What credit score do you need for business funding?
There is no single number. The threshold depends on the product, and for a lot of small-business financing your bank statements matter more than your score does.
The short version, by product: bank and SBA loans generally start around 650 to 680. Online term loans and lines of credit usually start near 600. Revenue-based products, including merchant cash advances and some working capital, often work at 550 and occasionally below, because they underwrite mainly on your deposits rather than your credit file.
Why the ranges differ so much
Different products are secured by different things. A bank lending over several years at a low rate has almost no margin for loss, so it screens hard on credit history. A revenue-based funder collecting daily from your deposits over six months is exposed for a much shorter window and prices for risk, so it can look past a mediocre score if the deposits are steady.
That is the part most owners get backwards. Below the bank tier, revenue consistency usually outweighs the score. A business with a 560 and reliable weekly deposits frequently has real options. A business with a 700 and revenue that arrives in unpredictable lumps often does not, or gets offered far less than the owner expected.
What else moves the decision
Time in business is the second gate; most non-bank lenders want at least six months, and many want twelve. Monthly revenue sets the size of what is available more than anything else. Your bank statements decide the terms, which is covered in what lenders actually look at. Existing debt matters too, especially open advances, which is covered in getting funded when you already have an MCA. Industry plays a role at the margins, mostly through how a given lender reads seasonality.
If you are below the threshold
The instinct is to apply anyway and hope. That mostly generates declines and hard inquiries, and the inquiries make the next application harder, as covered in does applying hurt your credit.
The more productive move is usually to fix the score first. Disputing genuine inaccuracies, resolving collections, and bringing revolving utilization down can move a score materially over a few months, and the difference between 540 and 600 is not a slightly better offer, it is a different category of product at a different cost. If your credit is the binding constraint rather than your revenue, that sequence is worth the wait. It is also why our own routing sends applicants below the funding threshold to a credit-repair partner rather than pushing them into expensive money they will struggle to service.
A note on what "prequalified" means
Any responsible answer to "do I qualify" involves a soft pull and no impact to your score. If a site tells you a specific rate before anyone has looked at a statement, that number is marketing rather than an offer. Real terms come after an underwriter sees your deposits.
Common questions
What credit score do you need for a business loan?
It depends entirely on the product. Bank term loans and SBA loans generally want 650 to 680 and up. Online term loans and lines of credit typically start around 600. Revenue-based products including merchant cash advances often go to 550 and sometimes below, because they underwrite primarily on deposits rather than credit.
Can you get business funding with bad credit?
Often yes, if your revenue is consistent. Revenue-based products weigh your bank statements more heavily than your score, so a business with steady deposits and a 560 score frequently has options while a business with a 700 score and erratic revenue does not. The tradeoff is cost: lower scores mean more expensive money.
Do lenders check personal or business credit?
For small businesses, usually personal. Most small-business lenders require a personal guarantee from the owner and underwrite the owner's personal credit, because the business itself often has little or no independent credit history. Established businesses with real commercial credit files may be evaluated on both.
What if my credit is below 550?
Applying repeatedly at that level mostly produces declines and inquiries. The more productive path is usually credit repair first: disputing inaccuracies, resolving collections, and lowering utilization can move a score meaningfully over several months, after which the same business qualifies for materially better terms.
This page is general education, not financial or legal advice. Every lender sets its own criteria and the ranges above are typical rather than universal.
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