Check Out Our Quarter Spot Review
Quarter Spot is one of several online lending companies. They offer short term business loans. We look at the specifics and drill down into the details. The lender confirmed the information in our Quarter Spot review.
Note: QuarterSpot is no longer offering loans. Therefore, this review is out of date. Be sure to check out financing with Credit Suite instead.
Background
Quarter Spot is located online here: https://www.quarterspot.com/. Their physical address is in New York, NY. You can call them at: (646) 650-5018. You can email them at: [email protected]. They have been in business since 2013.
Short Term Loans
$50,000 – $150,000 is available from Quarter Spot. The terms run from 9 – 18 months. Your company needs to have annual revenue of $200,000 or more. You must have a personal FICO score of 550 or better. The minimal time your company must be in business is 12 months. You have to be able to show a minimum average bank balance of $20,000.
You must show a minimum of $16,000 per month in sales. The borrower must own at least 50% of the business. They will only do a soft credit check.
Fees
Their rates range from 25% – 40%. There is no fee to apply.
Advantages
Advantages are that the personal FICO score requirement for Quarter Spot is relatively low. In addition, the minimum average bank balance requirement is also fairly low. Furthermore, with only a soft credit check, the application will not adversely affect your personal credit scores.
Quarter Spot Disadvantages
Disadvantages are that their maximum rates are quite high.
Takeaways on Quarter Spot
Companies that will do best with this lender are those where the borrower has less than stellar personal credit but the company itself is already thriving and has been in business for a year or more. Because Quarter Spot requires that the borrower has to own at least half of the business, it positions itself as being ideal for sole proprietors and partnerships.
Quarter Spot will also work well for companies where the business can pay off its debts very quickly – as in before they are due. For companies where early payments are just plain not going to be possible,
Quarter Spot’s high rates effectively cancel out virtually any benefits of using them. For such companies, there are other online lenders which might be better – or building business credit or getting unsecured business financing or even 401(k) financing would probably be better options.
A Word to the Wise
And finally, as with every other lending program, whether online or offline, always be sure to remember to read the fine print and do the math. Go over the details with care, and decide if 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.
Business Credit Building
An excellent alternative to online lending is business credit. You can build business credit fast and not have to worry about quickly paying off an online lender.
Business credit is credit in a small business’s name. It isn’t tied to a business owner’s personal credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the company. Thus, an entrepreneur’s business and consumer credit scores can be very different.
The Advantages
Considering that business credit is distinct from personal, it helps to secure a business owner’s personal assets, in the event of litigation or business insolvency. Also, with two separate credit scores, a small business owner can get two different cards from the same merchant. This effectively doubles buying power.
Another benefit is that even startups can do this. Going to a bank for a business loan can be a recipe for frustration. But building small business credit, when done the right way, is a plan for success.
Consumer credit scores are dependent on payments but also additional components like credit use percentages. But for small business credit, the scores actually merely hinge on if a business pays its bills punctually.
The Process
Growing Business Credit is a process, and it does not happen without effort. A small business needs to actively work to build corporate credit. That being said, it can be accomplished readily and quickly, and it is much quicker than establishing individual credit scores. Merchants are a big component of this process.
Performing the steps out of sequence will lead to repeated denials. Nobody can start at the top with company credit.
Business Fundability™
A small business needs to be legit to lending institutions and merchants. Therefore, a corporation will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address, with website hosting purchased from a company like GoDaddy. Also company telephone numbers must be listed on ListYourself.net.
Also the business phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or the equivalent).
A small business will also need a bank account devoted solely to it, and it needs to have every one of the licenses necessary for operation. These licenses all have to be in the correct, accurate name of the business, with the same corporate address and phone numbers. Bear in mind that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.
Working with the Internal Revenue Service
Visit the IRS web site and get an EIN for the company – they’re free. Pick a business entity such as corporation, LLC, etc. A small business can begin as a sole proprietor but should switch to a kind of corporation to limit risk and make best use of tax benefits.
A business entity will matter when it pertains to taxes and liability in the event of a lawsuit. A sole proprietorship means the business owner is it when it comes to liability and tax obligations. No one else is responsible.
Setting off the Business Credit Reporting Process
Start at the D&B web site and get a free DUNS number. A DUNS number is how D&B gets a business into their system, to produce a PAYDEX score. If there is no DUNS number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.
Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s websites for the business. You can do this here. If there is a record with them, check it for accuracy and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process. By doing this, Experian and Equifax will have something to report on.
Trade Lines
First you must establish trade lines that report. This is also known as vendor credit. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score. And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin obtaining revolving store and cash credit.
These kinds of accounts have the tendency to be for the things bought all the time, like shipping boxes, ink and toner, and office furniture.
But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are creditors who will give you initial credit when you have none now. Terms are normally Net 30, instead of revolving.
So if you get an approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you will need to pay that money back in a set term, like within 30 days on a Net 30 account.
Details
Net 30 accounts need to be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts need to be paid completely within 60 days. Compared to with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you have to pay back what you borrowed or the credit you used.
To start your business credit profile properly, you should get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting bureaus. When that’s done, you can then use the credit, repay what you used, and the account is reported to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.
Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are merchants that will grant an approval with minimal effort. You also need them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.
You want 3 of these to move onto the next step.
Monitor Your Business Credit
Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and take care of any errors as soon as possible. Get in the habit of checking credit reports and digging into the specifics, and not just the scores.
We can help you monitor business credit at Experian, Equifax, and D&B for considerably less. Update the info if there are mistakes or the info is incomplete.
Quarter Spot Review: Caveats
Always use credit responsibly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying off punctually and fully will do more to increase business credit scores than almost anything else.
Growing small business credit pays. Good business credit scores help a company get loans. Your creditor knows the business can pay its debts. They know the small business is for real. The small business’s EIN attaches to high scores, and lenders won’t feel the need to demand a personal guarantee. Can you still work with Quarter Spot? Sure you can. But with business credit, you won’t need to.
