Grants New York State Kapitus Small Business

Small Business Grants Still Available in New York State

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Federal pandemic-related assistance for small businesses has all but dried up, as money for programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs have been used and Congress is pushing back hard on renewing them. As small businesses are still reeling from the current, difficult economic conditions, they can still turn to their state governments and other corporations for grants and relief packages. 

Various states have different programs that are set up and still funded, and if you still need help as a small business, you should look into whether you qualify for any of these grants. 

The Empire State

If you’re seeking state aid for small businesses, New York is a great place to start. There are more than 623,000 small businesses in New York State (including New York City) that account for 53% of the jobs in the state, making New York one of the biggest hubs for small businesses in the US. The state is offering several small business grants, and there are even some national grants (and one contest!) that small businesses in New York can apply for.

Kapitus’ $250K Building Resilient Businesses Contest

Kapitus has launched its Building Resilient Businesses contest, in which one first-place winner will receive $100,000, one second-place winner will receive $50,000, and five third-place winners will receive $20,000. To enter, simply send a homemade, 2-3 minute video of yourself briefly describing your business, how it was able to persevere over the past two years, and how you would spend $100,000. The contest is open to all small businesses in the US (excluding Vermont and Colorado) that have been in business for at least a year and have less than $5 million in annual revenue. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2022 For an official list of rules, click here.

The State Farm LISC Grant Partnership

State Farm, through its partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is providing new grants totaling $2 million to support small businesses in underserved communities. Some funding will go towards helping small businesses operate in low income communities, and some will go towards community development. The latest round of funding will go towards 12 communities: New York City, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Central Illinois, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix and the Puget Sound region in Washington State. 

Olean Marketing and Rent Grants

The city of Olean, NY is giving out grants to assist small businesses with rent.

The city of Olean in upstate New York is offering local small businesses with $200,000 in small business grants. Small businesses can apply for money to cover marketing costs, including advertising and eCommerce set up costs, and to help with rent as we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible small businesses can have 25% of their rent covered for up to two years. Businesses can apply for up to $5,000 under each program. There are multiple rounds in this grant program, and the first deadline is June 10, followed by July 15, 2022 and August 12, 2022. 

New York State COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program

New York’s state government is still providing grant assistance to small businesses that suffered through the pandemic. These small businesses can be micro-businesses or arts and cultural organizations, and the amount they can apply for ranges between $5,000 to $50,000. Businesses can apply by phone, and there is no set deadline.

Tourism Return-to-Work Program

 New York’s Empire State Development program is offering grants to small businesses in the tourism, transportation and accommodations industries throughout the state to encourage employment. Eligible businesses must have hired or plan to hire at least two full-time employees in the first half of 2022 and show that their business suffered through the pandemic. Grants may provide up to $5,000 for each employee. There is no stated deadline for these grants. 

Meet in New York Grant Program

New York’s Empire State Development Program is also offering grants to small businesses that host  conferences, meetings and trade shows throughout the state in order to invigorate  tourism and boost economic activity that had slowed due to coronavirus. Grants will cover a portion of the costs of events and offer discounts through tourism businesses. For example, the grant may  offer to cover the costs of blocks of hotel rooms so event planners can offer discounts to event attendees. Venues with capacities of at least 250 people are eligible. There is no hard deadline for these grants.

New York Restaurant Resiliency Program

If you own a restaurant in New York and are worried that the federal Restaurant Resiliency Program has

New York State’s Restaurant Resiliency program is still granting money to food service businesses and food banks.

been shut down, then worry no more: New York State’s Dept. of Agriculture and Markets’ Restaurant Resiliency program is still open for business and is providing $25 million in funding to restaurants and food banks through the state. The funding goes to food banks, which can then be used by restaurants to cover meals. Food businesses can apply online, and food banks can apply for direct assistance.

The Biodefense Commercialization Fund

If you’re a small business in New York state that specializes in certain aspects of healthcare such as infectious diseases, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tools, you’re in luck. The state is offering up to $40 million in grants to startups and academic centers that specialize in this field to encourage the expansion of availability of various treatments and vaccines for infectious diseases. Grants range between $1 million to $4 million, while academic institutions can apply for amounts between $250,000 and $500,000. Eligible companies must have received or are in the process of receiving series A or B funding and intend to stay in business for at least three years after receiving their grants. Small business can apply online.

New York Arts Grants 

The New York State Council on the Arts is providing over $3 million in grants to entrepreneurs or individuals seeking to pursue a career in various artistic fields, including emergency grants for those experiencing health issues and receiving awards, as well as fellowship opportunities for new artists. Deadlines to apply are throughout the year and next year, and this includes artists and studios throughout the state, including New York City. 

Don’t Give up Free Money!

While the US Congress has apparently shut its doors to new pandemic relief spending, your should always look to your state government or national grant programs that your small business may be eligible for. There is financial relief for your business, and with a little research, you will be able to find it.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

Small Business Grants and Contests Still Available in New Jersey

Small Business Grants and Contests Still Available in Florida

Small Business Grants Still Available in California

Small Business Grants and Contests Still Available in Illinois

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To Rent, To Lease or To Buy: Obtaining Expensive Equipment for Your Business

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Any small business owner stuck between buying or renting essential equipment knows that the query is not a simple binary. Making a choice you are firmly satisfied with requires both a full understanding of your current financial standings as well as a clear picture of where you anticipate your business to stand in the future. And making the wrong decision can have lasting consequences of their own.  Let’s discuss practical use cases to determine where buying, renting, or leasing may be right for your business.

When to Buy…

Potential Benefits to Buying Equipment

Buying property or equipment – whether through cash on-hand or equipment financing – has the obvious incentive of true ownership. Having absolute ownership over your property or expensive equipment has the chance to be a cost-saver in the case of equipment you use frequently or in property that appreciates in value. Consider this example: a farmer with 75 acres of tillable land outright purchases a combine harvester. Since the combine harvester is necessary to reap crops annually, the purchase may very well be a financial gain after several years. Consider as well the IRS Section 179 allowance; businesses were allowed to deduct up to $1,080,000 as a first year write off in equivalence to equipment or software purchased during that tax year in 2022.

Potential Detriments When Buying Equipment

This example, however, plays equally well into the downsides of purchasing: combine harvesters are exceedingly expensive outright (like many industry-specific machines) and can be equally expensive to repair if you don’t already employ sufficient technicians. Imagine, as well, the potential that a certain crop doesn’t properly germinate or labor shortages lead your team to miss proper times for reaping; in the case of leasing or renting, the tangible financial hit of that reduced harvest would likely not be as dire.

Buying is a Bet for the Best

Buying expensive equipment outright requires sage-like industry knowledge as well as an exit strategy in order to be fully insulated, or as much so as is possible. Business owners on their first venture or entering a new industry may find that buying equipment more than double-digit percentages of their total capital is markedly unwise. Small businesses have the most to gain from owning their equipment… but only if that equipment meaningfully returns on its investment. Purchased equipment that fails to see regular use or drastically impacts your capital or overhead has the risk of becoming a monument to rash decisions rather than a useful business tool.

When to Rent…

Potential Benefits to Renting Equipment

Not every industry allows for easy renting of equipment. Renting generally is most beneficial to industries that are wholly seasonal or have tracked busy seasons. If you run a year-round business with consistent revenue, customers, and products, it is unlikely the monthly price and lack of ownership could in any way benefit your business.

Since renting requires the least capital upfront, it is often the most attractive option for freshly minted businesses that are still finding their stride. A worst-case scenario for a small business is preemptively paying for assets that don’t turn around to help your business. Let us consider the example of a farmer and a combine harvester again: in 2022, new or even lightly used combine harvesters can cost stupefying amounts of money upfront, often close to $750,000. In our example of a 75-acre farm, that cost is likely too much capital for a farm of this size which is not the subsidiary of a larger corporate structure. Renting a combine may simply be the only way for smaller farms (or small seasonal businesses) to turn a profit annually. The hope for farms and small businesses with similar structures, of course, is to save enough capital or meaningfully study trends enough to which purchasing expensive equipment amounts to a no-brainer good decision.

Potential Detriments When Renting Equipment

Rented equipment isn’t yours. Flatly, this almost explains any major downside that comes with renting. In the case of damage to any machinery you rent, there is a very good chance you will also have to pay for repairs on top of your existing rate for the rental. And let’s go back to our farmer one more time: Our farmer simply does not have the capital to outright buy a combine harvester (as is the case for many harvest-based farmers) and annually rents a combine from a regional host. Here’s the trouble: seasonal harvests happen all at once for farmers in the same region. This means that every farmer in that region that doesn’t own their own combine is going to rush to rent. In that rush, there is a more than possible chance that certain farmers may not secure a combine and then suffer the loss of an entire harvest. Leaving essential equipment in the hands of a third party introduces unpredictable variables for business owners. And for small business owners with smaller safety nets, suddenly being left without a suitable rental can spell disaster.

Rent From Trusted Sources and Only When You Have To

Unpredictability can quickly shutter seasonal businesses for good; of course, seasonal businesses are also those who are most likely to rent expensive machinery. Renting isn’t bad by nature; many industries like construction and, of course, agriculture wholly depend on rentals in order to remain profitable. This simply means that every choice to rent or buy ought to be informed by genuine industry trend data. Whether this means understanding the potential loss from not renting a certain piece of equipment or funding a safety net in the event of a missed rental or other unexpected hits.

Third Choice… Leasing

For those industries where rentals are rare or simply implausible, leasing can likely be a worthy third choice to consider when dealing with any major, expensive machinery. Leasing is a great option for businesses that use equipment that is constantly changing. With a lease, you’re only committed to equipment for the length of the lease, so you’re not stuck with equipment that can quickly become obsolete. While vehicles, specifically, are most peoples’ first thought for lease potential (our farmer and combine are back!), it’s worth knowing that several major industries lease a wide variety of machines. Offices can lease expensive copy machines, charter schools can lease student laptops, and several more practical examples are out there and likely relevant to just about every industry.

Leave No Stone Unturned and No Path Untested

No small business owner can be fully certain that buying, renting, or leasing expensive equipment is the right choice. What small business owners can do, however, is consider, as we have here, the potential benefits and detriments to each choice parallel to their own business. Those businesses who make informed decisions with safety nets and back up plans have the least to lose when making a major financial decision.

What Type of Financing is Best for Your Small Business?

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Small businesses, slammed by inflation, supply chain disruptions, and staffing shortages,  are expected to rely on debt financing heavily this year, as pandemic relief programs such as the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan and the Paycheck Protection programs have long since dried up. If you believe your small business needs to take on debt to survive this rough patch, however, you also need to evaluate which of the many financing tools available are right for you.

The good news is that there are several types of loans to fit your specific needs – whether you’re seeking money to keep your operations afloat; purchase vital equipment; keep your business running during off-season months; you’re seeking to expand, or you need cash for an emergency – there is an option for you.  Some loans carry more requirements and may be more expensive than others, so it’s crucial that you learn which is the most practical and cost-effective for your business.

Here are some of the most common types of small business financing to choose from, depending on your business’s specific needs:

SBA Loan

SBA Small Business Administration lending Kapitus

While pandemic-related assistance has dried up, the US Small Business Administration still offers plenty of financing options for small businesses.

An SBA loan is backed by US Small Business Administration and is sold through registered agents, be it a traditional bank or an alternative lender. One of the most sought-after loans by small businesses is the SBA 7(a) loan, as it often offers a comparatively low interest rate and terms of between 10 to 25 years and has a maximum borrowing limit of $5 million. This money can be used to grow your business, purchase new equipment, or simply as operating cash.

However, just because you want a 7(a) loan, doesn’t mean you’re going to get one. The borrowing requirements are typically more stringent than what a bank or alternative lender would require for a term loan. These include a FICO score near 700, a required number of years in business, and a strong, consistent history of cash flow. Other drawbacks of a SBA 7(a) loan include the fact that the turnaround time for the loan can be weeks, and collateral is often required for loans exceeding $350,000. In addition, SBA loans have a unique requirement which indicates that you must use “alternative financial resources, including personal assets, before seeking financial assistance.” 

If you believe your business qualifies for such a loan and you can wait several weeks to get approved and get the money, you should speak to a lending professional regarding what terms you can get.

Term Loans

Term loans, or business loans, are offered by both banks and alternative lenders and are viable financing options if you’ve been turned down for a 7(a) loan or if you need money quickly. The requirements of a term loan usually aren’t as strict as that of a 7(a) loan – for example, your FICO score probably doesn’t need to be as high as it would for a 7(a) loan.

The terms of the loan, such as interest rate and maturity date, are negotiated between the borrower and lender, and in some cases, especially with alternative lenders, you may get approval and funding within 24 hours. Similar to the 7(a) loan, you can use the proceeds for virtually anything related to your small business.

The cons of a term loan are that they are going to carry a higher interest rate than a 7(a) loan – depending on how much risk you represent to the lender – and typically offer terms of five- to 10 years, though they can be much shorter than this depending on the lender. While the requirements of a term loan may be less stringent than a 7(a) loan, you’re still going to need a strong FICO score, at least two years in business and a strong cash flow. Traditional lenders may also require you to put up collateral. 

SBA Microloan Program

The SBA also guarantees microloans – small loans of up to $50,000 – through intermediary lenders. These lenders often operate in underserved communities and work with minority- and women-owned businesses and their purpose is to provide financial help to new businesses. According to the SBA, the average microloan is $13,000. These loans have a maximum term of six years, and interest rates are going to be significantly higher than a term or 7(a) loan, and often require the borrower to put up personal assets as collateral. 

Invoice Factoring

Invoice factoring is typically offered by alternative lenders and can help you with your cash flow if your customers are slow to pay. In this type of financing, a lender will provide you with cash for your outstanding invoices in exchange for a percentage of the money that is owed to you. You can choose which invoices to factor, and this type of financing won’t add debt to your balance sheet since the money that you’re “borrowing” is backed by money that is already owed to you. 

Invoice factoring is best if you need money quickly to keep your operations going while you’re waiting for your customers to pay, and if you don’t mind not getting all the money that is owed to you by customers. The turnaround time for this type of financing is usually very fast, sometimes happening in 5- to 10 business days.

Equipment Financing 

Equipment financing is a great tool to make sure you have the best, most modern machinery to keep your business running.

Whether you’re a small agricultural company that relies on row crop tractors; a contractor that needs bulldozers or backhoes for construction projects, or a doctor or dentist who needs the latest X-ray machine to treat patients, having high-quality, modern equipment is the lifeblood of your business. Machines, however, can cost a fortune, and your small business may not have the cash to pay for that machinery upfront. This is where equipment financing can serve you best.

Your FICO score generally must be in the high 600s and in most cases, you have to have been in business for at least a year. The advantage of equipment financing is that the equipment itself often serves as the collateral – not your personal assets. Ideally, the revenue that your company generates from the equipment you’ve purchased should more than cover the interest and principal payments you’re going to have to make. 

Purchase Order Financing

Obviously, your business needs inventory to sell in order to make money. However, you may not have the cash up front to pay for the inventory you need to meet a customer’s order. This is where purchase order financing comes in. PO financing pays your vendors upfront so you can keep your customers happy, grow your business and maintain your cash flow. 

In some cases, the lender may even take on the responsibility of payment collections from your customers’ orders, freeing you to run your business smoothly. To qualify, you generally should be a profitable business, and it’s your suppliers and customers – not you – that must have good credit. This type of financing typically requires a low factor rate as the cost of capital.

Business Line of Credit

A business line of credit, similar to a personal or business credit card, is typically an unsecured line of credit extended to you by a lender for an annual percentage fee. The limit on the business line of credit is negotiated beforehand and typically, the line of credit must be paid off at various, pre-agreed upon intervals. The benefits of this type of financing are tremendous. 

The APR is typically significantly lower than a business credit card (although you won’t get any rewards points that you might get with a credit card), and the credit can be used for just about any type of business need, such as keeping your business operating during non-seasonal times of the year or through a recession, cash emergencies and the need for sudden, unexpected purchases. 

The caveat is that a business line of credit may not be as convenient as a business credit card for smaller needs, such as a business meal or the purchase of a small piece of office equipment, so carefully consider which one is best for you. 

Revenue-Based Financing

Revenue-based financing is an expensive financing tool in which you essentially borrow against your future sales. If your company is about to launch a new product that you believe will be highly profitable and you need cash to support the initial promotion of it, or if the roof of your office collapses and you need emergency cash to get it fixed to continue your operations, for example, then RBF may be a useful financing tool. 

Before you consider this type of financing, however, consider that the cost of capital is higher than most forms of financing, as your company will be required to make pre-agreed upon payments equal to the percentage of your overall future sales plus a multiple of the borrowed amount. This type of financing requires your business to have a strong sales history, so it should only be considered for specific, short-term cash needs. 

Consider Your Options Carefully

If you decide that your business needs financing, carefully consider which type of product you choose, your needs and what you are willing to pay in terms of cost of capital. Seek counsel from your accountant or financial advisor. Keep in mind that lenders want to do business with you and don’t wish to have you use a financing product that you may not be able to afford, so they will be willing to work with and advise you as well. 

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Should You Take Out a Business Loan? Consider this Checklist

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If your small business is ready to obtain financing, that means you should be in a great position – your sales are flowing, your earnings are consistent, and you’re ready to expand your business’ footprint. Before you do take out a business loan, however, it’s crucial that you decide first whether taking on debt is truly advantageous to your business, and which lending product is best to meet your goals.

Should You Take Out a Loan?

One of the most pressing questions you need to answer before taking on any new financing is: how well-equipped is your business to take on new debt? To answer this question, you should complete a comprehensive checklist regarding your business:

#1 Do I Even Qualify for a Loan?

Different types of loans require different qualifications, but you should first make sure that your business meets certain requirements from lenders. Your minimum FICO score should probably be in the 680 to 700 range for certain financing products such as a term loan, although alternative lenders such as Kapitus may require slightly lower scores, depending on which financing vehicle you are applying for.

Lenders will also want to see how strong your company’s business plan is; how long you’ve been in business; what your plans for growth are, and the consistency of your cash flow in order to gauge whether you have the ability to pay back the loan.

If you’re not sure whether you qualify, you should speak to a lending officer at the institution you are seeking to borrow from, who can walk you through the steps in which your business needs to take in order to qualify for a loan.

#2 Why Do You Need a Loan?

Ideally, you are seeking to borrow money to expand your business and increase revenue, and hopefully, that increased revenue will offset the cost of capital for your loan as well as enable you to make monthly loan payments.

As we all know, however, we’re currently not living in an ideal economic environment, as small businesses are still struggling to make ends meet in a turbulent economy. Fortunately, there are a variety of financing products to choose from that can provide much-needed cash for all sorts of reasons. Some of these are:

  • The development of a new product or service which you foresee increasing sales.
  • Opening a new office or facility.
  • An emergency such as a collapsed roof or crucial machinery breaking down in which you need emergency cash to keep your business in operation.
  • Getting immediate cash for invoices.
  • Increasing your inventory to meet high demand.
  • Meeting off-season expenses.
  • Purchasing new equipment.

Once you’ve decided the reason you need financing, you can examine several distinctly different financing products that can meet your needs.

#3 How Strong is Your Cash Flow?

After credit score and business longevity, lenders will want to see your business’ cash flow – the net balance of cash that’s moving in and out of your business on a regular basis. If you’re borrowing to finance the development of a new product, for example, and sales of that product don’t end up being as strong as you thought they would be, a lender will want to know if you’ll still be able to make monthly installment payments on the loan you took out. This is what a strong cash flow will indicate to them.

There are several ways to improve your cash flow if necessary – you may want to examine ways to cut unnecessary spending, optimize inventory management, hound customers to pay their invoices and improve your cash flow forecasting. Your loan approval could very well depend upon the strength of your cash flow.

#4 Is the Price Right?

Courtesy: CBS Television. No, you don’t have to be a contestant on The Price is Right, but you do shop around for the best prices in terms of cost of capital.

Anytime you borrow money, be it through a business credit card, a mortgage or a term loan, you are going to have to pay a cost of capital. This can be the interest rate associated with a term loan, the APR on a business credit card or line of credit, or the costs associated with invoice factoring or revenue-based financing. Whatever financing instrument you choose, it’s crucial that you ask the lender the total amount you will be paying back over time.

It’s also just as crucial to shop around for lenders and consider which ones may be offering the best terms, and which ones can offer you a quick turnaround.

Traditional banks often have more stringent borrowing requirements, while alternative lenders often are  more expensive but will typically offer a quicker turnaround time on your loan with fewer requirements.

Something else you should consider – the Fed has just hiked the overnight rate by a half percentage point – that’s after a quarter-point hike last month – so some loans are going to be even more expensive than they were at the beginning of the year.

#5 Are you Willing to put up Collateral?

Depending on your credit score and other factors, some lenders may require you to put up collateral or even a personal guarantee. Collateral would include the liquid assets of your business such as your equipment, business savings and/or investments and future invoices.

Some may even want you to give a personal guarantee that you’ll pay back the loan by putting up some of your own assets as collateral, such as your house or your personal investments, in case you default on the loan.

Putting up collateral may increase your risk in taking out a loan, but keep in mind that lenders really aren’t interested in seizing your assets – they would much rather see your business succeed and for you to pay back the loan in a financially healthy manner. Therefore, when you’re taking a loan, it’s imperative that you sit down with your lender and carefully go over the terms of collateral and the exact steps that will be taken should you default.

Carefully Weigh Your Options

Before you take out a business loan, it’s always a good idea to consider other ways to raise money besides going into debt. Crowdfunding, asking for outside investments, borrowing money from family are other options. If you do decide to take out a loan, carefully consider the above questions and decide which loan will help your business the most and which would be most cost-efficient.

cash loan short-term financing

Best Sources for Short-term Finance (Updated For 2023)

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Every small business owner deals with capital and cash flow management, which can include capital shortages. Whatever the reason for a shortage may be, it’s the owner’s job to find ways to infuse additional capital into their business when one occurs. Short-term financing can be a viable solution in such instances.

The good news is, there are many forms of short-term funding available for consideration. In this article, we’ll highlight some of the best sources of short term financing available to help you grow your business.  So, if you need short-term business financing to improve cash flow or for another reason, consider these options.

Short-Term Loans

As its name suggests, this type of business loan matures after a short term, usually within a few months.  While these loans typically come with fixed interest rates, there are some lenders that offer variable interest as well.

Short term loans are best used to address immediate cash flow needs. For example, you lack the cash to pay your employees’ salaries because your business is dealing with the tail-end of your slow season. These short term business loans can fill the gap until business picks back up.

Because of their short maturity periods, a short term loan is typically granted with lower borrowing caps than you would see with financing that has a longer maturity period.  Still, the overall cost of financing is often lower than a long term loan.

Merchant Cash Advance

If your business has not built a credit history yet, you may still qualify for a merchant cash advance, This financing option is not a loan with traditional rates and terms.  Instead, a financing company purchases a business’ future sales as a discounted rate.  Payback occurs as you make sales or your accounts receivables are paid during your normal course of business, with a percentage of that incoming revenue.

There are a number of perks to taking out a merchant cash advance. One is the fact that you, the borrower, can negotiate the rates. You also don’t typically need collateral to secure the loan, but personal guarantees are required, and approval times are generally faster than a traditional term loan.

On the flip side, merchant cash advances subject borrowers to higher interest rates than traditional loans due to the uncertainty involved with sales.

Accounts Receivable Financing

Accounts receivable financing, also known as invoice factoring, allows borrowers to leverage their outstanding invoices for immediate capital. Lenders can give you up to 90% of the total invoice value upfront, and you’ll receive the rest (minus a factor fee) once your customers pay their dues. You can receive the money within a matter of days, and stellar credit isn’t required On your end. Instead, terms are based on your customer’s creditworthiness.   As such, invoice Factoring is an ideal financial product if your business has several outstanding invoices with well-established businesses.

Accounts receivable loans can be repaid in two ways. The first is structured where you pay back the amount borrowed after you’ve collected payment for your invoices, plus the interest you and the lender agreed upon when you were approved for the loan.

The second option is to sell your invoices to the lender at a pre-determined rate. Instead of repaying the loan, you’re actually shifting the burden of collecting and settling the amounts due from your customers to the loan company.

Be sure that you understand the terms of your agreement and consider the factor fees and other rates. This way, you know how much this short-term funding will cost your business in the long run.

Business Line of Credit

A business credit line grants you access to a set amount of credit that you can borrow from as needed. Instead of providing you with a lump-sum loan, a business credit line allows you to select however much cash you need, within your limit, at any given time. The rest of your credit remains available, for the term of your agreement, for you to borrow when the need arises again.

This alternative to traditional business loans is advantageous because you’re not limited by preset loan amounts. For example, if you only need $5,000 and have a credit line worth $10,000, you can borrow what you need and still have $5,000 to draw from when cash flow requires it again. The only downside is that lines of credit generally run-on variable rates. Therefore, interest on the loan can fluctuate.  However, a credit line gives you the flexibility to take money as needed; it also gives you more freedom in using that money vs. a business credit card which limits your.

Trade Credit

Trade credit is essentially a “buy now, pay later” agreement between a vendor and their supplier. Through this type of short-term financing, you can buy much-needed inventory from your supplier that you can pay for at a later date. This eliminates the need to have cash on hand to pay the supplier upon delivery.

While it does not provide you with cash, the trade credit arrangement still helps to improve cash flow by providing you with inventory that you can sell off and earn revenues from. If you have a good working relationship with your vendors, you can expect very low or even no interest at all!

Trade credits are beneficial if you’re expecting huge sales of a specific product or product line. For example, if you need inventory for a Black Friday sale and don’t have the cash, you can arrange for credits with your suppliers instead.

Another perk to using trade credit for short-term financing is that these transactions can improve your business credit.

Inventory Financing

Inventory financing is another ideal short-term financing avenue that product-based small businesses might consider. This type of financing offers working capital to purchase inventory. The inventory serves as collateral for the loan.. It is a secured loan, but you don’t need to pledge any business assets to the lender. Instead, the inventory that you’ll be purchasing serves as collateral.

Just like trade credits, inventory financing is a great option when you’re expecting a huge inventory movement like seasonal sales, but your supplies have already run low and you have no capital available. Just make sure you pay off the loan once you’ve sold off the inventory you pledged for it, or else the lender will seize your supplies upon default.

Business Credit Cards

Like their consumer counterparts, business credit cards can provide purchasing power even when your cash flow is tied up. You use credits assigned to your card to make purchases and then pay them off when the due date arrives. Paying off the credits makes them available once again for use.

Business credit cards are generally more advantageous because they provide you with flexibility in repaying the credit. Depending on the type of card you apply for, you can also earn various rewards that can be put towards your business needs. Plus, it’s easier to apply for a business credit card than for a business loan.

Peer to Peer Financing

Peer-to-peer financing generally involves individual investors that act as lenders. Instead of a financial institution, these people are found on P2P platforms where they offer businesses or individuals the opportunity to apply for loans from them.

Just like traditional loans, the borrower and the lenders agree to a loan with fixed interest rates. The transaction is made between the two parties directly. The only “middleman” involved is the platform.

The more personal nature of the negotiations also improves the borrower’s chances of being approved instead of trying to borrow from a financial institution. The interest rates may also be more favorable.

While it gives borrowers direct access to funds, peer-to-peer financing also complicates the process. This is because not all lenders will want to finance the amount needed. For example, if you’re seeking a loan of $20,000, one lender may agree to let you borrow $1,000, another will extend you $5,000, and so on and so forth. This means multiple negotiations and, as a result, multiple loan agreements with varying dates and interest rates.

It’s good to know what options for short-term financing are available for your business when you’re in a pinch. This knowledge saves you from a lot of stress and headaches from wondering where you can get quick financial aid.

Small Business Contest

Kapitus Launches Building Resilient Businesses Contest with $250K to Assist Small Businesses

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There are two new “most important questions” to ask yourself as a small business owner: “What can $100,000 do for my business?” and “How resilient has my business been through these trying times?”  

That’s because Kapitus is launching its inaugural Building Resilient Businesses (BRB) contest, with the top prize being $100,000. The contest is being launched to salute the resilience of small businesses around the country, especially during the last two-and-a-half years as they have been plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, supply chain issues and “The Great Resignation.”

The contest is being launched this year as a way for Kapitus to give back to the small business community, especially those that have shown the grit and determination to survive and thrive through these difficult economic times. 

“The mission has always been the same at Kapitus, which is to really help the small business community grow by providing capital to them,” said Josh Jones, CRO at Kapitus. “For our evolution as a company, we’ve hit the level of scale where the mission hasn’t changed, it’s just been added to – we are at a point in our growth where we have the ability to give back in a way that’s meaningful. We want to make an impact, not only by supporting the small business community with the financial products that we offer but also by injecting capital to help build small businesses back up.”

The Contest

Starting May 2, 2022, small businesses can submit a homemade video (professional videos will not be accepted) either from their smartphones or camcorders sharing their small business story and what $100,000 could do for their business and help them continue to be successful. Contestants can also share the ways in which their businesses showed resilience in the face of these trying economic times. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2022.

Once all of the submissions are in, the Kapitus team will select finalists, and then the public will get to vote on the winners, who will then be announced on August 23, 2022. If you don’t win the $100,000, don’t worry – the second-place winner will receive $50,000, and five third-place winners will each get windfalls of $20,000. Additionally, all winners will also receive a free eight-hour advisory session in one of the following areas: digital marketing, finance management or data analytics to further help them grow.

The contest is open to small businesses in the US, except in Colorado and Vermont (sorry, your states don’t allow contests of this kind), that have been in business for at least one year as of May 1, 2022, that had revenue under $5 Million in 2021 and that have been actively generating revenue in 2022 (see official rules for a full list of qualifications and submission guidelines).

“During these challenging times, addressing the financial help and educational resources needed for business continuity is more important than ever,” said Kapitus CEO Andrew Reiser in a press release. “We created the BRB contest as a larger initiative to help the small business community overcome these challenges and continue to thrive for years to come.”

For additional details on the BRB Contest, including qualifications and submission guidelines, visit Kapitus.com/brb .

Not Done Giving Back

The BRB contest is only one part of Kapitus’ focus on giving back to small businesses. Part of the BRB initiative is to provide businesses that have faced hard times with with educational resources and tools to help them rebound. 

Some of the future ways Kapitus is considering expanding the BRB program is to come up with ways to assist small businesses that have been forced into crisis mode, be it from a natural disaster or the re-emergence of COVID-19, for example, and assist other small businesses in reaching their next level of growth with financial assistance or educational tools. Kapitus is also considering ways to help small businesses in underserved communities, as well as women- and minority-owned businesses.  

Kapitus has created groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to give small businesses a private and dedicated space to continuously learn and connect with fellow business owners and to get access to ongoing information and resources to help them run their business, In addition, Kapitus has created a blog filled with valuable articles on how to improve your small businesses.

Good Luck!

The Kapitus team is truly excited to see your entries and award the winners of our first-ever BRB contest. Be sure to submit your video on time so that you can be considered, and check out the other educational resources that Kapitus has to offer through the BRB initiative. 

 

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