When consumers apply for credit cards or loans, their credit scores are often the single most important factors in deciding whether their applications are approved. But what about when you're applying for a business loan?
While business lenders will certainly take your personal credit into consideration, it's far from the only factor they will consider. Ted Peters, chairman and CEO of the Bluestone Financial Institutions Fund, outlined what is known as the five "C's of credit" that commercial lenders look at to make a credit decision.
Cash flow. Lenders look at your historical and projected cash flow, as well as your sales numbers, to determine your ability to pay them back in a timely manner.
Collateral. Depending on the strength of your cash flow, banks may look at your current assets — mortgage, working capital, inventory, etc. — to see if anything can be used as collateral to secure your loan, should you have trouble paying it back
(Business) Credit. In addition to your personal credit and payment history, lenders will check if your business entity has established any past credit, including on-time bill payment for any B2B services. Many lenders use reports from business data company Dun & Bradstreetto access this information, Peters said.
Character. Your overall character and reputation in the community matter to the people taking responsibility for funding your business. This is part of the reason lenders will set up an in-person meeting to discuss your application and credit needs.
"Lenders meet with people [to] look them in the eye [and determine], 'Is this someone we trust and want to do business with?'" Peters said.
Capacity. Peters noted that this is typically the least important factor in a credit decision, but lenders still want to know the capacity your business has to grow. A local ice cream franchise, for instance, has a limited capacity to boost sales, but a global e-commerce or tech business could grow exponentially in just a few short years.