Best Easy Business Loans | Bankrate

The old adage still rings true: you need to spend money to make money. But if you’re building a business, you might not necessarily have a lot of cash on hand. That can make it tricky to do everything from hiring employees to investing in key pieces of equipment.

Enter small business loans. These loans provide a way for business owners to get the capital they need to scale up their businesses — or just cover operating expenses in slow seasons.

The trouble? Getting those loans isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be hardest for the businesses that need it most, like startups and those with bad credit. But we can help. We rounded up seven relatively easy small business loans for you here.

Compare the best easy business loans of 2024

Here’s a quick glance at seven easy small business loans based on their lower eligibility requirements and other factors that help make them accessible.

Lendio: Fast and easy business loans

Lendio operates as a loan marketplace with a sizable network of more than 75 lenders. That means they can be your one-stop shop to explore several options, including easy business loans that can be funded within just one day. Many of the lenders in the Lendio network will issue financing to business owners with:

• Less-than-stellar credit (a personal credit score of 500 or above)
• Minimal annual revenue ($50,000 or more)
• A short time in business (6 months or more)

The interest rates Lendio lenders charge will usually be higher than a traditional lending institution, ranging from 4.63 percent up to 60.00 percent. But if you’ve been rejected by banks and credit unions, this can give you a great place to start exploring your other options.

• How to get a Lendio business loan

  To get matched with business loan option(s), you’ll need to provide basic information like: 

  • When you started your business
  • Your personal credit score
  • Your average monthly sales
  • The state you’re located in
  • How you plan to use the money
  • Your ownership percentage

  You’ll also provide personal information (your name and contact info) to create an account. Once you get matched with a lender, the application process depends on their specific requirements. Generally, be ready to show any relevant business documents, from your business bank account statements to your payroll. Depending on the Lendio lender you work with, you may also need to show some personal information, like your own income.

OnDeck: Easy short-term lines of credit

While OnDeck offers term loans, if you want an easy loan without much fine print, your best bet here is a short-term line of credit, including the ability to receive instant funding when you need money from the credit line.

Then, you can draw up to your limit (the general maximum is $100,000). You get 12, 18 or 24 months to repay what you draw on either a weekly or monthly schedule, depending on the terms of your line of credit. Depending on your state, you may be required to withdraw $1,000 when opening your line of credit.

To get approved for this business line of credit, you’ll usually need at least one year in business and a personal credit score of at least 625. These are easier requirements to meet compared to traditional bank lenders that require two to three years in business and credit scores of 670 and above.

• How to get an OnDeck business loan

  First up, if you’re in North Dakota, you’re out of luck since OnDeck doesn’t operate there. If you’re in any other state, you can apply for your business line of credit online. OnDeck says the application process should be completed in just a few minutes. You’ll need to provide some personal details — like your driver’s license and Social Security number — and some info on your business, like your tax ID, your annual gross revenue and your recent business bank account statements.

Fundible: Easy business loans for bad credit

While Fundible generally requires a personal credit score of 650 for its in-house financing, it also partners with a network of lenders. And some of those lenders will be willing to work with business owners with a credit score as low as 450, according to a Fundible spokesperson. In other words, if you’re looking for an easy-approval business loan for bad credit, this is a great place to start.

If you really want to work with Fundible directly, you can also explore their invoice factoring. This is generally a high-cost way to solve a cash flow issue. If you have slow-paying customers that you invoice, though, it could be an option. For invoice factoring with Fundible, you just need a credit score of 500 or more, at least six months in business and average monthly revenue of $8,000 or more.

• How to get a Fundible business loan

  The online application should take you just a few minutes, and if approved, you should receive funding within 24 hours. To apply, you’ll need your three most recent business bank account statements, information about yourself and any other owners and details on any real estate your business rents or owns.

Accion Opportunity Fund: Easy low-interest business loans

Maybe you want easy small business loans, but you don’t want to sacrifice your company’s mission to get them. Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF) delivers. This nonprofit focuses on creating more equity in lending by financing loans for minority-owned businesses and those operating in low-income communities.

As a result, AOF offers term loans with relatively low interest rates (starting at 8.49 percent simple interest), even to borrowers who don’t meet traditional lenders’ eligibility criteria.

AOF doesn’t state a minimum credit score requirement, claiming to determine eligibility based on factors apart from credit. But you will still need at least 12 months in business and $50,000 in annual revenue to qualify.

• How to get an Accion Opportunity Fund business loan

  AOF falls under the umbrella of one of the easiest business loans because you can apply online, and it should be relatively quick. Have information on your business revenue and expenses handy. AOF recommends using your past tax returns to provide the details they need. After you complete the application, AOF shows you a selection of loans for which you qualify. If you pick one, you won’t just get the money. You’ll also have access to AOF’s coaching and mentoring services. After you complete the application, AOF shows you a selection of loans for which you qualify. If you pick one, you won’t just get the money. You’ll also have access to AOF’s coaching and mentoring services.

Taycor Financial: Easy equipment loans for startups

If you’re looking for easy small business loans to buy something tangible for your team to use, check out Taycor Financial. Whether you want to purchase furniture for your office, a new company car or a specialized piece of equipment, this lender’s equipment loans let you finance the purchase or get an equipment lease. Plus, there’s no time-in-business requirement for loans less than $250,000.

Taycor also has a wide range of financing sizes available. You can get a loan for as little as $500 (much lower than most lenders will go) all the way up to $2 million.

• How to get a Taycor Financial equipment loan

  To apply, you’ll need to tell Taycor a little bit about the piece(s) of equipment you want to buy. But you can do this through the online application form. It’s relatively simple, and you won’t need to provide your tax returns as part of the process. You will need to give some business and personal details, though, like your tax ID number and time in business.

Kiva: Easy business loans with no annual revenue requirement

A lot of the other easy small business loans we’ve highlighted come with revenue requirements. That can be a big challenge to companies that are either just getting started or going through a rough patch. Fortunately, Kiva can help here.

This nonprofit crowdfunding platform has no minimum annual revenue requirement. It also doesn’t have time-in-business or credit score requirements. And the loan you get through Kiva comes with a 0 percent (yes, you read that right) interest rate. But there is one thing to note here: this option has a ceiling. Kiva loans cap out at $15,000.

• How to get a Kiva business loan

  While we did put Kiva on this list because it does count in terms of easy-approval business loans, getting this kind of financing is by no means easy. It starts with an application that will likely take you about half an hour. Then, you need to invite people in your network — whether that’s actual investors or friends and family — to lend to you through Kiva. Once you build enough of a base, you can go public on the Kiva network, opening your business up to more than 1.6 million lenders across the globe. From there, you have up to 35 days to fundraise what you can.

PayPal working capital: Easy business loans with no credit check

Is your credit score your biggest obstacle to getting the financing your company needs? If so, explore PayPal.

This company does more than administer online payments. It also finances working capital loans. And PayPal working capital loans don’t require a credit check when you apply. Instead, it looks at other factors like your PayPal account history.

• How to get a PayPal working capital loan

  PayPal doesn’t issue these loans in Nevada, North Dakota or South Dakota. Assuming you’re operating elsewhere, getting approved for a PayPal working capital loan means meeting two requirements: 

  • You’ve had a PayPal Business or Premier account for at least 90 days
  • You process $15,000+ in annual PayPal sales if you have a PayPal Business account or $20,000+ in annual PayPal sales if you have a Premier account

  Assuming you meet that criteria, you just need to log into your PayPal account and apply online. It should only take a few minutes, and your working capital loan can fund just as quickly.

Who should get an easy business loan?

Generally speaking, a lot of the easy-approval business loans come with higher lending costs than loans from traditional banks. Online lenders like the above are willing to lower their eligibility requirements to appeal to a broader pool of borrowers, but that means they take on more risk. To make up for it, they charge more in interest.

Long story short, you should only get an easy business loan if you’ve already explored harder-to-get but lower-cost options and discovered you can’t qualify. As you move forward, you can crunch the numbers using a business loan calculator to understand the full cost of what you’re borrowing before you dive in.

Alternatives to easy business loans

Easy business loans can be attractive because they offer streamlined applications and quick funding approvals. Still, it’s smart to explore other options before you commit.

SBA loans

There are several types of SBA loans, all backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), so they generally come with two big perks. First, SBA loans often have lower interest rates than loans from online lenders. They also can come with lower eligibility requirements than traditional lending institutions.

That said, these loans are anything but easy. As you can probably expect, since there’s a federal entity involved, there’s a lot of paperwork required to get an SBA loan.

Despite all the paperwork, SBA loans can help you save thousands over the life of your loan. And lenders like Lendio do offer SBA loans with lower eligibility requirements, which can blend the convenience of an online loan application process with government backing for a lot of borrowers.

Easy SBA loans

They’re probably not easy to get compared to some of the other options we’ve gone over. But SBA microloans do count as easy-approval business loans because they come with relatively relaxed eligibility requirements. Some SBA microlenders will work with startups or those with credit scores as low as 500, for example.

The SBA also offers the Community Advantage (CA) loan, which is a type of 7(a) loan reserved for small business owners in underserved communities. The initial CA pilot program has ended, but all lenders that participated in the pilot are now certified as Community Advantage Small Business Lending Companies (SBLC) to offer SBA loans.

Business grants

While the financing we’ve touched on does mean easy business loans, there could be an even easier way to grow your business. Namely, you could get money you don’t even have to pay back.

If that sounds appealing, look into business grants.

• Bankrate guides to small business grants

Business credit cards

These revolving lines of credit can be even faster and easier to get than even the best easy-approval business loans. Credit card companies tend to look less closely at your business financial statements than business lenders do.

Plus, just like the loans we’ve gone over, having a credit card and paying down the balance can help you build credit. So if your credit score is your biggest obstacle in getting a business loan, this could be a good place to start.

The best small business credit cards are usually reserved for business owners with good-to-excellent credit. However, you can find business credit cards geared for borrowers with fair or bad credit.

Bottom line

Thanks to the rise of online lenders, there are plenty of easy small business loans available today. Some of the easiest business loans to get have lower credit scores or time-in-business requirements, while others make it simple to apply and get approved in just minutes.

Don’t get lured in by the promise of ease, though. Before you dive in with any of these easy business loans, make sure you do the math on how much the loan will cost you. Many of the easier-to-procure options come with higher interest rates and fees in exchange for their convenience.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the easiest loan to get for a business?

  That depends on your business and your own financial standing. If your business is brand new, but you have an excellent personal credit score, a business line of credit might be easiest. Or if your credit isn’t great but your business has consistent annual revenue for two years, an equipment loan secured by the piece of equipment might make sense. Choosing the right lender and researching your options can go a long way to helping you find an easy business loan.

• Does a business loan lender check your credit?

  Most lenders check your credit report to make sure you have a history of on-time payments, low debt and no recent negative history. Some lenders may only use a soft credit pull rather than a hard one. This way, you won’t see a dip in your credit score.

• How easy is it to get an SBA loan?

  SBA loans aren’t the easiest business loans to get since they require you to fill out a long list of paperwork and provide a lot of documentation. But they can be easier to get than other loans if you don’t qualify for conventional business loans elsewhere. SBA Preferred Lenders can streamline the application process for you, taking less time than the usual 30- to 90-day processing time. You might also look into SBA Express loans for fast financing since these loans don’t require the lender to get approval from the SBA.