Business funding through a broker moves in four stages: describing the need, matching it to a funding type and partners, partner underwriting and decision, and your own review of any offer. Marbleharbor Advances, a small-business funding broker in Franklin, Tennessee, handles the first two stages and explains the fourth; lending partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
Who does what: broker versus lender
| Task | Marbleharbor Advances (broker) | Lending partner (lender or funder) |
|---|---|---|
| Listens to the need and explains options | Yes | Sometimes |
| Chooses which partners see the request | Yes, with your agreement | No |
| Reviews credit and documents | No | Yes |
| Approves or declines | No | Yes |
| Sets rate, fees and terms | No | Yes |
| Signs the contract with you | No | Yes |
A loan broker's job is preparation and fit: a clear request in front of partners that fund that kind of need, and help reading what comes back.
Stage 1: You describe the job the money must do
Phone (629) 222-3797, or fill in the short form: name, email, phone and business name. On the call we ask what the funding is for, roughly what it costs, how the business earns its revenue, how long it has operated and what it already owes. No documents are needed yet. If the honest answer is that the business needs advice more than funding, we say so and point to free advising in Williamson County.
Stage 2: We match the job to a funding type and to partners
Most jobs point clearly to one of six types: working capital, a term loan, a line of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing or a merchant cash advance, which is not a loan. We explain why that type fits, what it would require, and which partners offer it. Nothing goes to a partner until you agree.
Stage 3: A partner underwrites and decides
The partner applies its own criteria and usually asks for documents now:
- Recent business bank statements.
- Business tax returns, and sometimes personal returns for each major owner.
- A current income statement and balance sheet.
- A quote, invoice or contract for the purchase or project.
- Formation records and proof of the company's standing with the state.
- Identification for each major owner.
The partner may check business and personal credit, then decides whether to offer and on what terms. Nothing Marbleharbor Advances does can sway that decision or assure a result.
Stage 4: You compare any offer before signing
Read the full contract, not a summary. Find the amount you will actually receive, the total you will pay or remit, every fee, the payment schedule, any balloon, the collateral, any personal guarantee and what counts as a default. You can decline, ask questions or have an accountant or attorney review it first.
APR, factor or total cost?
- APR states the yearly cost of credit, including certain fees, as a percentage. It is the clearest way to compare loans of different lengths.
- Interest rate is the rate on the balance itself and may leave out fees.
- Factor is a multiplier used mostly for merchant cash advances. It does not change with time, so it cannot be compared with an APR directly.
Whatever the format, put two numbers side by side: the total dollars that will leave the business, and how much leaves each week or month. Those two answer most of what matters.
Offers that should make you pause
- Approval promised before anyone has looked at the business.
- A demand for payment before an offer exists.
- Pressure to sign the same day or a refusal to send the contract ahead.
- A contract with blanks left unfilled, or terms that do not match the conversation.
- No clear total of what will be paid or remitted.
Questions about any of this? The answers page covers the common ones, and the disclosures describe the broker relationship.
By Marbleharbor Advances · Updated