This page compares six ways to fund a Tippecanoe County business: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances. Ambercroft Business Capital, a small-business funding broker in Lafayette, Indiana, explains each and routes requests to lending partners, which decide and set the terms.
The six options in one table
| Option | Usually pays for | How it comes back | Usually secured by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital | Wages, rent, supplier bills during a cash gap | Fixed installments over months | Often unsecured, with a personal guarantee |
| Term loan | Build-outs, expansion, refinancing | Amortized installments over years | Business assets, sometimes real estate |
| Line of credit | Recurring costs of uneven size | Payments on the drawn balance only | Varies; may be unsecured |
| Inventory financing | Stock bought before it sells | When stock sells, or monthly | The inventory |
| Equipment financing | Machines, vehicles, kitchen and clinical gear | Installments or lease payments | The equipment |
| Merchant cash advance | Short gaps for card-heavy businesses | Remitted from card or bank receipts; not a loan | Purchased receivables |
Read across a row, not down a column. The question is which repayment pattern your cash flow can carry, not which product sounds largest.
Short-term or long-term
A five-year remodel and a six-week receivable gap call for very different terms. A gap that closes when a customer pays in six weeks does not need a five-year loan, and a remodel that earns its keep over a decade should not be squeezed into a few months of heavy payments. Working capital, credit lines and advances sit at the short end; term loans and equipment financing stretch further.
Secured or unsecured
A secured loan is tied to collateral the partner can claim if payments stop: a machine, inventory, receivables or property. Unsecured funding has no single asset behind it, but that rarely means nothing is at stake. Partners commonly ask the owner for a personal guarantee and may record a UCC financing statement covering business assets in general. Ask which of these an offer includes before comparing prices.
A loan or the business credit card?
A card is convenient for small, quickly repaid purchases. For larger amounts carried for months, card interest and minimum-payment structures can cost more than an installment loan or a credit line. A loan also gives a fixed end date, which a revolving card balance does not.
What owners use business funding for
- Meeting payroll while receivables are outstanding
- Buying inventory ahead of demand
- Purchasing or replacing equipment
- Building out leased space or opening a second location
- Refinancing costlier existing debt
Most agreements spell out permitted uses. Paying yourself, covering personal bills or funding a different company usually falls outside them, so check the use-of-proceeds clause.
SBA loans and other Indiana options
Owners often search for SBA loans in Indiana and the requirements behind them. SBA loans are made by participating lenders with a partial federal guarantee behind the lender; Ambercroft Business Capital does not arrange them. If a long, low-payment loan is what you need, an SBA lender or your own bank may be the better first call, and Greater Lafayette small business resources points to free advising that can help you prepare.
Picking one in practice
Write down the purpose, the amount and the date the money that repays it should arrive. Those three facts rule out most rows. If two options remain, compare the total cost over the full term and the payment schedule, not the headline figure. That is the conversation we have on the first call.
By Ambercroft Business Capital · Updated