Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Ready for Credit? Here’s How the Funding Process Works with BlueVine

It’s safe to say that when small business owners apply for a line of credit, they’re not doing it for the chance to fill out forms—they’re interested in acquiring some work capital. With online alternative lenders like BlueVine, the funding stage arrives much faster than with traditional institutions. If you’ve already applied for BlueVine’s Flex Credit line and made it past the underwriting process successfully, you’re ready to start drawing funds.

As has become standard in the alternative lending space, BlueVine makes it easy to draw funds directly from your account dashboard, and just as easy to repay and replenish your funds for your future capital needs. The beauty of a line of credit is that you can continue to use it, up to the amount you were approved for, over and over again. In fact, if you use it responsibly and pay it back promptly, you can even improve your terms and accomplish even more.

In part 3 of our series on working with BlueVine, we’ll walk you through how to go from the end of underwriting to receiving funds in your business bank account, as well as what to do next.

How do I become eligible to draw on my line of credit from BlueVine?

In part one, we discussed the application process with BlueVine. Their online form can be completed in a few minutes with some basic information, and you can either link your electronic financial accounts, such as business checking accounts or payment platforms, or submit 3 months worth of bank statements.

In part two, we went over the underwriting process. BlueVine promises to have this done in 24 hours. They’ll take a holistic review of every part of the business, from the owner’s credit score to the company’s social media presence. It involves a phone call with a dedicated BlueVine analyst who becomes your point of contact for the rest of your time with BlueVine.

How will I know when I’m ready to draw?

In some situations, an analyst will finish up underwriting your application during the phone call and will let you know you’ve been approved, at these terms, right then. You may also receive a notification through your BlueVine account that you’re ready to draw at your leisure.

I’m ready to receive funding—where do I start?

Your account dashboard will tell you how much you’ve been approved for, as well as the terms of your line. It will ask you how much you’d like to draw—if you’re approved for a $20,000 line of credit, you don’t have to draw all of it right away. You can choose any amount at or below your limit and then click “Get funds now.”

That will send a request over to the BlueVine underwriting team, which will usually approve the draw within half an hour. Then it’s up to you how to receive your funds—there are two options:

  • Wire transfer: As you might expect, this is the faster option—you can get your money the same day, usually within a few hours. But you’ll also pay a $15 fee.
  • ACH electronic transfer: Funds usually appear in your account the next business day, though it may take up to 3 days. There is no fee for this option, however.

What are the terms and conditions of my line of credit?

Each line of credit is paid back on a 6-month term with 26 weekly payments. There is no prepayment penalty, and each draw has its own amortization schedule.

Terms and conditions for each line depend on your application. BlueVine considers your credit score, whether your business has any tax liens or other lines of credit available, and other factors when deciding not only if they’ll approve your application but for how much and what your fees will be. The weekly rate for BlueVine FlexCredit ranges from 0.5% to 1.2%.

How does repayment work?

Part of the application process involves linking a bank account where payments can be automatically deducted each week, so you don’t have to worry about maintaining a payment schedule. Every payment goes toward replenishing your principal, not your fees. Repaid portions of your line of credit can immediately be re-drawn for other uses if you want.

I like the line of credit, but I want better terms—how can I improve them?

There are plenty of reasons why you may have received a relatively high weekly fee, or a smaller credit limit. Maybe you had a few bounced checks in the past, for example. But after eight weeks of successful, positive payments, borrowers are eligible for a rate decrease and a line increase. Once you establish a good track record with BlueVine, they’ll reward you accordingly.

I need way more capital than the line of credit limit. What else can I do?

BlueVine’s lines of credit have a limit of $50,000. But if your clients owe you a lot of money and you want to start using those debts before you’re repaid, you can use BlueVine’s invoice factoring service to receive up to $500,000 in working capital. Check out that option in addition to or instead of a line of credit.

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That wraps up the BlueVine line of credit application, underwriting. and funding process. Remember: You won’t have to deal with termination fees if you want to stop using your line of credit (as long as you have no outstanding balances, of course), so you can use the line of credit for as long as you need it and not longer.

So if you’re a small business owner looking to get a leg up on the competition with an infusion of capital, and fast, you should consider an alternative lending option like this one.

The post Ready for Credit? Here’s How the Funding Process Works with BlueVine appeared first on Fundera Ledger.



from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/11/15/funding-process-bluevine/

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