# Business Financing Guides Longer reads for the questions a product page cannot answer in a paragraph: how offers are priced, what underwriting reads, which structure fits which need and how to build a file worth funding. Honest about what only an offer can tell you. 16 guides · 2 lists [See your financing options](https://capitalgurus.com/apply/) · [Or call (725) 425-4307](tel:+17254254307) Soft credit pull only, no obligation. ## Which guide answers your question? - **If you have never applied**: [how to get a business loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-get-a-business-loan/) · [how business loans work](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-business-loans-work/) - **If you compare structures**: [types of business loans](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/types-of-business-loans/) · [line of credit vs. term loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/line-of-credit-vs-term-loan/) - **If you are reading an offer**: [business loan terms explained](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-terms/) · [business loan interest rates](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-interest-rates/) - **If you are getting the file ready**: [business loan requirements](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-requirements/) · [a business plan for a loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-plan-for-a-loan/) - **If credit is the obstacle**: [business loans with bad credit](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-with-bad-credit/) · [how to build business credit](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-build-business-credit/) **What no guide can tell you:** your rate, your fees and your term. Rates, factor rates, fees and terms are set by the funding provider that makes your offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. ## Guides by topic ### Getting a loan - [how to get a business loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-get-a-business-loan/) — Guide — Every step from working out the amount to signing. - [how business loans work](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-business-loans-work/) — Guide — What is borrowed, what is repaid and what underwriting reads. - [types of business loans](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/types-of-business-loans/) — Guide — The full ladder, and what each rung is for. - [how a business loan broker works](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-a-business-loan-broker-works/) — Guide — What a broker does, how one is paid and what to ask. - [business loan requirements](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-requirements/) — Guide — The documents, the minimums and what quietly decides a file. - [writing a business plan for a loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-plan-for-a-loan/) — Guide — What underwriting reads, and which products never read a plan. - [how to get a startup business loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-get-a-startup-business-loan/) — Guide — The routes open to a business under two years old. ### Rates and terms - [business loan interest rates](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-interest-rates/) — Guide — What moves a rate, and how to compare offers fairly. - [business loan terms explained](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-terms/) — Guide — Every word in an offer, defined. - [how much business financing you can get](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-amounts/) — Guide — What sets the ceiling, and why asking for more can backfire. ### SBA - [SBA loan rates](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/sba-loan-rates/) — Guide — How SBA pricing is capped, against a conventional offer. - [best SBA lenders](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/best-sba-lenders/) — List — Ranked SBA lenders, with stated criteria and dated sources. Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. ### Lines of credit - [line of credit vs. term loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/line-of-credit-vs-term-loan/) — Guide — A revolving limit or a fixed schedule: which fits the problem. - [business line of credit requirements](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-line-of-credit-requirements/) — Guide — What a provider checks before opening a limit, including for an LLC. ### Working capital - [what working capital is](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/what-is-working-capital/) — Guide — The number, how to calculate it and what a gap means. - [best invoice factoring companies](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/best-invoice-factoring-companies/) — List — Ranked factoring companies, with stated criteria and dated sources. ### Business credit - [how to build business credit](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-build-business-credit/) — Guide — Six steps to separate the business's credit file from yours. - [how to get a business loan with bad credit](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-with-bad-credit/) — Guide — What is realistic at a lower score, and what it costs. ## Frequently asked questions ### Will a guide tell me what rate I will pay? No, and be wary of any page that says it will. A rate is set by the funding provider after it reads your file. The guides explain what moves a rate, how to compare offers written in different units, and what to ask before you sign, which is the part you can prepare for. ### Do I need to read these before applying? No. An application takes about 5 minutes and is a soft credit pull only, so you can see options first and read afterwards. The guides are most useful when you are choosing between structures or reading an offer you have already been given. ### Which guide should I read first? If you have never applied, start with [how to get a business loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-get-a-business-loan/): it walks the process in the order it happens and links to the deeper guide at each step. If you already hold an offer, [business loan terms explained](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-terms/) defines every word in it, and the interest-rates guide shows how to compare offers written in different units. ### Are the guides written by a lender? No. Capital Gurus is not a lender: it makes no credit decision, sets no rate or fee and funds no transaction. Each guide shows who wrote it and the date it was last reviewed, and follows the published [editorial policy](https://capitalgurus.com/editorial-policy/). Where a guide describes an offer, the terms it describes are always the provider's, disclosed in that provider's agreement. ### Do the guides name specific lenders? The guides explain how products work and do not name the funding providers in Capital Gurus' network. The two ranked lists, the SBA lenders list and the invoice factoring list, do compare named companies, using criteria stated at the top of the page and a dated public source for each entry. Neither list is an endorsement. Still have a question? [talk to a funding advisor](https://capitalgurus.com/contacts/) ## Keep reading ### Related pages - [All financing options](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/) - [Editorial policy](https://capitalgurus.com/editorial-policy/) ### From the blog - [What is a soft credit check for a business loan?](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/soft-credit-check-business-loan/) - [Business credit vs. personal credit](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/business-credit-vs-personal-credit/) - [Common business loan application mistakes](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/business-loan-application-mistakes/) - [How to improve your chances of loan approval](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/improve-business-loan-approval-chances/) [All articles](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/) ## Decisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider. Reading first is optional; it just tends to make the conversation shorter. [Apply now](https://capitalgurus.com/apply/) · [Call (725) 425-4307](tel:+17254254307) About 5 minutes, soft credit pull only · [talk to a funding advisor](https://capitalgurus.com/contacts/) By the Capital Gurus Editorial Team · Reviewed by Joseph Wartz · [Editorial policy](https://capitalgurus.com/editorial-policy/) --- Source: https://capitalgurus.com/guides/ · Last reviewed 2026-11-09 · Capital Gurus is not a lender.