Small business loans for service providers
Small business loans for service providers
Build your business with the best non-dilutive capital options.
Service providers face many challenges…
COMPLIANCE
Government agencies bury many service providers in paperwork.
BRAND AWARENESS
How will you stand out from other businesses that do the same thing?
HIRING + TRAINING
Even entry-level roles require more skills than ever before.
AUTOMATION
AI is encroaching on roles we thought would be secure forever.
Amerifi helps service providers like you
with a range of small business loans designed for knowledge-based businesses: software development, technology consulting, accounting, childcare, marketing, interior design, hair and beauty, publishing, cleaning, building maintenance, and many more. We’re here to address your business funding needs, so you can focus on bigger challenges.
The classic definition of “services” is so broad that it covers roughly eight out of every ten jobs in the United States, and it contributes about the same amount to U.S. GDP. That’s because “services” has often applied to any business that doesn’t manufacture products or raise crops and livestock.
At Amerifi, we typically define a service business somewhat more narrowly. It’s not healthcare, construction, wholesale and retail, food service, or transportation and logistics -- although these industries are all classified as services under the classic definition. You can read more about those industries by clicking their names above, if you think your business is better classified in one of those industries, instead of “everything else” -- that is, all other professional and technology-related services.
But if you do have a professional and/or technology-related service, read on.
You might be a publisher of online news, hardcover books, or greeting cards.
You might be in film, music, or broadcasting.
You might develop software or manage software for other businesses.
You might make websites, graphics, or content.
You could own a law firm, an accounting firm, or an architectural firm.
In fact, if you’ve ever called your company a “firm,” or even thought about or aspired to call it a firm, you’re probably included in Amerifi’s definition of service providers.
That includes interior design, management consulting, advertising and marketing, or public relations firms, too.
You might repair cars or cut hair or wash clothes. You might even store boats, provide DJ or other entertainment for parties and events, or help people get fit and healthy.
No matter what you do, you’re bound to have expenses. And sometimes, those expenses can add up faster than you expected, leaving you stuck without the money you need to fuel your ambitious plans for growth.
We’ve been there, too. Our founder has been an entrepreneur for nearly three decades, having built multiple service-based businesses in the Philadelphia area. We’ve helped service providers push through every conceivable financial roadblock and overcome a wide range of operational obstacles, and our experience delivering more than $150 million in funding has allowed us to support service providers in just about every service niche there is.
Amerifi’s got service providers like you covered, whether you need short-term loans or funding to address unexpected events, long-term loans or funding to fuel your strategic growth, or flexible funding such as a business credit line to cover variable revenue or one-off projects. We can create a funding plan and financing terms that fit your needs, address your market, and help you build your business for the long term.
Just reach out to us to get started!
How it works
LOAN AMOUNTS
Up to $20 milion
TIME TO FUND
1 day to 4 weeks
TERM LENGTHS
3 months to 5 years
INTEREST RATES
5.49% and up
Why choose Amerifi business funding?
- Fast approvals (as fast as one day!)
- Works for businesses with limited history
- Works for business owners with bad personal credit
- Excellent rates available for great personal credit
- Many options require no personal guarantee
- Helps you handle unexpected issues
- Gives you the resources you need to scale
- Use funds to handle any business need
- Flexible repayment options
If you have...
TIME IN BUSINESS
3 months or more
REVENUE
$10,000 per month ($120,000 in annual revenue)
CREDIT SCORE
450+
You could be eligible for small business funding today!
Construction businesses often benefit from the following types of business loans and financing options:
BUSINESS LINE OF CREDIT
When you need flexibility in your funding, a business line of credit is one of your best options. Like a credit card, a line of credit provides an amount of capital you can access at any time, at any amount up to the limit of your credit line. Once you’ve withdrawn the funds, you’ll pay back the outstanding balance on a monthly or weekly basis for one year, after which you can renew the credit line and possibly even increase it. You’ll only need to pay back the amount you’ve withdrawn, and interest and fees will only be calculated on the withdrawn amount as well.
The always-available nature of a business credit line can give service providers with chunky or cyclical revenue a way to address expenses and make longer-term plans while working through an earnings lull. Service providers that plan to occasionally tackle larger projects, such as major marketing campaigns, office renovations or expansions, or making multiple new hires, might also find a business line of credit useful in supplementing their current cash flow to help them get where they want to be.
Because business lines of credit are often unsecured, they tend to be offered to more established businesses with strong financial history. However, there are secured credit lines available for businesses with assets to pledge as collateral. Amerifi can help your business obtain several types of business lines of credit, including one-year fully amortized credit and interest-only credit lines.
TERM LOANS
Term loans are the funding option of choice for more secure and/or established service providers looking to address large, but predictable, expenses.
You might have plans for a major facility expansion. You might want to roll out a big online marketing promotion for the upcoming launch of a new offering. You could also need to cover salaries and expenses while hunkering down in development mode to create a new app or website, which you won’t get paid for until it’s complete.
Whatever the reason, a term loan is often one of your best sources of non-dilutive capital when you’ve got a plan that demands more money to execute.
Term loans have a familiar structure, with repayments due monthly for a term of between one and five years. Secured term loans are available in amounts up to $20 million, and up to $400,000 is available with unsecured term loans. Term loans can also be used to consolidate your existing debts at a lower interest rate, as there tend to be lower interest rates available on term loans than there are for many other forms of business funding.
We often approve applications for unsecured term loans within three business days. Our secured term loans typically take between two and four weeks to process and fund.
It’s much faster and less demanding to work with alternative lenders to get a term loan than it is to get a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, for which you’ll wait anywhere from 90 days to more than a year for your application to be processed and funds disbursed. Our term loans also have much higher approval rates than similar SBA loans, which reject most applicants.
EQUIPMENT FINANCING
Some service providers need the right tools to provide adequate service.
If you’re running a dry cleaning service, you’ll need equipment to clean lots of clothes. If you’re a DJ, you’ll need turntables, speakers, and possibly lighting equipment, too. A mobile dog groomer needs not only a large van in which to pamper pooches, but various specialized tools to give those dogs the styling they deserve as well.
Equipment financing isn’t applicable to every service provider, but many service businesses need costly equipment to do the job right.
Equipment financing is not for typical tools and equipment, like desks and chairs or POS systems. Equipment financing or leasing begins at amounts of $20,000 and is available in amounts up to $2 million to help qualified service businesses acquire qualified equipment.
Equipment financing is essentially a loan that results in your business owning the equipment at the end of the payment term; while you make payments, the financing is secured by the equipment itself.
Equipment leasing, on the other hand, is similar to auto leasing, in that you’ll make payments for a set period of time but will not own the equipment outright. However, most business equipment leases can be structured to allow you to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease term for a relatively modest amount, which doesn’t happen with auto leases.
We rarely require lots of paperwork to qualify you for equipment loans or leases. In certain situations, you may not need to supply financial or bank statements at all. The interest rates, payment periods, and repayment terms (12 to 60 months) of equipment financing are similar to what you’ll get for an auto loan or lease.
INVOICE FACTORING
Invoice factoring is a way to get your invoices paid faster, by “selling” your unpaid invoices from high-quality customers or clients to a factoring company. The factoring company will pay you the lion’s share of your outstanding invoice balances, and they’ll also take on the responsibility for collecting the rest of the balance. You’ll receive most of these collected balances, with fees for the factoring withheld based on the factor rate on your agreement.
If you find yourself waiting around for clients to pay after you’ve delivered on your service promises, invoice factoring can help you stop worrying about sending bills and chasing payments.
Invoice factoring is best suited for service providers with high-ticket invoices that can be aggregated together in amounts of at least $20,000.
This form of business financing is only available if you’ve already delivered your promised services, so it may not be ideal if you need financial support to fulfill big orders or contracts. There is a specialized form of business funding called purchase order financing for businesses that haven’t yet delivered what they’ve promised to their customers. However, this form of funding is typically only available to companies that deliver physical products, which isn’t applicable to most service businesses.
Invoice factoring can help smooth out your cash flows if you’re waiting months for clients to pay for your services. This funding option gets you the money you’re already owed, freeing you to grow your business while someone else takes care of collections.
However, you’ll need to be willing to give up control of your collections process, and allow a factoring company to interact directly with your customers or clients. Before finalizing an invoice factoring agreement, it’s often a good idea to inform anyone with unpaid bills about the change-over.
WORKING CAPITAL
Working capital, sometimes called a business cash advance, can be a good source of funding for newer or startup service businesses, for service businesses whose owners have bad credit, or for service businesses with lesser resources.
Working capital is often used to cover near-term payables or bills or address minor emergencies and unexpected costs. You’ll repay a cash advance every weekday or every week, and the term on your loan can range from three months to two years.
We recommend service providers have a clear plan for the funds, and a clear path to paying off the cash advance, to make the best use of this funding option.
Service business owners with credit scores as low as 450 have been able to obtain working capital. We can also provide working capital to service companies with as little as three months of business history. Many small business owners can obtain working capital without pledging any personal or business collateral, and we can sometimes skip the need for a personal guarantee as well.
Most Amerifi cash advances can be funded within one business day after we receive your application.
SECURED BUSINESS LOANS
Your equipment, accounts receivables, real estate, and other assets can all be used as collateral for a secured loan. Unique financing options have been developed for many of these asset types to cover a range of potential business scenarios and business models.
Asset-rich service providers can be eligible for millions of dollars in secured business funding. Secured business loans often carry lower interest rates and more accommodating repayment terms than unsecured loans.
If you need a lot of capital, and you’ve got valuable assets to pledge, ask us about the secured loan options that may be right for you.