Headway Capital Review

Headway Capital is an alternative lender that provides business lines of credit to small business owners. Part of Enova International, Headway Capital boasts a quick funding process and transparency on cost, but depending on your state, you may be subject to a draw fee for accessing your funds.

As far as business loans go, lines of credit are great options for business owners that need flexibility and a product that they can return to again and again for various working capital needs. They’re also great to have on hand as an emergency fund in case an unexpected opportunity or incident pops up. Headway Capital also provides lines of credits to business owners working with The Business Backer, as the two lenders are sister companies.

Headway Capital only operates in select states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

They can work with businesses that operate out of a home address; however, they do not work with sole proprietors in Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, or Wyoming; partnerships in New Jersey; or nonprofits in any state. 

Headway Capital can work with you as long as you have not reported bankruptcy in the last 12 months. If you have a tax lien, they may be able to work you, but they review all applications on a case-by-case basis. You will also need a bank balance greater than $500.

Headway Capital does not work with businesses in the following industries: 

• Gambling
• Gaming
• Pornography
• Illegal substances
• Lending
• Multi-level marketing 

• Three months’ worth of business bank statements
• Online bank login information

Headway Capital is one of the easiest business lines of credit to qualify for online. If you haven’t been able to qualify for many other loan products, then Headway Capital could be the right fit for your business. They have a quick application, simple document requests, and can get an answer to you in under a week. They also have less stringent eligibility requirements. If you’re a young business still building up your credit and revenue, Headway Capital is a good option to get access to capital for times when your business might need it unexpectedly.

You’ll be able to complete your online application for a line of credit from Headway Capital within minutes. Once you do so, you will have to provide three months’ worth of business bank statements. 

The Headway Capital underwriting team will review your bank statements and the information you provided in your application. Typically, the underwriting process averages just around four hours. During this process, Headway Capital will also conduct a soft pull of your credit score, which won’t ding your score.

After underwriting is complete, you’ll receive an offer from Headway Capital. If you would like to move forward with the offer, Headway Capital will require you to sign a contract and choose your initial draw amount and repayment terms. Once your contract is signed, and your amount is chosen, funding is deposited into your specified account within one business day. At this stage, they will also conduct a hard pull of your credit score, which will impact your credit history.

Once approved for a Headway Capital line of credit, funds are deposited into your selected business account within one business day. If you end up funding with Headway Capital, you’ll be able to review the progress of your line of credit through statements from Headway Capital and your online dashboard.

During the underwriting process, Headway Capital allows you to select whether you want to pay back the funds you draw on a weekly or monthly payment schedule. Once you draw funds, your first payment will be debited between either seven or 30 days after funding, depending on the payment schedule you’ve chosen. When applying for Headway Capital funding through Fundera, the business owner will be assigned to a monthly payment schedule. 

A business line of credit can be used for almost anything (equipment, payroll, capital, etc.), and once the outstanding principal is repaid, that money becomes available for a merchant to draw again. Plus, you only pay interest on money that you draw.

There is a 2% draw fee each time you draw on your Headway Capital line of credit, so be ready to cover that whenever you tap into this financial resource. There’s no draw fee in the following states: Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, and Oklahoma. 

Additionally, Headway Capital requires a personal guarantee and a UCC lien for lines of credit over $50,000.

If you’re able to pay off your debt ahead of schedule, Headway Capital does not charge a prepayment penalty.

Though they are transparent and straightforward about their rates, Headway Capital’s rates can get pretty expensive. If you have access to a business line of credit with lower interest rates and no draw fees, then you should probably opt for that alternative. For example, OnDeck waives the draw fee for six months on their line of credit if you withdraw at least $5,000 in the first five days of opening the account.

Headway Capital is located in Chicago, Illinois, and can be reached by phone, email, or fax. Their customer service reps are available from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday. If you need to speak to their collections department, they are available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Negative Headway Capital reviews from customers almost solely focus on the cost of their lines of credit. To be sure, Headway Capital charges significant interest and fees for their business lines of credit. But this cost is a result of Headway Capital’s accessibility—the higher end of their interest rate range comes as a result of their being available to businesses that are less traditionally qualified.

That said, borrowing with Headway Capital will be expensive for your business, especially if your line of credit comes with an interest rate at the higher end of their range—and negative Headway reviews tend to focus on that.

Be sure to take advantage of Headway Capital’s unconventional transparency—they are very straightforward with their rates, so be sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into if you sign on with them.

On the other hand, positive Headway Capital reviews from customers tend to focus on their speed and professionalism. Overall, Headway Capital’s application and underwriting processes are some of the most simple and efficient in the industry.

They provide extremely transparent rates, and their representatives are proactive in helping you through all stages of funding with them. And most Headway reviews from customers reflect that.

Headway Capital is in Fundera’s Lender Network. The Fundera team has carefully vetted Headway Capital and determined that their offering is one of the best in their product category. When working with Headway Capital, you can be sure you’re getting transparent, fair pricing on a best-in-class product.