Halespring Business Capital, a small-business funding broker in Gastonia, NC, compares six structures here: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances (not a loan). Each differs in how money arrives and how it is repaid or remitted. Lending partners decide on every request and set the rates and terms.
Gaston County, NC owners' six options, side by side
| Structure | How money arrives | How it comes back | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital | One sum | Set installments over months, not years | A gap between paying costs and collecting revenue |
| Term loan | One sum | Scheduled installments, sometimes with a balloon | A project with a fixed budget |
| Line of credit | Draws up to a limit | Payments on what has been drawn | Repeating costs that vary in size |
| Inventory financing | Funds tied to stock purchases | Paid down as the goods sell | Stock bought before it can be sold |
| Equipment financing | Paid to the seller, or a lease | Installments or lease payments | A machine, vehicle or fit-out with a useful life |
| Merchant cash advance | One sum for future receivables | Collected from sales, by percentage or set debit | Card-heavy sales and a need the others cannot meet |
A merchant cash advance is not a loan. It is a purchase of a share of future sales, so the funder collects rather than the business repaying, and the total collected is set in the contract.
Short term or long term
The funding should not outlast, or fall far short of, the thing it pays for. A payroll gap that closes in six weeks does not belong on a five-year schedule, where interest keeps running long after the gap has closed. A machine that will work for ten years strains cash flow if it must be paid off in eighteen months. Working capital and merchant cash advances are usually short; term loans and equipment financing usually run longer; a line of credit can be renewed and used repeatedly.
Secured or unsecured
Secured funding is backed by an asset the lender can claim if payments stop: the equipment being bought, the inventory, or a general lien on business assets recorded through a UCC financing statement. Unsecured funding has no specific asset behind it, though most partners still ask owners for a personal guarantee. Security does not make funding cheap or easy; it changes what you risk if the business cannot pay. Ask every partner what it will file and what it will hold.
North Carolina businesses that have borrowed before may already have filings on record. The NC Secretary of State Business Registration Division is the place to start when you need to check the business's own records.
When a credit card is enough, and when it is not
A business credit card is a small revolving line with a card attached. It is convenient for fuel, supplies and online subscriptions and builds a payment history, but purchase balances that carry over month to month can cost more than a line of credit or a term loan. As a rule of thumb, use cards for small recurring spending you clear quickly, and price a line of credit or a loan for anything larger or slower to repay.
Where the SBA fits
SBA-backed loans are made by banks and other approved lenders with a federal guarantee behind part of the loan. Halespring Business Capital does not arrange SBA loans. If an SBA loan suits your plan, the SBA North Carolina District Office lists participating lenders, and free advisers in Gaston County can help with the package.
What partners review for any structure
- Recent business bank statements, which show actual deposits and balances.
- Business and often personal tax returns, plus financial statements for larger requests.
- Time in business and how revenue is earned.
- Existing debts and their payments, including any merchant cash advance being remitted.
- Owner credit, which most partners check.
- For equipment and inventory, the quote, invoice or stock list behind the request.
Owners who already keep an asset list, for example for the county's annual business personal property listing, usually have most of the equipment side ready. Partners differ in what they ask for; this list is a guide, not a checklist any partner has promised to accept.
By Halespring Business Capital · Updated
