Understand the structure before you compare the offer
Plain-language guides for business owners choosing a funding structure, getting documents ready and reading the cost and timing in a written offer.
Compare your options
A product name rarely shows the total cost, how payments work or who provides the money. Start by matching the structure to what your business needs.
Understand an offer
What the numbers in an offer mean, how to put them in dollars and who you're actually dealing with.
Prepare to apply
Know what funding partners review and gather your documents before you start.
About these guides
They explain how funding works in general. Your written offer is what counts.
How these guides are prepared
Our guides are general educational content, reviewed under our editorial policy. They use government and regulator sources where available, keep general product descriptions separate from specific offers and link to the source material.
A guide is not an offer
These pages don't state eligibility, rates or guaranteed outcomes. Products and terms vary by business and funding partner, and nothing is binding until you and the funding partner sign final documents. Read the funding disclosures before you apply.
Ready to compare real offers?
Apply once and every offer comes back side by side, in plain numbers. Applying is free and doesn't guarantee approval or funding.