Welcome to this course on the basics of business loans! Business loans provide funds to grow your business, increase profits, and avoid cash crunches. Loans are a cash management tool that some use wisely and some misuse. They can help your growth explode or just blow up your business. I want to show you how to get the right loan for you, how to use it, and what to watch out for. We start by explaining where businesses can get loans.

This course focuses on loans from banks and credit unions, but we explain other sources. Next, we define words used in the lending process so we all know what I mean as I talk about loan types and structures. We go through different types of business loans and the appropriate uses of those types. We’ll talk about loan underwriting, which is the process and criteria lenders use to decide whether to grant a loan.

Sometimes a borrower is too risky for standard bank loans, so they are more likely to be funded via government programs like SBA loans. We’ll talk briefly about those programs. We’ll explain the loan documents and point out important clauses in these documents. It’s critical to understand these documents to know your rights and responsibilities. Finally, We explain financial statement presentation and disclosures. This course focuses on the financial management aspects of loans, but we do explain the basics of financial accounting and reporting for loans. I’m not a tax expert, so I don’t get into the tax treatment for loans.

Note: This course is also available in Video Based format. https://www.illumeo.com/courses/business-loan-basics