Approval can be as fast the same day, or as slow as a number of weeks. Generally, banks will take the longest to offer approval, while fintech lenders may be able to offer approval within 48 hours.

All lending is based on risk and, as such, you should never trust (or expect to find) guaranteed approval from any lender. You can, however, do everything possible to improve your application to avoid being declined, or engage a professional to assist in completing your application.

Each lender may have slight variations on their qualifying requirements, however, in general, a business can qualify for a small business loan if their bank statements illustrate an ability to meet repayments on the loan amount.

Yes, you have to provide bank statements to a lender when applying for a small business loan. Non-bank lenders use bank statements to quickly assess your repayment capacity and offer fast approval. You will still need to provide bank statements when applying with a bank.

The main difference between two leading lenders (banks and fintech lenders) is that a small business loan from a bank takes much longer than through a fintech lender. Banks, however, will typically offer the lowest rates.

If you don’t qualify for the lowest rates with your bank, you can still apply for a business loan with fintech lenders and other non-bank lenders.

Bad credit may prevent you from receiving approval from a bank on a business loan, however you may still be able to apply for a bad credit loan with specialist business-loan lenders.

The length of your loan will dictate how much you pay in regular payments and how much you pay overall throughout the total term. A longer term will result in lower repayments but a larger total loan amount.

Fees on various types of business finance will vary between lenders and products. Some finance products – such as an overdraft or line of credit – may charge a regular service fee to provide access to credit. You may also pay an establishment fee and other fees – check with your lender to fully understand all the applicable fees.

Almost all lenders will allow early repayments, however you should check with your lender to ensure you won’t be charged any fees for doing so.

It’s unlikely you will need a deposit for a business loan, however if you are applying for a secured finance product, you will need to provide sufficient collateral as security. This will often be property, such as a home.