Begin the application

Business funding

Business funding from $5,000 to $1 million for growing businesses

Newer business? Pick an amount to see your options. One short application, 80+ lenders, and no application fee.

  • No application fee
  • No obligation
  • Same-day funding
  • No collateral required

The application is the way in, and it takes about two minutes.

The trail

How far along are you? Here is what usually opens up.

The application asks how long you have been trading, in five steps. Find yours: what lenders tend to look at by then, and the programmes that usually come within reach.

  1. Under 1 Year

    A florist at her laptop behind a counter of fresh flowers, early in the business.

    Open, and trading

    Without a year of statements to show, lenders weigh what the business is taking in right now. Steady card and bank deposits count for more than a history you have not had time to build.

    Usually within reach

    Before you apply. Keep every sale going through one business account from the first day. That account becomes your track record.

  2. 1-2 years

    An owner packing her own orders among the boxes, phone at her ear.

    Past the first anniversary

    A full year of trading opens most of the short-term options. Equipment lenders commonly ask for twelve months, and the machine itself helps secure what you borrow.

    Usually within reach

    Before you apply. Have the last few months of bank statements to hand. They answer most of the questions you will be asked.

  3. 3-5 years

    A garden centre owner standing among her raised beds.

    A pattern lenders can read

    By now your numbers show your seasons and your direction, so a lender can plan around both. This is usually where a standing line of credit becomes realistic.

    Usually within reach

    Before you apply. Know which months run slow. A line sized to them costs less than borrowing in a hurry.

  4. 6-9 years

    A baker in her apron in front of a full pastry counter.

    A record worth pricing

    Several years of steady revenue is what larger sums and fixed schedules are priced on. The question shifts from whether you can borrow to how cheaply.

    Usually within reach

    Before you apply. Ask every offer for the total you will repay, not only the rate.

  5. 10+ years

    Two partners standing in their brewery among the steel tanks.

    A decade on the map

    With ten years behind you, all six programmes are usually on the table. The useful question is which shape suits the job in front of you.

    Usually within reach

    Before you apply. Let more than one offer come back before you choose. A long record gives you room to compare.

These are patterns, not rules. Every lender sets its own requirements, and time in business is weighed alongside revenue, credit and what the money is for.

How it works

The route from application to funding

Three stages, and someone who has done this before at each one.

Stage 1

Tell us where you are

How much you need, how to reach you, and a few questions about the business, including how long it has been trading. Nothing to upload and nothing to pay.

  • No cost to apply
  • No documents to start
  • Answer at your own pace
A woodworker at his laptop in the workshop, filling in the details.

Stage 2

A specialist finds your route

Your application goes to our funding partner, where a specialist matches your stage and your numbers to the lenders that fund businesses like yours.

  • Matched to your stage of business
  • Many lenders from one application
  • Offers gathered for you
An owner in her apron checking a tablet in her shop.

Stage 3

Choose, and get going

You see each offer's full cost and repayment schedule before you decide. Accept one and, once it is approved, funds can arrive in as little as a day.

  • Total cost shown up front
  • You decide, or walk away
  • Funding in as little as 24 hours once approved
An owner holding open the door of his café.

The six

Six programmes for the road ahead

Each fits a different job, and some open up sooner than others. The trail above says which are usually realistic for a business your age.

Field notes

Four habits that make the next application easier

None of these costs anything, and each one shortens the distance to the next marker.

Separate the money
Run the business through a business account, and only the business. Mixed accounts are hard for anyone to read.
Borrow for a job
An amount tied to something specific, like an order, a machine or a season, is easier to approve and easier to repay.
Keep the paperwork current
Recent statements, a voided check and photo ID cover most of what a lender asks for after the application.
Say what is unusual
A slow quarter with a reason is a conversation. A slow quarter with no explanation is a question mark.

The network's figures

The lenders behind one application

80+lenders in the network
25,000businesses funded
24 hrsto funding once approved

These totals belong to the lending network Pioneer Business Finance works through. They are not figures for this brand alone.

Ready when you are

Ready to grow your business?

Newer or established, one short application shows what your business can raise. No application fee.

Start my application

An owner working at his desk with his dog resting its head beside the keyboard.

The application

Begin your application

About two minutes: how much, how to reach you, and how long you have been trading. Free to send, and nothing is agreed until you accept an offer.

The application is the way in, and it takes about two minutes.