Ivyview Lenders, a small-business funding broker in Greenville, North Carolina, compares six funding types for Pitt County owners: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances, which are not loans. The right choice depends on what the money pays for and how it will be repaid. Lending partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
The six options at a glance
Read across a row to see what each type of funding is built to do. Every partner designs its own products, so treat this as a map of the usual shapes rather than a description of any one offer.
| Option | What you receive | How it goes back | Usually pays for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital | A lump sum for operating costs | Installments over a shorter term | Payroll, rent, supplier invoices during a timing gap |
| Term loan | A lump sum for a planned project | Installments over a set term, sometimes ending in a balloon | Build-outs, expansion, refinancing |
| Line of credit | A limit you draw on as needed | Payments on the drawn balance; repaid amounts can be drawn again | Costs that recur at different sizes |
| Inventory financing | Credit to buy stock | Repaid as the stock sells | Seasonal builds and volume purchases |
| Equipment financing | Funding tied to a specific asset | Fixed payments; the equipment usually secures it | Machines, work vehicles, kitchen and clinical equipment |
| Merchant cash advance | A lump sum for a share of future receipts; not a loan | A percentage of sales or fixed debits until the purchased amount is delivered | Businesses with steady card or bank receipts |
Short-term or long-term money?
Match the length of the financing to the life of whatever it buys. Payroll, food costs and retail stock are used up within weeks or months, so they pair with short-term credit. A dental chair, a combination oven or a renovated storefront serves the business for years, so it pairs with a longer term.
Getting this backwards is a common source of strain. Paying for a long-lived asset with short-term money crowds the payments into a few months; paying for this month's payroll with a five-year obligation means still paying interest long after the benefit is gone.
Secured or unsecured?
Secured financing is backed by specific collateral: equipment, inventory, receivables, real estate or a general lien on business assets. Unsecured financing has no specific collateral, though partners often ask the owners for a personal guarantee instead.
Collateral gives a lender something to fall back on, which can open up options; it also puts the pledged property at risk if payments stop. Liens on business assets are usually made public through a UCC financing statement, which our guide to UCC liens in North Carolina explains, including how to search for filings already made against your business.
Where SBA loans fit
SBA-backed loans are made by participating lenders, with the U.S. Small Business Administration backing part of each loan. Ivyview Lenders does not work with SBA loans; it is not an SBA lender.
There is no SBA office in Greenville. The SBA's North Carolina District Office has offices in Charlotte and Wilmington and lists Pitt County among the counties served from Wilmington (SBA North Carolina District Office, accessed 2026-10-15). Our guide to small business funding resources in eastern North Carolina covers SBA programs alongside other public and nonprofit routes.
Five questions that narrow the choice
- What, exactly, will the money pay for?
- When will that spending produce the cash to pay it back?
- Is this a one-time need, or will it come back next month or next year?
- Is there a specific asset, such as a machine or the inventory itself, that could secure it?
- What payment can the business carry in its slowest week or month, not its average one?
Most owners who can answer those five find that six options shrink to one or two. For the last question, our debt service coverage ratio formula shows how much of your operating income existing debts already use.
What partners usually ask to see
Each lending partner sets its own requirements, but most requests draw on the same core material: business bank statements, basic business and ownership details, how long the business has operated, revenue, and the debts it already carries. Depending on the product, partners may add tax returns, financial statements, an equipment quote or a project budget.
Our guide to what lenders look for in a funding application explains how partners read each item, and why the same bank statement can look strong for one product and weak for another.
Choosing with a broker
Ivyview Lenders connects you with lending partners; partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms. Ivyview Lenders is a broker, not a lender: we help you settle on which option to pursue and describe your request to partners that offer it. The partner decides whether to fund and on what terms; you decide whether to accept.
Read how a request moves from first call to offer, or call (252) 318-3595 to talk through your situation.
By Ivyview Lenders · Updated