Insights
Seven Questions to Ask Before You Sign a Funding Agreement
A short list that surfaces almost everything worth knowing about a funding offer — and one that any straight operation will answer without hesitation.
The short answer
Before signing, confirm the net amount landing in your account, the total you repay, the payment amount and frequency, the full term, what is withheld from funding, the early-payoff terms, and whether the party you are dealing with is funding it themselves or brokering it.
Key takeaways
- Net funded and total payback are the two numbers that define the deal.
- Ask what comes out before the money arrives.
- Get early-payoff terms in writing rather than by assurance.
- Ask whether they are funding it or submitting it elsewhere.
You do not need to be a credit analyst to evaluate a funding offer. You need seven answers, all of which fit on an index card.
- 1
1. What lands in my account?
The net figure after anything withheld — not the approval headline.
- 2
2. What do I repay in total?
Every dollar, across the whole term. One number.
- 3
3. What is my payment, and how often?
Daily, weekly, or monthly changes how the facility feels in practice far more than the rate does.
- 4
4. How long is the term?
Needed to convert cost into an annualized figure and compare offers of different lengths.
- 5
5. What is withheld from funding?
Origination or administrative amounts deducted at funding raise your effective cost, because you pay on money you never received.
- 6
6. What happens if I pay early?
Get the terms in writing. Fixed-cost obligations do not automatically shrink on early payoff, though defined early-payoff terms are common.
- 7
7. Are you funding this, or submitting it elsewhere?
A one-word answer that tells you who you are actually dealing with.
Express Capital Funding · Direct lender
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Published by Express Capital Funding, a direct lender to U.S. small and mid-sized businesses. This article is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice, and is not an offer or commitment to lend.
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