Glenford Financial, a small-business funding broker in San Angelo, TX, works in four steps: the owner describes the funding need, Glenford matches it to a funding type and to lending partners that offer it, a partner underwrites and decides, and the owner compares any offer before accepting. Every credit decision, rate and term comes from a lending partner.
Who handles which part
| Task | You | Glenford Financial | Lending partner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explain the need and the business | Yes | Asks the questions | Reviews it |
| Choose the funding type | Decides | Explains the options | Offers its own products |
| Underwrite and approve or decline | No | No | Yes |
| Set rate, amount and terms | No | No | Yes |
| Accept or reject an offer | Yes | No | No |
In short, a broker prepares and places a request; a lender decides it and funds it. Glenford Financial is a broker, not a lender.
Step 1: Describe the need
Call (325) 241-0824, visit 15 W Beauregard Ave, or send the short form. We ask what the funding would pay for, roughly how much it costs, how the business brings money in, and what is already owed. No documents are needed at this point.
Step 2: Choose the funding type and the partners
We match the need to one of six funding types: working capital, a term loan, a line of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing or a merchant cash advance, which is not a loan. Then we identify lending partners that offer that type and tell you what they typically ask to see. You decide whether to go ahead.
Step 3: The partner underwrites
The partner underwrites the request. Expect requests for recent business bank statements and, depending on the type and size, tax returns, financial statements, an equipment quote or an accounts receivable list. Many partners also check business and personal credit. The partner alone decides whether to make an offer and on what terms; it can decline. Timing depends on the partner and on how quickly documents arrive, so nobody can promise a date in advance.
Step 4: Read the offer, then decide
If an offer arrives, read all of it before signing: the amount you receive after any deductions, every payment and how often it is debited, the total of all payments, collateral and personal guarantees, prepayment terms and what counts as a default. Accepting is your decision, and turning an offer down is always allowed.
Comparing offers: rates, factor rates and total cost
Loans are usually priced with an interest rate, and many lenders also state an annual percentage rate that folds in certain charges. Merchant cash advances use a factor rate, which is a multiplier, not a rate per year, so the two cannot be lined up directly. The comparison that always works is in dollars and dates: how much cash you receive, how much you pay in total, and how fast the payments come out. Two offers with the same total cost are not equal if one collects it in four months and the other over a year.
Red flags in any funding offer
- A promise of approval before anyone has reviewed your business
- Pressure to sign the same hour, or a refusal to let you take the contract away to read
- Blank spaces in the agreement, or terms that differ from what you were told
- A refusal to state the total amount you will pay, in writing
- Requests for online banking passwords rather than statements
If you see any of these, stop and ask questions. The broker disclosures describe what Glenford Financial does and does not do.
By Glenford Financial · Updated