Ivybend Advances, a small-business funding broker in Missoula, MT, works in four steps: a call about the purpose, matching it to a funding shape, a lending partner's underwriting, and your own comparison of any offer. Partners make every credit decision and set rates and terms; the owner decides whether to accept.
Step 1: a call about the purpose
The starting point is always the bill the money must pay. On the first call we ask about the purpose, the rough size of the need, how and when the business expects to repay it, and anything already owed. If you used the online form, this is the call that follows it, because the form itself only takes contact details, a business name and three broad ranges.
Some calls end here. If the need is personal rather than business, or falls in agriculture or trucking, we say so and point you elsewhere.
Step 2: choosing a funding shape
The purpose suggests the shape. Payroll waiting on receivables points toward working capital; a fit-out toward a term loan; uneven monthly bills toward a line of credit; stock bought ahead toward inventory financing; a machine toward equipment financing. A merchant cash advance comes up mostly when an owner already holds an offer.
We then list what partners writing that shape usually ask for, so you can gather documents once instead of three times.
Step 3: a partner underwrites
What is the loan underwriting process, seen from the partner's side? It is the partner's own review of the business: bank statements, revenue, existing debt, time in business, credit history and the repayment source. The partner decides whether to offer, how much, at what price and on what terms. Ivybend Advances has no vote in that decision and cannot speed it up.
Step 4: you weigh any offer
Not every offer is priced the same way. A loan quotes an interest rate or APR; an advance quotes a factor rate. To compare them, bring each one down to the same few numbers:
- Total repayment or total remittance, including fees taken from the funds.
- Payment rhythm: daily, weekly or monthly, and whether it is fixed.
- Term or expected collection period.
- Collateral, liens and guarantees attached.
- Early payoff: whether paying sooner saves anything.
Saying no to an offer is always your right.
Warning signs in a funding pitch
- Promises of approval made before any partner has read the file.
- Pressure to sign the same day, or before you have read the whole agreement.
- A request to send money to anyone before an offer exists.
- Totals, fees or remittance amounts that are left blank or explained only verbally.
Questions about any of these are answered on the owner questions page, and the formal terms of our role are in the broker disclosures. Owners who want free, independent advice before applying can start with Western Montana small business resources, and the first-hire post shows the process applied to a common Missoula County request.
By Ivybend Advances · Updated