and personalizes the experience for each borrower. It also consistently receives high customer ratings, making it a great choice for businesses seeking good customer service.

In general, it works mostly with businesses that are already performing well and are primarily looking to continue expanding. If you fit this description and meet the qualification requirements for time in business, credit score, and revenue, you should have a good chance of being approved.

National Funding offers loans that can be used for a variety of business purposes. This includes working capital loans and equipment financing and leasing. While it does offer loans with repayment terms up to five years, it typically offers its best rates on shorter-term loans that have repayment periods of less than one year. Most loans also carry an origination fee between 1% and 3% of the loan amount.

Applications can be completed online in less than 20 minutes. Depending on the complexity of your application and business finances, it’s possible to get funding in as little as 24 hours.

American Express offers a small business line of credit that has the lowest revenue requirement out of all the providers on our list. You’ll need just $36,000 annual revenue to be considered for financing. It’s also startup-friendly, requiring just 12 months’ time in business.

This product was formerly known under the Kabbage Funding brand. American Express has recently retired that branding and now offers the product under its Business Blueprint portfolio of products for business owners, which also includes business credit cards and business checking accounts.

Pricing for this provider’s line of credit will depend on your business qualifications and the loan terms you select. Instead of an interest rate, you’ll be charged monthly fees that can be as low as 2%. Minimum draw amounts also vary based on your loan term but can be as low as $500 for a six-month term, up to a minimum draw amount of $20,000 for an 18-month loan.

American Express has a quick application and approval process. You can apply online in less than 5 minutes and receive a loan decision almost instantly. Funding can then occur within 24 hours.

If you’re looking for multiple loan options or to improve your chances of getting approved, Lendio is a good option. It has a network of more than 75 lenders it can match you up with, which also earned it a spot on our list of the best business loan brokers.

Lendio offers several types of loans that landed it a spot in this guide. These loans include accounts receivable financing, term loans, MCAs, and equipment financing. Rates and qualification requirements will vary depending on the type of loan you apply for and the lender you are paired with, but it’s recommended that you have a credit score of at least 650 and $50,000 in annual revenue.

Other types of loans this provider offers include a small business line of credit, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, commercial mortgages, startup loans, business acquisition loans, and small business credit cards. However, due to the additional time needed to get these loans, they may not be a good option if you need funding on short notice.

Applications with Lendio can be completed online in less than 15 minutes, with funding speeds as soon as 24 hours.

OnDeck’s term loan and business line of credit each offer simple repayment terms. The term loan has automatic daily or weekly payments, while payments on the line of credit can be made once per week regardless of how frequently you draw funds from the line.

The provider’s interest rates are competitive, starting as low as 9% depending on the health of your business and cash flow. Fees, however, can increase the APR to 29.9% or higher. OnDeck states that the average APR is around 48%, and loans may carry an origination fee between 0% and 4%. In addition, lines of credit have a $20 monthly maintenance fee, although it can be waived for the first 6 months if you draw $5,000 or more within a week of opening the loan.

Another benefit of getting a line of credit with OnDeck is the fact that it offers instant funding. Instant Funding refers to the ability to give you access to funds after you have been initially approved for the loan. By comparison, many other providers require you to wait for one to two business days for a standard automated clearing house (ACH) transfer. Instant Funding is available year-round, including holidays and weekends, but is typically limited to no more than $10,000.

Online applications for a loan can be completed in less than 10 minutes. You can receive a decision within minutes, with funding as soon as 24 hours.

Fora Financial is an excellent choice if you need an MCA for your business. This provider advertises its MCA loan as a revenue advance. The two types of loans are virtually identical, with a big difference being that a revenue advance loan requires proof of revenue being received. MCAs, on the other hand, can use additional factors for qualification.

To qualify for financing, you’ll need to be able to show average revenue of $12,000 per month. The provider is startup-friendly, requiring only six months’ time in business. It also has a low credit score requirement of 500.

One thing you should know is that Fora Financial has continuously improved its product, so it may be worth reconsidering even if you opted not to choose it for financing in the past. Compared to last year, the provider has since increased the maximum amount you can borrow and offered faster funding speeds.

You can apply for up to $1.4 million in financing. Online applications can be completed between 5 and 10 minutes, with approvals and funding to follow as soon as 24 to 48 hours.

Payability offers a product that can give you an advance payment on your past ecommerce marketplace sales. You can be eligible for this type of financing if you conduct business on an ecommerce platform, such as Amazon, Walmart, or Newegg.

Currently, Payability is only advertising for its Instant Access lending product. The product works by giving you an advance of 80% of your previous day’s ecommerce marketplace sales—and the remaining 20% is made available once you receive payment from the marketplace. This can be beneficial for your business because it can solve the issue of where your company has made sales but may not receive actual payment for several days to weeks.

If you don’t qualify based on your past sales or need additional funding, you can consider revenue-based financing (RBF). It’s similar to what Payability offers but looks at your future revenue instead. You can read our guide on revenue-based financing to learn more about who it’s for and how to apply.

Payability’s fees are simple as you’ll pay a flat fee averaging anywhere from 0.5% to 2% of your gross sales. Advances can be made daily, with funding that is made available within 24 hours. To get started, you can submit an application online, a process that should take no more than 10 minutes. Once approved, you can connect your marketplace account with the provider to view and request advances through your new account dashboard.