Aspenwater Credit, a small-business funding broker in Dover, Delaware, handles a request in four steps: a call about what the money must pay for, a matching funding structure, review by lending partners that offer it, and the owner's own decision on any offer. Partners make every credit decision and set rates and terms; the broker never does.
What does a loan broker do?
A broker sits between a business and the lenders or funders that might serve it. It does not lend. Its job is to understand the need, match it to the right type of funding, prepare the request and route it to partners that offer that type. Aspenwater Credit is a broker, not a lender.
A lender is the party whose money is at stake. It sets its own criteria, reviews the business, approves or declines, and writes the contract. When you deal directly with one lender, you see one set of criteria and one kind of product. A broker's value is in helping you choose the structure before anyone reviews the file.
Step 1: a call about the purpose
Phone (302) 307-0447, or send the short form with your name, contact details and business name, and we will call you. The first question is always what the money has to do and how the business expects to pay it back or remit it. The form only asks for rough ranges for the amount, revenue and time in business; we go into the detail on the call.
Step 2: matching the structure
The purpose decides the type. A payroll gap points to working capital, a fit-out to a term loan, recurring uneven costs to a line of credit, stock to inventory financing, a machine to equipment financing. A merchant cash advance is not a loan and is weighed only after the loan options. If none of them fits, we say so.
Step 3: the partner reviews
Once you agree, we send the request to partners that write that structure. Each one runs its own review. Typical requests include:
- Recent business bank statements
- Business and personal tax returns
- A list of existing debts and advances
- Proof of identity for the owners who will sign or guarantee
- Quotes or invoices for the purchase
- Evidence that the business's Delaware registrations are current
The partner may ask follow-up questions, request more documents or decline. Statewide preparation steps are in how to get a business loan in Delaware.
Step 4: comparing offers and deciding
Different products state their price differently, which makes comparison hard. A loan may quote an annual percentage rate; an advance quotes a factor; some offers quote neither clearly. Convert everything into the same terms:
- Total cost in dollars: everything you will pay minus what you receive.
- Payment calendar: how much leaves the account, and how often.
- Fees: origination, draw, maintenance or prepayment charges.
- Security: which assets are pledged and what any guarantee covers.
Then decide. Whether to sign stays with you, and turning an offer down is always an option.
How Aspenwater Credit is paid
Ask about this on the first call; you should know how a broker is paid before you share documents.
Red flags anywhere in the market
- Approval promised before anyone has looked at the file
- Pressure to sign the same day
- A request for an upfront payment before an offer exists
- An offer that will not state the total cost in dollars
- A contract with blank spaces or pages you were not shown
Short answers to other questions are on our FAQ page. The formal statement of our role is in the broker disclosures.
By Aspenwater Credit · Updated