Revolving credit for a business already generating cash
Draw what you need.
Pay interest only on that.
A business line of credit is not a lump sum that sits in your account collecting interest from day one. It is a standing approval you draw against when a real need shows up, and it stops costing you anything the moment your balance goes back to zero.
How it actually works
A line and a loan are not the same product
Both put money in your account. What happens after that is where they split.
A term loan hands you a lump sum on day one. You start paying interest on the full amount right away, whether you spend it that week or six months later. A line of credit works the other way. Lenders we work with approve a maximum you can draw against, and you pay for the piece you actually pull out, not the whole approval.
Say you are approved at the top of the business line of credit range, $55,000. Draw $10,000 to cover a slow stretch and repay it in a month, and you paid for $10,000 of credit for a month. The unused $45,000 sat there at no cost. That is the point of a revolving line. It exists for the moment you need it and costs nothing the rest of the time.
Once a draw is repaid, that room opens back up. You can draw it again the next time a gap shows up without reapplying. A term loan does not work that way. Pay one off early and the account closes. Pay off a draw on a line and the credit is simply available again.
On this program, approval runs in 24 hours with same day funding once approved. That speed is useful when there is a specific, dated reason for the money to move. It is not a reason to draw funds without one.
Good uses
The gap between when money is owed to you and when it is due from you
A line earns its cost when there is a clear, dated reason the draw goes out and a clear, dated reason it comes back.
- Timing gaps. A client pays on their own schedule and your payroll runs weekly. The line covers the days in between, then gets repaid the moment the invoice clears.
- Payroll smoothing. A slow month should not turn into a missed payroll run. A line covers it once, and the next normal month repays it.
- Opportunistic inventory. A supplier offers a real discount for buying this week instead of next month. The line lets you take it without waiting for your own cash to catch up.
In each case there is a specific reason the money leaves and a specific reason it comes back. That is what a line of credit is built for, and it is why the balance is supposed to spend most of its time at zero.
The honest downside
The limit on your line is not revenue
The most common way a line of credit goes wrong has nothing to do with paperwork. It is mental. A $55,000 limit sitting untouched can start to feel like $55,000 you have. It is not. It is $55,000 you can borrow, and every dollar of it carries interest from the moment you draw it.
If you draw against the line every month and never pay it back down, you have stopped smoothing a timing gap and started using revolving credit to cover a hole in the business that is not closing. At that point a term loan built for a longer horizon is usually the cheaper answer, and it is worth saying so plainly instead of leaving a line drawn and open indefinitely.
A line of credit is meant to sit idle most of the time. If yours never gets there, that is a signal to look at the underlying gap, not just the balance.
If a line is not the fit
What sits next to it
A line covers a gap you can see the end of. These cover something bigger, or something more urgent. Every figure below is a program range, not an offer.
$5,000 to $55,000
Business line of credit
- Approval24 hours
- FundingSame day
- InterestOnly on what you draw
This page. Revolving credit that sits idle until you need it.
Funding in 24 hours
Merchant cash advance
- Credit minimumNone
- PaymentsDaily or weekly
- IndustriesAll eligible
Faster to access and priced higher. Right for an urgent, one time need.
Merchant cash advance →$20,000 to $5,000,000
Small business loans
- CollateralNot required
- OfferWithin 24 hours
- UseAny business purpose
A lump sum with fixed payments, for a need bigger than a line covers.
Small business loans →Figures on this page are third party lender program ranges. They are subject to underwriting and approval, and nothing here is an offer or a commitment to lend.
Common questions
Before you apply for a line
How is this different from a business credit card?
Mechanically similar. Both are revolving: you draw, you repay, the room reopens. A line of credit is structured directly with the lenders we work with rather than run through a card network, and the draw and repayment mechanics differ from a card statement cycle.
Do I pay anything if I never draw on the line?
No. Interest applies only to funds you actually draw. An approval that sits unused does not generate a bill.
What happens after I repay a draw?
The amount you repaid becomes available to draw again. That is the revolving part, and it does not require a new application each time.
How fast can I get access to the money?
Approval on this program runs in 24 hours, with same day funding once approved.
What if I need more than a line covers?
The business line of credit range tops out at $55,000. For a larger or longer need, small business loans and other programs go up to $5,000,000. Apply once and we will tell you which program actually fits the file.
Find out what you would actually be approved for.
One application, no credit pull, no fee, and a straight answer about whether a line of credit or a different program fits your business.