Cobbleview Loans, a small-business funding broker in Frederick, Maryland, compares six funding types here: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances. Each differs in how it is repaid, what it usually secures and what partners review. Each of the six is underwritten and decided by a lending partner.
Cobbleview's six funding types in one table
| Type | How it goes back | Typical uses | What partners read first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital | Set installments over months | Wages, supplier invoices, rent while waiting on receivables | Bank statements and deposits |
| Term loan | Amortized installments over years | Fit-outs, expansion, buying a business | Financial statements, tax returns, cash flow |
| Line of credit | Interest on drawn sums; repaying restores the limit | Repeating gaps, materials, slow-paying clients | Deposit history and revenue consistency |
| Inventory financing | Reduced as goods leave the shelf | Stock bought ahead of sale | Inventory records, sell-through, supplier terms |
| Equipment financing | Installments or lease payments across the asset's useful life | Excavators, vans, ovens, dental chairs | The quote, the asset, time in business |
| Merchant cash advance | Collected as a share of receipts; not a loan | Brief needs at card-led shops and kitchens | Card and bank receipts |
Weeks of need or years of use
Funding should last about as long as whatever it pays for. A gap that closes when a client pays in six weeks belongs in short-term money; a kitchen that will serve customers for a decade can carry a longer schedule. Stretching short needs into long debt raises the total paid, and squeezing a long-lived purchase into a short term strains every month's cash.
Secured or unsecured
Secured funding is backed by collateral that a partner can claim if the debt goes unpaid: the equipment being bought, inventory, receivables or a blanket lien over business assets recorded with a UCC filing. Unsecured funding has no specific collateral, so partners lean harder on revenue, credit history and often a personal guarantee from the owner. Ask any partner which assets an offer would place a lien on before you accept it.
A business loan is not the same as a business credit card either. Cards revolve and suit small, frequent purchases; a term loan or line of credit usually carries a defined schedule and is underwritten on the business's own records.
Where the SBA fits
SBA lending is outside Cobbleview's work: it neither lends nor arranges SBA loans. Owners who want an SBA-backed loan apply through a participating lender; the Maryland loan checklist covers the records almost every lender asks for, whichever route you take.
Costs Frederick County, MD owners fund
- Wages and payroll taxes while an invoice is outstanding.
- Materials and subcontractor costs at the start of a job.
- Equipment, vehicles and technology.
- Stock for a store or a distributor.
- A lease deposit, fit-out or second site.
- Refinancing costlier short-term debt, where a partner allows it.
Partners lend for business purposes only. Using business funding for personal spending is outside what any of the six structures is for.
Questions worth asking any partner
- What is the total I will pay back, including every fee?
- On what schedule are payments pulled, and from which account?
- Which assets does the offer place a lien on?
- Is a personal guarantee required, and from whom?
- What happens if I pay early, or pay late?
The answers make offers comparable even when they use different terms. How a request moves explains how we help with that comparison.
By Cobbleview Loans · Updated
