Choose from two types of financing to get the funding your business needs.
Waiting on your clients to pay your invoices can be frustrating. You need to pay for overhead costs, employee salaries and much more each month — not considering emergency expenses that can pop up.
But you don’t need to be caught in a holding pattern. Invoice factoring and lines of credit could help your small business cash flow in times of waiting or when you need to make a big purchase.
With credit lines of up to $2.5 million, BlueVine may have a product that’s right for you.
BlueVine highlights
What makes BlueVine unique?
BlueVine offers two options for small business financing: Invoice factoring and lines of credit. Alongside those options is the ability to talk with a financing advisor, an application that’s completely online and daily-updated online customer dashboard.
If you need quick funding, BlueVine can process your loan in as little as 24 hours.
What types of business financing does BlueVine offer?
Line of credit
As a revolving line of credit, this product allows you to draw funds at any time. Draws can be made online on a computer or on an Internet-ready mobile device. The minimum credit limit amount is $5,000, with it topping out at $100,000.
Receiving your funds via ACH transfer to your business bank account is free. BlueVine process most requests for funds within one business day. You have the option to select a wire transfer to get your funds even faster, but this comes with a $15 fee.
The line of credit is not an option everywhere, though. If you live in Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee or Vermont, you may only be able to qualify for the second type of financing: invoice factoring.
Product details
| Interest rate | Min amount | Max amount | Funding time | Wire transfer fee | State availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From 4.8% | $5,000 | $100,000 | As soon as one business day | $15 | All states except KY, NV, NH, ND, SD, TN and VT |
Invoice factoring
Invoice factoring is the process of selling your invoice to a third-party for a large percentage of the invoiced amount. The third-party buyer will then collect the amount due from your customer. This is different from invoice financing, which gives you an advance on your invoices until your customer pays you.
Compare invoice financing vs. invoice factoring
BlueVine’s invoice factoring product is a mix of both these processes. You maintain the relationship with your customer while BlueVine advances you the invoiced amount. Unlike traditional invoice factoring, you can choose which ones you want financed and there are no monthly requirements for how many invoices you must finance. Upon approval, you’ll get a credit line that determines the maximum amount you can have advanced at one time.
Any invoices you submit need to be more than $500 and have a payment due date of 1 to 13 weeks away. The fee is charged per week your business’s clients take to pay their invoices. Customers must have already accepted your product or service, be based in the US or an English-speaking province of Canada and be a consumer rather than a business.
Product details
| Amount of invoice advanced | Min credit line | Max credit line | Funding time | Factor fee | State availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85% – 90% | $5,000 | $5,000,000 | As soon as one business day | 0.2% to 1.3% per week | All 50 states serviced |
Compare BlueVine to other top online business lenders
What are the benefits of BlueVine business financing?
- Retain customer relationship. As long as you keep your account in good standing, you’re the only one who contacts your customers about payment. The bank account that the invoice payments go to and the PO box will still be in your business’s name. You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice the relationships you’ve worked hard to build just to get your cash flow moving.
- Quick funding. Either option can have an approval turnaround of as little as 24 hours. Wire transfers are available, and ACH funding normally transfers in one to three business days.
- Transparent fee structure. There are no ACH, application, credit check, check processing, monthly service or termination fees for invoice factoring. BlueVine claims the only fee you’ll pay is $15, and only if you request payment via wire transfer instead of ACH.
- No obligation. You won’t need to have a minimum volume or reserve account to use invoice factoring. There are also no long-term contracts or penalties for closing your account.
What to watch out for
- Collateral required. Both financing options provided by BlueVine are secured. That being said, personal assets are not acceptable as collateral. You’ll need to allow a general lien on your business assets, backed with a personal guarantee. If you want business financing without providing collateral, you can compare unsecured business loans.
- Potential to overspend. Lines of credit can get pricey, and BlueVine is no exception. Offering a revolving line of credit and no minimum volume for invoice factoring can enable you to spend more than you might otherwise. Probably the biggest and most ubiquitous problem is the temptation that comes with easy financing. Purchases that might be better saved up for, or those that may not be strictly necessary can pile up. When this happens it can be easy to get locked into a pattern of spending, paying off and spending more, leading to paying interest on funds that you may not have needed.
- Weekly repayments. When cash flow isn’t the most frequent, or when emergencies pop up repaying your loan every week can be a struggle. The line of credit repayments come with weekly repayments that may not be manageable for all businesses. If you don’t have a consistent cash flow, you may want to consider other options.
- No partial orders. For an invoice to be accepted, it needs to be for a product or service that is complete or has been accepted in-full by your customer. For long projects that are broken up into installments, this can be a real issue.
- Not available everywhere. Currently lines of credit are not offered in Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee or Vermont. Invoice factoring is available in these states, but may not be a viable solution for your financing needs.
What does the Internet say about BlueVine?
Online reviews of BlueVine are mostly positive. It gets an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), based on factors like business transparency and how it handles customer complaints. It also gets 3.68 out of 5 stars based on four customer reviews. BlueVine does similarly well on Trustpilot, scoring a 9.3 out of 10 based on 600 customer reviews.
Customers writing on both the BBB and Trustpilot BlueVine pages are generally happy about the convenience and speed of the service — the words “fast,” “professional” and “efficient” come up often. A sprinkling of negative comments come from customers who are unhappy about BlueVine’s rates and fees, feel they were unjustly denied or had some trouble adjusting their credit limit.
BlueVine typically responds to negative reviews, offering to further discuss the reviewer’s complaint and come to a resolution.
Am I eligible?
Line of credit requirements
- You must be in business for at least six months.
- Revenue must be at least $10,000 per month.
- You must have a credit score of 600 or more.
- Not available for businesses in Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee or Vermont.
Invoice factoring requirements
- Your small business must not be part of healthcare or medical industries.
- You must be in business for at least three months.
- Revenue must be at least $10,000 per month.
- You must have a personal credit score of 530 or higher.
How do I apply?
In order to apply, you’ll want to be prepared with your basic personal and business information including contact details, monthly revenue and business age. Once you’ve gathered everything, go to the BlueVine website and follow these steps:
- Create an account by filling out your contact information, the amount you want to request and the type of financing. You can also create an account by connecting your bookkeeping software.
- Fill out the required fields, this should only take about five minutes.
- Submit your application.
- Wait for a decision, usually within 24 hours.
I got financed through BlueVine. Now what?
Great job getting on the way to furthering the growth of your business. Now that you have your funding, you’ll want to stay on top of repayments.
For lines of credit, you should be sure weekly payments are set and ready to go. They’ll be automatically deducted from your account, and will remain a fixed amount. You’ll also be able to draw from your funds anytime, including funds you’ve paid back.
Your customers will send payments to a BlueVine account under your name. There’s no need to worry about BlueVine contacting your customers either, unless your account falls out of good standing.
Bottom line
There are many benefits that come with BlueVine’s financing options. But, it’s important to carefully review all of your options. You can also compare other business lenders to get a broader scope of your potential options.