Glenpoint Finance, a small-business funding service in Dubuque, Iowa, sets out its request process: the first call, choosing a structure, a review by funding partners who make their own decision, and your decision. It lists documents partners commonly ask for, what lenders look for, how long reviews can take and where the partner model is explained in full.
Glenpoint's role, in one paragraph
Glenpoint Finance is a broker, not a lender. Glenpoint Finance connects you with lending partners; partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms. We do not approve requests, lend money or set prices. Our job is to understand the expense, match it to the structures that suit it, and pass a clear request to partners who fund that kind of business.
How Glenpoint is paid, and what that means for you, is explained on the disclosures page.
Step 1: Describe the expense
Phone (563) 208-6583 or send the short request form. The form asks for your full name, phone, email, company name if you have one, and three range picks: time in business, annual revenue and the amount you have in mind. Nothing to upload at this stage.
On the call we ask what the money is for, when the bill falls due, and how the business gets paid: cards, invoices, insurance claims or contracts.
Step 2: Narrow the structures
An expense can fit more than one of the six structures. Payroll points one way, a used machine another, a remodel a third. The comparison of all six shows how each is repaid. We tell you which ones a partner may consider and why.
Step 3: A partner reviews the request
A funding partner that handles your kind of request reviews it. Steps to apply from here depend on the partner and the structure, but the documents needed for a business loan usually come from this list:
- Recent business bank statements
- Business and personal tax returns for larger or longer requests
- A government ID for each owner
- A quote, invoice, lease or purchase agreement for the item being financed
- A list of existing loans or advances
- Entity documents, such as articles of organization
So what do lenders look for when someone applies for a business loan? Steady deposits, a clear purpose, existing debt they can see, credit history, and, for secured requests, the value of the collateral. Every partner weighs these differently, and none publishes a single cut-off.
Step 4: The offer is yours to weigh
If a partner makes an offer, it arrives in writing with the amount, cost, term, payment schedule and fees. Compare total repayment, not just the payment. Ask about prepayment, renewals and any personal guarantee. You can decline; nothing obliges you to accept.
Timing: how long it takes to get a business loan
It depends on the structure and on how quickly records arrive. Requests with more documents, such as term loans, larger equipment deals and acquisitions, give a partner more to read: tax returns, appraisals and agreements. We will not promise a date that a partner sets.
Requirements for getting a business loan, as partners see them
No single list of requirements exists. Partners commonly consider time in business, revenue, deposit history, credit, existing debt and collateral. Secured structures, such as equipment financing, add the collateral to what a partner reviews. Short answers to other first questions are on the FAQ.
By Glenpoint Finance · Updated
