Everest Business Funding Reviews - Financial Lender Pros & Cons

Loan types

Merchant cash advances (MCAs)

Loan amounts

$500,000 maximum; $5,000 minimum

Loan buy rates

1.30 to 1.50

Origination fees

From $300 to $2,900, depending on loan amount

Loan term

4 months to 8 months

Loan availability

All 50 states

Funding time

Apply in minutes, funding within 24 hours

Customer services

Contact by phone or email, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Eastern time

Pros

• Will accept as little as three months in business - most small business lenders require a minimum of two years in business
• Loan amounts to $500,000, compared with the industry average of about $150,000
• No collateral is required, other than future cash flow on merchant cash advances
• The low minimum FICO score requirement of 500 can accommodate owners with fair or even poor credit
• Everest Business Funding approvals typically come with fewer stipulations than competitor advances
• Fast turnaround times - apply in minutes, and funding possible within 24 hours
• Advances made to used car dealerships, which is a rarity even in the small business lending space
• There's virtually no restriction on the use of loan proceeds

Cons

• No interest forgiveness on renewals
• Minimum loan buy rate of 1.30 is higher than industry standards
• The minimum monthly deposit level of $10,000 will exclude smaller businesses
• Maximum loan term of 8 months is shorter than the more typical 18 to 24 months available with most small business lenders
• The confession of judgment requirements on larger loans. This makes it possible for the lender to secure a quick judgment against the merchant in the event of a default. However, this is a typical requirement of lenders who make loans in other than the first lien position

About Everest Business Funding

Everest Business Funding was launched in 2013, and is headquartered in Doral, Florida. There's no information available about how large the company is, how many customers they serve, or the total amount of loans they've provided. LinkedIn reports that the company has 63 employees. The company is dedicated to providing merchant cash advances to small-business merchants.

The company will advance up to $500,000, which is considerably more than most other small business lenders will. They will also provide advances in situations where they are not the first lien holder. In fact, they will go as low as the third position in a stack.

Perhaps the greatest niche of Everest Business Funding is that they are more welcoming for merchants owned by people with poor credit. In many cases, credit isn't even a factor. The company makes advances based primarily on the daily cash flow of the business, and not so much on the credit profile of the business principals.

Merchants can apply online, and will be required to supply very little documentation. The application process can be completed in just a few minutes, and funding can occur in as little as 24 hours. Advance funds can be used for just about any purpose.

Everest Business Funding Drill Down

Company Reputation

Everest Business Funding has the following ratings from third-party business rating services:

• Better Business Bureau: A- (on a scale of A+ to F), and has been accredited by BBB since May 19, 2014. BBB shows two negative reviews, and nine complaints.
• TrustPilot: 4 stars out of 5 (Great), and a score of 7.8 out of 10, on 17 reviews
• Yelp: Everest Business Funding is listed on the site, but has no ratings
• Glassdoor (employee reviews): 2 stars out of 5, based on 2 reviews
• Consumer Advocate.org: Not rated
• Customer comments & complaints: RipoffReport has one complaint filed against Everest Business Funding, with a rebuttal from the company

Licenses and Accreditations

Everest Business Funding is based in Florida, but the company is not registered with the Florida Secretary of State.

Everest Business Funding Merchant Cash Advances

Merchant cash advances are based on the cash flow of the business. Unlike term loans, they don't have specific fixed monthly payments, or definite terms. They are instead an advance against future business revenue.

For example, a merchant cash advance lender like Everest Business Funding will approve a loan amount based on the cash flow of your business. This will be based on a certain multiple of your monthly revenues. Those revenues will be based on sales from credit or debit cards, or other revenue forms.

Repayment will also be based on monthly revenues. A lender might assign a certain percentage of revenues to be collected for the payment of the advance. If that's determined to be 10%, and your monthly gross revenues are $10,000, then $1,000 will be withdrawn from your business bank account each month in payment of the advance.

The lender doesn't withdraw a flat $1,000. Instead, the percentage is applied to the merchant's daily sales. If those sales were an average of $333 per day, the lender would withdraw $33.30 of that amount in payment of the advance each day.

The use of a daily percentage is a big advantage for the merchant. There's no need to be concerned about meeting a fixed payment. Since the payment is based on a percentage of sales, it will adjust based on those levels. On days when revenues are higher, the payment amount will be higher. But on days when they are lower, the payment will be correspondingly lower.

For example, if daily receipts are $400, and the repayment percentage is 10%, the loan payment will be $40 for that day. But if the revenues fall to $200 the next day, the payment will be just $20. This helps to more easily match repayment with actual revenues.

Everest Business Funding Borrower Requirements

To qualify for a merchant cash advance through Everest Business Funding you must meet the following requirements:

• Be in business for at least three months
• Provide at least three month's bank statements
• Have a minimum personal credit score of 500
• Have a minimum of $10,000 in deposits per month
• Average daily balances must be at least $1,000, with a minimum of four deposits per month
• Maximum five negative ending days within the last three month's bank statements

No application fee is required, and Everest Business Funding does not charge a document fee. Origination fees are determined on a sliding scale based on the loan amount.

Everest Business Funding Application Process

The loan application is a simple one-page questionnaire, that asks for the following information:

• How much money does your business need?
• How soon do you need it?
• Average monthly revenue
• First name
• Last name
• Email
• Phone number
• Business name

Once that information has been completed, you click the "Get Funded" button, and the application process has begun.

You can even get access to a funding specialist, by calling (305) 224-1281. Funding specialists are available each business day, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern time.

Everest Business Funding Underwriting Considerations

Like other lenders who offer merchant cash advances, Everest Business Funding uses revenue-based models in making loan decisions. For this reason, a merchant's cash flow is more critical to the loan decision than the owners' credit profile. It's not that credit is completely ignored, but rather that it's less of a factor than is the case with traditional lenders.

Here are examples of how Everest Business Funding underwrites advances, and how they differ from traditional lenders, and even many small business lenders.

Credit

Everest Business Funding is more relaxed on credit underwriting than most other small business lenders. Not only will they accept credit scores as low as 500, but in our experience, they typically don't require a confession of judgment for loan amounts below $50,000.

A confession of judgment is a written agreement that a lender has you sign in which you accept liability and the amount of damages agreed upon in the loan. It enables the lender to circumvent normal court proceedings, and eliminate a long legal process to obtain a judgment. It forfeits any rights the borrower may have to dispute the claim in the future.

Most small business lenders require this confession on advances where the lender won't be the first lien holder.. Everest Business Funding doesn't if the advance is for less than $50,000. That also helps to expedite the loan process, since a confession of judgment can add a day or more to the process.

Reduced documentation requirements

Everest Business Funding typically doesn't ask for documentation required by other lenders, and certainly not nearly as much as commercial banks. For example, they don't usually ask for financial statements, income tax returns or accounts receivable reports. Nor do they ask for IRS 8821, in which the merchant signs authorization for the lender to obtain tax transcripts from the IRS.

Many merchants are uncomfortable in supplying traditional income documents. Income tax returns in particular, don't always accurately portray the financial condition of the business.

In many cases, Everest Business Funding won't even ask for proof of ownership if they're comfortable with the file.

Loan term flexibility

Our experience with Everest Business Funding is that they often provide loans on more liberal terms than their small business lender competitors. For example, they will often approve an advance for a higher amount than other lenders, such as approving a $40,000 advance, when another competitor will only approve $15,000.

They will often be more flexible on terms as well. For example, where a competing lender may do only a three or four month term, Everest Business Funding will do six or seven months for merchant's with the same credit profile.

In addition, they usually require fewer loan stipulations than other lenders. This makes the application process faster, and easier for merchants since they're not required to provide so much additional documentation.

Everest Business Funding Merchant Cash Advances Details

Loan purpose. Loans must be business related, but they can be used for just about any purpose.

Typical Everest Business Funding loan proceeds may be used for any of the following purposes:

• Debt refinancing
• Business expansion
• Open new locations
• Hire new staff
• Buy new equipment
• Marketing
• Make payroll
• Pay taxes
• Working capital
• Other purposes

Industries funded. Most industries are eligible for financing, but Everest Business Funding specifically targets restaurants, manufacturing companies, medical practices and retail operations. They will even make loans to used car dealerships, which few small business lenders will.

Cautionary Industries. There are very few industries Everest Business Funding won't provide funding for.

Buy rates. 1.30 to 1.50 - If you borrow $100,000, and the buy rate is 1.40, you'll be required to repay $140,000 ($100,000 X 1.40). That does not include the origination fee.

Origination and document fees. There is no document fee. Origination fees are based on loan size, and range between $900 and $2900.

Loan term. Four to eight months on merchant cash advances, and are repaid by a percentage of daily business deposits.

Collateral required. No collateral is required, but merchant cash advances require the sale of future revenue to satisfy the loan. Loans in excess of $50,000 require a confession of judgment, as described under Underwriting Considerations above.

Repayment frequency. On merchant cash advances, repayment is determined by a fixed percentage of daily deposits collected until the advance is fully repaid. Repayment is done by use of automated ACH deductions from the business checking account.

Everest Business Funding also offers an option to make fixed daily ACH if you prefer a regular payment amount.

Stacking. Everest Business Funding can be in the first, second or third lien position. They do not require being in the first position only.

Loan Renewal Policy. Everest Business Funding will consider a renewal as soon as at least 50% of the original loan balance has been paid.

Interest forgiveness. Not available.

Exceptions. Everest Business Funding will consider the following exception: it will sometimes approve an exception for either a larger loan amount or a longer-term than what was originally approved in order to make the loan happen.

Who Everest Business Funding Short-Term Loans and Merchant Cash Advances Work Best For

We've identified five types of merchants for whom Everest Business Funding can be a preferred loan source:

1. New businesses. The more flexible small business lenders will typically require a minimum of one year in business. The standard requirement is two years. Commercial banks will generally expect even longer. But Everest Business Funding will lend to a business that has been in existence for as little as three months. That's virtually a new business.
2. Businesses where the owners have fair or poor credit. Credit isn't a critical factor with Everest Business Funding. They lend on FICO scores as low as 500, which will accommodate most individual credit profiles. Their underwriting methodology is based primarily on the cash flow of the business, and not on the credit scores of the business owners.
3. Merchants who need larger loan amounts. Most small business lenders will go no higher than $150,000 or $200,000. Everest Business Funding can advance as much as $500,000, giving merchants many more options to manage and grow their businesses.
4. Merchants with nonstandard loan proceeds requirements. Everest Business Funding has no published limits as to use of loan proceeds, as long as they are used for business purposes. Many small business lenders and most commercial banks restrict the purpose of loan funds. Everest Business Funding will even permit the use of funds for payroll and payment of taxes.
5. Businesses engaged in industries precluded by other lenders. Most small business lenders exclude certain types of industries. Everest Business Funding has no such list. They'll even make advances for used car dealerships, which are one of the toughest business types to get financing for.