Guides
Seven guides. Each one answers a single question and ends with a conditional conclusion you can apply to your own numbers. Every figure is quoted from the lender's or the regulator's own page, with the date we checked it. Or start from where you are borrowing: the United Kingdom or the United States.
You cannot compare a factor rate to an interest rate. Here is the arithmetic
The same $10,000 of cost works out at 24% or 111% a year depending on how fast you repay. That is the gap the state disclosure rules exist to close.
"Government-backed" means the lender is covered, not you
In the UK Growth Guarantee Scheme and the US SBA 7(a) program the guarantee is given to the lender. You stay 100% liable, and a personal guarantee can still be asked for.
Are business loans regulated? UK FCA, FOS and US disclosure rules
A UK limited-company loan sits outside the FCA consumer-credit perimeter — which is not the same as having no ombudsman. US disclosure rules vary by state and product. Sources re-read 6 September 2026.
What a personal guarantee actually does
A guarantee creates a separate personal obligation, not a transfer of the company's debt. The clauses that decide how large it is, and the complaint route that survives it.
Six questions to put to a lender in writing
If the answer is not in the facility letter, it is not an answer. The six that decide what a facility really costs.
Why a smaller SBA 7(a) loan can cost more: the spread is capped by size
The SBA caps the spread a 7(a) lender may add over the base rate in four tiers by loan size, from 6.5 points to 3.0, and the biggest step is at $350,000.
The Start Up Loan at 7.5% fixed, and what it is really lending to
Up to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5%, no arrangement fee and no early repayment fee — but it is a personal loan, not a loan to your company.
Questions people ask before they borrow
These 27 shorter answers are about US business finance, grouped by where you are in the process. Each opens with a summary and quotes the SBA, the Federal Reserve, a regulator or the statute behind it.
Starting out
- Is business financing just another word for a business loan?
- Which kind of business financing fits the thing I actually need to pay for?
- Where do you apply for a business loan, and what happens after you do?
- What do lenders look at before they approve a business loan?
- How do you tell whether a business loan rate quote is high?
How much, for how long, and on whose credit
- How much will a lender actually let my business borrow?
- Does my business have its own credit score, separate from mine?
- What does a lender need to see in a business plan?
- How long can you take to repay a business term loan?
- Should a small business borrow a lump sum or open a line of credit?
SBA loans
- If the SBA doesn't lend the money, what makes a loan an SBA loan?
- Does my business qualify for an SBA loan, and what paperwork comes with it?
- Can a business with no track record get a loan?
Equipment, vehicles and buying a business
- Which SBA loan pays for equipment, 7(a) or 504?
- Does it matter for taxes whether a business buys its vehicle or leases it?
- What does buying a business cost beyond the purchase price?
- What am I agreeing to when the seller of a business carries part of the price?
Investors, lenders and the legal shell
- What do you give up when you take investor money instead of a loan?
- What does a venture capital investor actually get in exchange for the money?
- Which kind of lender should a small business apply to first?
- If my LLC borrows the money, am I still personally on the hook?
- Is there free government grant money for starting or growing a small business?