When to look beyond vendor credit and cards
Net-30 vendors and 0% APR business cards cover most sellers through their early growth, but both have ceilings — vendor trade lines cap out at modest limits, and card issuers eventually stop extending 0% promos once you're carrying several of them. This hub covers what comes after that: financing products sized for sellers who need more capital than the stacking approach provides, or who need it faster than a trade line can build.
These products trade speed and limit size for cost or qualification requirements. A rough way to think about where each fits:
- Amazon Lending — fastest to access if you qualify (Amazon extends offers based on your own sales data), but availability isn't something you can apply for on demand.
- Business lines of credit — draw only what you need and pay interest only on that balance, but qualification usually wants an established revenue history.
- Inventory and PO financing — sized to a specific purchase order, useful for a single large restock, generally more expensive per dollar than a line of credit.
- SBA loans — the lowest cost of the group for sellers who qualify, but the slowest to fund — plan for weeks, not days.
- Revenue-based funding / MCAs — fastest approval with the least paperwork, and correspondingly the most expensive — worth understanding the true cost before using one.
Qualification, rates, and terms on all of these change often and vary by lender — the individual guides below go deeper on each, but always confirm current terms directly with the provider before applying.