Everything You Need to Know About LenCred – Check Out Our Lencred Review
LenCred is one of several lending companies in the online space. They are based in Blackwood, NJ and Bentonville, AR. Welcome to this, one of our online lender reviews.
They serve as a small business loan broker, mainly to startup companies and newer businesses. LenCred works with companies which need from $25,000 – $200,000 in financing. There are no revenue requirements; the companies which work with them tend to have $0 – $250,000 in annual revenues. Their most popular form of financing is unsecured financing. We look at the specifics and drill down into the details.
Background
LenCred is located online here. Their physical address is in Bentonville, Arkansas. You can call them at: (888) 783-1503. Their contact page is here: https://lencred.com/contact/. You can email them at: [email protected].
Unsecured Business Credit Lines
You can get $25,000 – 150,000 or more. However, you will be denied if you have a consumer credit utilization rate of over 30%. Also, you can’t have any derogatory or delinquent accounts reporting on your credit profile. Late monthly payments, collections, unpaid tax liens, repossessions, and bankruptcies will get your application for an unsecured business line of credit denied. You also can’t have a lot of recent hard inquiries (in the last six months).
Fees
They have a 0% introductory rate.
SBA Loans
They do not obtain SBA Loans or give them out. Rather, they can help companies apply for these.
Equipment Financing
$1,000 – $5 million is available in funding through this lender. They will help you get equipment financing. However, they do not seem to actually provide it.
Equipment Financing (Loans and Leasing)
Online lender LenCred offers set terms. Equipment which will go obsolete quickly (e.g. computers) works better with a lease. And for equipment which will not become obsolete quite so quickly (or you need it for a good 5 years or more), a loan tends to work better.
Your business can get up to $5,000,000. For equipment financing, you often need a FICO score of 650 or better. Some lenders require that you be in business for at least one year and be generating $50,000 in revenue.
Fees
There is a monthly fee which does not appear to be specified on their website.
LenCred Advantages
Advantages are that unsecured business funding is often a great way for startups to get the money they need, and they do not seem to have an annual revenue requirement unless you have bad personal credit. There is also the matter of the 0% introductory rate. This particular lender also seems to be flexible when it comes to borrowers with less than stellar credit.
LenCred Disadvantages
The biggest disadvantage is that the time to funding is slower compared to a number of other lenders in the online space. Another disadvantage is that entrepreneurs who have been relying on their personal credit cards to fund their businesses are probably going to have too high a credit utilization rate to qualify for LenCred’s offerings.
An Alternative – Establishing Business Credit
This is credit in a business’s name. It doesn’t link to an entrepreneur’s consumer credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the small business.
Accordingly, a business owner’s business and individual credit scores can be very different.
The Advantages
Since company credit is distinct from personal, it helps to protect a business owner’s personal assets, in the event of legal action or business bankruptcy.
Also, with two separate credit scores, a small business owner can get two different cards from the same vendor. This effectively doubles buying power.
Another benefit is that even startup companies can do this. Visiting a bank for a business loan can be a formula for frustration. But building small business credit, when done correctly, is a plan for success.
Personal credit scores rely on payments but also other elements like credit usage percentages.
But for small business credit, the scores really merely depend on if a company pays its debts on time.
Business Fundability™
A business needs to be Fundable to loan providers and vendors.
That’s why a company will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address. And it needs to have site hosting from a company like GoDaddy.
And also, business phone numbers need to have a listing on ListYourself.net.
Additionally, the business phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or similar).
A small business will also need a bank account dedicated strictly to it, and it needs to have every one of the licenses necessary for operating.
Monitor Your Business Credit
Know what is happening with your credit. Make sure it is being reported and attend to any inaccuracies ASAP. Get in the practice of checking credit reports. Dig into the details, not just the scores.
We can help you monitor business credit at Experian, Equifax, and D&B for 90% less.
A Word about Business Credit Building
Always use credit smartly! Never borrow beyond what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying off punctually and completely will do more to raise business credit scores than just about anything else.
Building small business credit pays off. Good business credit scores help a small business get loans. Your lender knows the business can pay its financial obligations. They understand the business is bona fide.
The small business’s EIN attaches to high scores and lenders won’t feel the need to require a personal guarantee.
Business credit is an asset which can help your small business for years to come. Learn more here and get started toward growing small business credit.
LenCred Reviews and Upshot
The companies which will most likely do well with LenCred need financing but can afford to wait a month. Companies which will not do well are those where the entrepreneur has been relying too heavily on personal credit, thereby driving up their credit utilization rate. The monthly revenue requirement is high – a company just getting on its feet is not going to qualify. If your business can’t meet the monthly revenue requirement, then you may be better off working with one of the many LenCred competitors.
And finally, as with every other lending program, whether online or offline, remember to read the fine print and do the math. Go over the details with a fine-toothed comb, and decide whether this option will be good for you and your company. In addition, consider alternative financing options that go beyond lending, including building business credit, in order to best decide how to get the money you need to help your business grow.
