RESOURCES
Plain-language definitions
Short meanings for words that show up in financing. These are not this site’s prices, and they are not legal, tax, or financial advice.
APR
APR means annual percentage rate. It states the yearly cost of a loan, including interest and certain fees, as a percentage, so loans are easier to compare. It is not the same figure as a factor rate. This site does not publish APRs, because it does not offer loans.
Factor rate
A factor rate is a decimal multiplier used on some purchases of receivables, including many merchant cash advances. Multiply the amount you receive by the factor to see the total the provider expects to collect. A factor rate is not an interest rate and is not an APR. A number that looks small can still be a high cost when it is collected quickly.
Collateral
Collateral is property the provider can claim if you do not meet the agreement. Equipment and invoices are common business collateral. A home can secure a home equity line, and default can put that home into foreclosure. Collateral is product-specific. This site does not take a security interest in anything.
Personal guarantee
A personal guarantee is your promise to pay if the business does not. It can expose personal savings and property according to the guarantee’s terms. Ask whether it is required, whether it is limited to a dollar amount, and whether it ends when the business pays the balance.
Revolving credit
Revolving credit lets you borrow up to a limit, repay, and borrow again if the agreement still allows it. A business line of credit is often revolving. A term loan is not: you receive the amount once. Read whether a line actually replenishes and whether the provider can freeze draws.
Receivables
Receivables are money customers owe the business. Invoice financing borrows against specific invoices. Factoring sells them. A merchant cash advance purchases a broader slice of future receipts. Those are three different arrangements.
Reconciliation
In some receivables purchases, reconciliation is a contractual right to adjust the remittance if collections fall short of the assumption used at funding. It exists only if the contract says so, and it may require a request plus fresh statements. Do not assume an advance has this feature.
Why three months of business bank statements
These statements help assess business revenue and cash flow. Additional documents may be requested for the financing type you pursue.
Three months is the bar to finish a business application here. The homeowner page does not use that rule, because there is no homeowner application.
Guides
Fees, documents, credit inquiries, and total cost. Open the guide list.
Questions
What is the difference between a loan and a merchant cash advance?
A loan is a promise to repay a sum under a schedule, usually described with interest or an APR. A term loan and many lines of credit are loans.
A merchant cash advance is a purchase of future business receivables. The figures to compare are the amount you receive, the total purchased amount, how remittances are collected, and whether the contract adjusts if sales fall. A factor rate is not an APR. An advance does not automatically get smaller just because sales slow.
How is bank financing different from other business financing?
A bank applies its own credit policy. Established businesses with financial statements often find the conversation easier, and the review is often slower and asks for more paper. Other providers may look more heavily at recent deposits and may price that differently. Neither path is offered, ranked, or promised on this site.
Common Lending is not a bank. This website does not submit files to banks and does not show bank offers.
What do collateral and a personal guarantee mean?
Collateral is property a provider can claim if the agreement is not met. Equipment, invoices, or — in a home-equity product — a home can serve as collateral. Pledging a home can lead to foreclosure. This site does not ask anyone to pledge a home, and it does not suggest a home as the backup when business financing is unclear.
A personal guarantee is a promise that you, not only the business, are responsible. If the business cannot pay, the provider can seek payment from you under that guarantee. Ask whether a guarantee is required and whether it is limited.
Why does a completed application ask for three months of business bank statements?
These statements help assess business revenue and cash flow. Additional documents may be requested for the financing type you pursue.
Three months is the requirement to complete a business application on this website. You can upload one combined file or separate monthly files, and you label the months. Uploading a file does not by itself prove which months are inside it. A reviewer has to read the statements. This form does not ask homeowner applicants for those business statements, because homeowner applications are not open.
Does submitting the form check my credit?
Applying has no impact to your credit. This form does not check business or personal credit, and it does not start a hard or soft inquiry. An optional question asks what range you would describe yourself, and you can leave it blank. That answer is stored as something you typed. It is not a credit report.
A later review by a lender, if one ever happened, could include a credit inquiry. No lender review is connected to this site.
Who receives the information I submit?
A completed application is written to a data file on the server hosting this site, and the statement files are written to a folder next to it. Someone who signs in to the private admin inbox can open them. The software does not email you, text you, or forward the file to a bank, lender, marketplace, or marketing list.
Who else can reach that server depends on how it is hosted. That operating arrangement is not published here, because it has not been verified. This storage is a local prototype. It is not encrypted, not malware-scanned, and not a production-safe way to collect financial documents.
What happens after I submit?
Your information has been received for review. This is not an approval or financing commitment.
The practical next step on this site is only the save itself: the private inbox can show the submission. No response time, reviewer, or funding desk is named, because none of those have been verified. Unfinished answers are not saved. A submission without the three labeled months of statements is rejected and is not stored as a completed application.
Will I see loan offers or a pre-approval?
No. The form is a request to store information for review. It does not produce offers, pre-approvals, or a match to a lender. Product pages explain how financing types generally work. They do not mean Common Lending can arrange those products.
Can I apply for a HELOC or pledge my home here?
No. The home equity page is education only. “HLOC” in the project request was read as a home equity line of credit. If that reading is wrong, the page should be corrected. There is no homeowner application, and business applicants are not steered into using a home as collateral.
Do I need an account?
No. The educational pages and the review form do not ask you to create an account. The admin inbox is a separate, private sign-in for the site operator. It is not a customer login.
A home equity line is separate, and the home is the collateral. Read that page on its own.