Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
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It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
50+ categories of the best business loan selections.
NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Senior Writer & Content Strategist | Small business, business banking, business loans
Randa Kriss is a senior writer and NerdWallet authority on small business. She has nearly a decade of experience in digital content. Prior to joining NerdWallet in 2020, Randa worked as a writer at Fundera, covering a wide variety of small-business topics and specializing in the lending and banking spaces. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, The Associated Press and Nasdaq, among others. Randa earned a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish at Iona University (formerly Iona College).
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
50+ categories of the best business loan selections.
NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Fora Financial - Online term loan
Overview
The bottom line:
Fora Financial business loans have flexible qualifications and are quick to fund, though interest rates may be higher than other lenders.
Loan details
Min. Loan Amount
$5,000
Min. Term Length
4 months
Max Loan Amount
$1,500,000
Max Term Length
18 months
Qualifications
Min. credit score
570
Min. Time in Business
6 months
Min. Annual Revenue
$240,000
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cash can be available quickly.
Get a discount for prepaying.
No collateral required.
Low minimum credit score requirement.
Cons
Charges a factor rate that makes it more difficult to compare costs with other lenders.
Can’t build business credit.
Longest loan term is 18 months.
Charges an origination fee.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
50+ categories of the best business loan selections.
NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Fora Financial, a New York-based online lender, offers access to small-business loans and merchant cash advances. Fora Financial may be a good fit for businesses looking for short-term working capital, as well as those that can’t qualify for traditional bank financing.
Although Fora offers large maximum loan amounts, it charges interest as a factor rate, which makes it difficult to compare costs to other lenders. In this review, we’ll focus on Fora Financial’s term loans.
Fora Financial loan qualifications
C redit score : 570 or higher.
Time in business: 6 months
Annual revenue: $240000 (at least $20,000 per month) or more.
Consider Fora Financial if you:
✔️ Need fast cash.
✔️ Don’t meet the eligibility requirements of other lenders.
Fora Financial can be a good option if you need access to fast funding. You can apply online by filling out a one-page application and uploading three months of bank statements.
Once your application is approved, you may be able to get funds in as little as 24 hours (but up to 72 hours). This time frame puts Fora Financial on par with other online lenders, such as Bluevine and OnDeck.
Prepayment discounts available
Fora does not charge prepayment penalties on its business term loans. In fact, the lender offers prepayment discounts to eligible borrowers.
Fora also gives you an opportunity to increase your amount of funding after you’ve repaid at least 60% of the original loan.
Flexible qualification requirements
Compared with traditional lenders, and even some online lenders, Fora Financial offers more flexible qualification requirements.
To qualify for a loan, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 570 and at least 6 months in business — making Fora a good option for startups and businesses with bad credit. The lender doesn’t require physical collateral, but may file a UCC lien on your business assets.
Plus, Fora does a soft credit pull when you apply (which does not impact your credit). The lender only performs a hard credit pull when you fund.
Fora Financial only offers repayment terms of up to 18 months. If you need financing for a longer period of time, you might consider other online lenders, like OnDeck, which offers terms up to 24 months, or iBusiness Funding (formerly Funding Circle), which offers terms up to 60 months.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for long-term financing and can qualify, a bank or SBA loan will likely offer the most competitive rates and terms.
Charges interest as factor rate
Fora Financial charges interest on its short-term loans as a factor rate. Factor rates are multiplied by your loan amount to calculate the total amount you’ll need to repay.
For example, say you have a 12-month, $10,000 loan with a factor rate of 1.1. To calculate the total cost, you’d multiply $10,000 by 1.1 to get $11,000.
Factor rates can be difficult to understand and make it harder to compare loan costs with other lenders. You should always convert your factor rate into an APR to get a better sense of your borrowing costs.
Fora Financial does not report payment history to the commercial credit bureaus. To build business credit from timely payments, you’ll need to find an alternative product. Building business credit can help you qualify for larger business loans with lower interest rates in the future.
Alternatives to Fora Financial
OnDeck
OnDeck fast facts
Loan type: Term loan.
Max. loan amount: $250000.
Terms: Up to 24 months.
APR: Starting at 31.3%.
Min. credit score: 625.
Min. time in business: 12 months.
Fora Financial vs. OnDeck
OnDeck offers short-term business loans of up to $250,000 with longer repayment terms than Fora Financial — up to 24 months. Similar to Fora, OnDeck offers a streamlined online application and funding as quickly as the same day you’re approved.
To qualify, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 625 and at least 12 months in business. Compared to Fora, however, which requires a minimum annual revenue of $180,000, OnDeck only requires $100,000.
If you’re an established business with good credit, you might consider iBusiness Funding to access lower interest rates and longer repayment terms. iBusiness Funding offers loans up to $500,000 with repayment terms up to 60 months.
The lender can provide funding in as little as three business days, but requires that you have a credit score of 660 and at least 24 months in business to qualify. Interest rates on iBusiness Funding loans range from 15.22% to 45%.
Fora Financial says it has issued $3 billion in business financing to over 35,000 companies since its founding in 2008. The lender has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2011, where it has an A+ rating.
Yes. Fora Financial is a direct lender of its business term loans and merchant cash advances.
No. Fora Financial does not report to the consumer or commercial credit bureaus. As a result, your payment activity on a loan from Fora will neither hurt nor build your credit scores.