Ivyview Lenders, a small-business funding broker in Greenville, North Carolina, does not lend. A request moves through four stages: the owner explains the need, Ivyview pairs it with a funding type and suitable lending partners, a partner underwrites and decides, and the owner weighs any offer before signing. Lending partners set every rate and term.
Who does what
| Task | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| Explaining the funding options | Ivyview Lenders |
| Gathering what the business needs to share | Ivyview Lenders, with you |
| Choosing which partners see the request | Ivyview Lenders |
| Underwriting and the credit decision | The lending partner |
| Setting the amount, rate and terms | The lending partner |
| The contract | Between your business and the partner |
| Accepting or declining an offer | You |
Ivyview Lenders connects you with lending partners; partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
Step 1: Describe the business and the need
Call (252) 318-3595, send the short request form, or visit the S Pitt St office. The first conversation is about purpose: what the money will pay for, how much that costs, and where repayment will come from. You do not need every document ready to start.
Step 2: We match the need to funding types and partners
The purpose usually narrows six options to one or two. A machine points to equipment financing; a timing gap to working capital or a line of credit; a project to a term loan. We explain how that option is repaid and what partners offering it tend to ask for, then take your request to partners that fund that kind of need.
Step 3: A partner underwrites and decides
Underwriting is the partner's review of whether, and on what terms, to fund. Partners differ, but most look at the same core questions: is there enough steady cash flow to make the payments, what does the credit history show, what debts already compete for that cash flow, and, for secured products, what collateral backs the request.
Expect the partner to request documents of its own: bank statements, tax returns, financial statements or a quote, depending on the product. It then decides whether to make an offer and, if it does, sets the amount, price and terms. Our guide to what lenders look for goes through each item.
Step 4: Compare the offer before you sign
An offer is a proposal, not an obligation. Before accepting, put each offer in the same terms:
- Total repayment: every payment added up, plus any charges, against the amount you receive.
- Payment frequency: daily, weekly or monthly, and whether that fits your slowest period.
- Early payoff: whether paying early reduces the cost.
- Collateral and guarantees: what is pledged and who signs personally.
- Default: what counts as a default and what happens then.
You can say no to any offer. Accepting is always your choice.
Comparing APR, factor rates and total cost
Loans are usually quoted with an interest rate, and often an annual percentage rate (APR), which expresses the yearly cost of credit including certain charges. A merchant cash advance is not a loan and is quoted with a factor instead: the multiple of the advance you agree to deliver. The two are not directly comparable, because a factor says nothing about how quickly the money is collected.
The comparison that always works is dollars and time: how much you receive, how much you pay back in total, and over what period. Our business loan calculator and factor rate calculator help you put both on the same footing.
Warning signs in any funding offer
- pressure to sign before you have read the whole agreement;
- promises of approval, amounts or pricing before anyone has reviewed the business;
- documents with blank spaces you are asked to sign anyway;
- a merchant cash advance described to you as a loan;
- reluctance to give you a full copy of the contract to review.
Any of these is a reason to slow down and ask questions, whoever the offer comes from.
By Ivyview Lenders · Updated