The 6 universal requirements

Every legitimate small business funding product has the same six baseline requirements. Beyond these, each product layers its own tighter rules on top. Get these six right and you have access to at least 2 or 3 products immediately.

Requirement 1

Registered US business

LLC, S-corp, C-corp, or sole proprietorship with an EIN. The legal entity must match the bank account name. Cannabis and adult-industry businesses are restricted in most states.

Requirement 2

Business bank account

Active, in the legal entity's name, with at least 90 days of history. Personal accounts do not count. If your business is registered but you have been depositing into a personal account, you need to fix this first.

Requirement 3

6+ months in business

Most products require 6 to 12 months. SBA wants 24 months. Pre-revenue startups (under 6 months) are funded through equity, friends-and-family, or SBA microloans, not through brokers.

Requirement 4

Minimum monthly revenue

Floor is $10,000 monthly for the lightest products (MCA, short-term loans). $15,000 to $25,000 for term loans and lines of credit. $25,000+ for revenue-based financing.

Requirement 5

Owner ID and signature

Government-issued photo ID for each owner with 20%+ stake. Personal guarantee is required for most products (the legal entity alone is rarely enough to qualify).

Requirement 6

No active bankruptcy

Open Chapter 7 or 11 disqualifies almost every product. Recently discharged (over 2 years) is usable in some cases. Active tax liens disqualify SBA and most banks; some MCAs accept with a payment plan.

Eligibility floors by product

The table below shows the typical minimum thresholds for each of the 7 funding products. These are the floors, not the sweet spot. Better revenue and credit profiles open better rates and terms within each product line.

Product
Min FICO
Min Revenue
Min TIB
Key Underwriting Focus
Merchant Cash Advance
500
$10K/mo
3-6 mo
Bank deposit patterns, daily balance trends, NSF/overdraft count, credit-card processing volume
Business Term Loan
600
$15K/mo
12 mo
Personal credit, debt-service coverage ratio, tax return cash flow, debt schedule
Business Line of Credit
600
$15K/mo
12 mo
Personal credit, revenue consistency, existing credit utilization, business age
Equipment Financing
580
$10K/mo
6-12 mo
Equipment type and resale value, down payment ability, industry, personal credit
SBA 7(a)
680
$200K/yr
24 mo
Tax returns, personal financial statement, business plan, use of funds, collateral, character
Invoice Factoring
N/A
Per invoice
3 mo
Customer creditworthiness (NOT yours), invoice aging, Net terms, concentration risk
Revenue-Based Financing
620
$25K/mo
18 mo
Revenue consistency, trend (growth required), industry, bank deposit predictability

Notice the spread: the same business that gets declined for SBA can be funded by an MCA same day. The same FICO 580 owner who cannot get a term loan can get equipment financing tomorrow if buying a truck. Read the full 7-product comparison if you are not sure which lane you should be in.

Merchant cash advance requirements (deep dive)

MCAs deserve their own section because the underwriting is fundamentally different from every other product on the table. A term loan underwriter looks at personal credit and tax-return cash flow. An MCA underwriter looks at the last 90 days of business bank deposits and asks one question: can this account sustain a fixed daily debit? Here is exactly what they look at.

Revenue and deposit requirements

Credit and personal requirements

Business requirements specific to MCA

Documents for an MCA approval

That is the complete package for an MCA up to about $250K. Larger advances may add the last YTD P&L. We submit and lenders typically return offers in 2 to 24 hours. Read the full MCA explainer here or use our calculator to see what an advance would cost before you apply.

Documents you will actually need

The document burden scales with the product. For most owners we work with, the application is one page and the document package fits in an email. SBA is the outlier.

For fast products (MCA, short-term loan, line of credit, equipment financing under $100K)

For 80% of files at these product levels, that is the full package. We submit and lenders return offers within hours.

For larger or longer products (term loan over $250K, equipment over $100K, SBA, RBF)

Allow 2 to 5 business days to gather these once your accountant is engaged. The faster you can produce them, the faster the offer process closes.

What disqualifies most applications

Hard stops across most products

  • Active bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or 11) — almost every lender pulls credit and sees this; recently discharged is sometimes workable but the position resets.
  • Open tax liens with no payment plan — SBA and banks decline; some MCAs accept with documented IRS payment plan in place.
  • Recent business defaults — default on a prior MCA, term loan, or line of credit within the last 12 months disqualifies most new positions.
  • Active stacking (multiple unpaid MCAs) — lenders see the daily ACH debits on bank statements. Consolidation is usually the right path first.
  • NSF or overdraft activity above 5 per month — signals cash flow problems and disqualifies most products. We tell owners to clean up 60 days before reapplying.
  • Pre-revenue or under 6 months in business — broker products require operating history. Pre-revenue is funded through equity or SBA microloans elsewhere.
  • Cash-only businesses with no bank deposit trail — underwriters need to see revenue going through a business account. Cash that lives in a register or a personal account is invisible to most lenders.
  • Restricted industries — cannabis, adult, firearms-in-some-states, kratom, online gambling, payday lending, debt collection. Not every lender restricts every industry, but most restrict most of these.

How to fix a weak file before applying

If you are 30 to 60 days from being eligible, a short waiting period beats a denial. Most denials stay on your file in lender databases for 90 to 180 days. The fixes below are the ones we most often recommend on pre-qualification calls.

Pre-application clean-up checklist

  • Avoid NSFs for 60 to 90 days. Three or fewer NSF/overdraft events across 90 days is the unspoken target.
  • Run all revenue through the business account. If you take cash, deposit it weekly. Lenders cannot underwrite invisible revenue.
  • Pay down personal credit card balances to under 30% utilization. This often moves FICO 15 to 30 points within 30 days.
  • Resolve small tax liens with a payment plan. Even a $50/month IRS plan removes the lien from "unresolved" status for most lender purposes.
  • Wait for a recent default to age past 12 months if you are close. The same file at 12 months is fundable that was unfundable at 10 months.
  • Get your EIN current with the IRS. Lenders verify EIN status; an inactive or never-used EIN flags the file.
  • Pay off or consolidate existing MCAs before applying for new term loans or lines of credit. The daily debits show up on bank statements and signal stacking.
  • Document any temporary revenue dips. If your last 3 months are down because of a seasonal pattern or a one-time event, write a one-paragraph explanation memo and submit with the application.

If you are not sure where you stand, the fastest way to find out is to submit a soft-pull pre-qualification. We will tell you in 2 hours which products you currently qualify for and which ones need cleanup first.

Frequently asked questions

What are the basic requirements for small business funding?
Six universal requirements apply to almost every funding product: registered US business with EIN, active business bank account, 6+ months in business, $10K to $25K minimum monthly revenue, owner photo ID, and no active bankruptcy. Each product layers its own tighter requirements on top.
What is the minimum revenue for a small business loan?
MCAs and short-term loans want $10,000+ monthly. Term loans and lines of credit through alternative lenders want $15,000 to $25,000+ monthly. RBF wants $25,000+ monthly. SBA 7(a) doesn't have a strict minimum but underwriters want sufficient debt-service coverage, typically $200,000+ annual revenue. Invoice factoring qualifies on invoice value, not your overall revenue.
What credit score do I need for business funding?
MCAs fund borrowers down to 500 FICO routinely because they underwrite primarily on bank deposits. Term loans and lines of credit want 600+, 650+ for best rates. SBA 7(a) wants 680+. Equipment financing wants 580+ because the equipment serves as collateral. More on minimum credit scores for MCAs.
How long do I need to be in business to qualify?
Most products want 6 to 12 months minimum. MCAs sometimes go as low as 3 months for very strong revenue files. Term loans typically want 12 months. SBA 7(a) wants 24 months and 2 years of business tax returns. Pre-revenue or under 6 months requires equity funding or SBA microloans, not broker products.
What documents do I need to apply?
For fast products: one-page application, 3 to 6 months business bank statements, ID, voided check, signed disclosure. For longer products (term loan over $250K, SBA, RBF): add 1 to 2 years business tax returns, P&L, balance sheet, debt schedule, personal financial statement, insurance proof.
What disqualifies a small business funding application?
Active bankruptcy disqualifies almost everything. Open tax liens disqualify SBA and most banks. Recent business defaults freeze most lenders 6 to 24 months. NSF activity above 3 to 5/month signals cash flow problems. Active stacking usually requires consolidation first. Cannabis, adult, pre-revenue, and certain other industries are restricted across most lenders.
Can I fix my application before applying?
Often, yes. Common fixes: avoid NSFs for 60 to 90 days, run all revenue through business account, pay down credit card utilization below 30%, resolve small tax liens with a payment plan, wait for recent defaults to age past 12 months. A short waiting period beats a denial that lives on your file.