Forward Financing: Fast & Easy Merchant Cash Advances Aren’t Cheap

Is Forward Financing legit?

Yes, Forward Financing is a legitimate business offering loans. Founded in 2012 and based in Boston, Massachusetts, it provides revenue-based financing to small businesses in the US, Canada and the Dominican Republic. To date, it’s provided more than $4 billion in funding to almost 80,000 businesses.

What makes Forward Financing shine?

Forward Financing has relatively lenient requirements to apply, meaning startups or businesses with poor credit could be able to qualify for financing up to $5 million — if they have the revenue to pay it back. It also offers some flexibility with repayments, allowing customers to request smaller payments during slow periods.

Forward Financing also reports customer performance to Experian Business Credit, which helps you build credit. By contrast, most firms that offer business cash advances or other types of revenue-based financing don’t do any credit reporting. So, as long as you’re making timely payments, it can help your business qualify for less expensive financing in the future.

Where Forward Financing falls short

The main drawback to Forward Financing’s revenue-based financing is that it’s one of the most expensive forms of business funding. And, while Forward doesn’t specify the exact cost, some customer reviews estimate the cost to be equivalent to about a 50% APR. It also charges an upfront processing fee, which isn’t specified either.

And terms for Forward Financing funding are short, running from 3 to 18 months, which means repayments may be high depending on how much you’ve borrowed. Plus, payments are due either daily or weekly and could be difficult to budget for.

Forward Financing business loan details

Forward Financing contact info

How to qualify for Forward Financing

Here’s what you need to qualify for Forward Financing’s MCA:

• At least $10,000 in monthly revenue
• One year in business
• 500+ credit score

The company says it occasionally approves companies that don’t meet all the criteria, so you may want to call or apply online if your qualifications are close.

How to apply

Applying for financing is simple.

1. Fill out the quick online application.
2. Receive a phone call from a Forward Financing team member, who walks you through the process.
3. Submit minimal documentation.
4. Get a decision within hours, and funding is possible the same day you apply.

The company says it conducts a soft credit check as part of the application process, which won’t impact your personal credit score. But it also does a hard inquiry of your business credit, which may affect your business credit score.

How Forward Financing compares to other lenders

6 of 6 results

Updated regularly

Finder Score	Min. Amount	Max. Amount	APR	Requirements
Promoted Finder score 9.9 Excellent Pinnacle Funding	Finder score 9.9 Excellent	$5,000	$3,000,000	Varies by loan type	6+ months in business, 525+ credit score, $180,000 in annual revenue	Apply in minutes with funding as fast as 24 hours and zero impact to your credit score.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 9.5 Excellent Lendzi	Finder score 9.5 Excellent	$5,000	$20,000,000	Varies by lender	Minimum credit score of 580, minimum annual revenue of $120,000, preferably one to two years in business	Compare lending options and get funded fast.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Promoted Finder score 9.5 Excellent Fundera business loans	Finder score 9.5 Excellent	$2,500	$5,000,000	Varies by lender	$60,000+ of annual revenue, 550+ personal credit score, in business for 6+ months	Get connected with short-term funding, SBA loans, lines of credit and more.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.6 Excellent Lendio business loans	Finder score 9.6 Excellent	$1,000	$5,000,000	Varies by lender	Operate business in US for 6 months or more, have a business bank account, minimum 580 personal credit score, at least $8,000 in monthly revenue.	Submit one simple application to potentially get offers from a network of over 75 legit business lenders.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 8.9 Great Best Money	Finder score 8.9 Great	$5,000	$5,000,000	Varies by lender	Depends on the lender	Apply in minutes. Get funded fast.	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading
Finder score 9.6 Excellent Advance Funds Network	Finder score 9.6 Excellent	$10,000	$5,000,000	Varies by lender	6 months in business, at least $10,000 in monthly revenue	A range of funding options for your business	Go to siteMore info Compare product selection Compare	loading

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How we picked these

What is the Finder Score?

The Finder Score crunches 12+ types of business loans across 35+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.

To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best business loans for startups loans, you can see how each business loan stacks up against other business loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type.

Read the full breakdown

Forward Financing reviews and complaints

Many customers on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot applaud the simple application process and fast funding. And some point out it’s a good option for businesses that haven’t established much credit yet and don’t qualify for more traditional funding.

Others complain of high rates, which some equate to APRs around 50%. There were also a number of billing complaints and reports of expensive daily or weekly repayments, which weren’t as flexible as customers were led to believe. A few people also complained that they couldn’t get a discount on fees for repaying the full amount early.