Lendr Review

Updated on November 30, 2020
Advertiser Disclosure

Overview

Lendr is a direct, online lender that offers working capital loans in the form of merchant cash advances, as well as invoice factoring, for small and medium-sized businesses. You can access up to $1 million through Lendr and will pay back the funding with a portion of daily debit/credit card sales or a daily or weekly ACH debit from your business checking account.

Lendr aims to serve business owners who aren’t able to qualify for a business loan elsewhere. If you’ve been rejected by banks or other alternative lenders, Lendr might be a good option for you. Unlike more traditional loans, Lendr’s financing products are based on your future sales, so your credit history is less of a factor. You’ll also be able to complete Lendr’s application quickly and, once approved, receive funds as soon as the same day.

Lendr Business Loan Details

Green checkmarkPros
  • Fast funding
  • Multiple loan products
  • Relatively large loan amounts
  • Bad credit not a dealbreaker
  • Transparent
Red X markCons
  • MCAs are expensive by nature
  • Daily repayment most common
  • Non-amortizing loans mean you won’t save money on interest if you’re able to pay off your balance early

Merchant Cash Advance

  • Loan Amount

    $5,000 - $500,000

  • Loan Terms

    4 - 14 months

  • Interest Rate

    Starting at 12%

Qualifications

  • Time in Business

    1 year

  • Monthly Revenue

    $10,000

  • Personal Credit Score

    No minimum

Invoice Factoring

Lendr has two invoice factoring products: full-service factoring and basic funding. While the basic option simply offers cash for your invoices, full-service factoring also handles the invoice collection process and more—for a slightly higher fee.

  • Loan Amount

    Up to $1 million

  • Loan Terms

    Up to 14 months

  • Interest Rate

    0.5% - 5% per invoice

Qualifications

  • Time in Business

    1 year

  • Monthly Revenue

    $10,000

  • Personal Credit Score

    No minimum

Lendr Borrower Eligibility

As we mentioned, Lendr caters to business owners who aren’t able to qualify for bank loans. Due to the nature of their loan products, your credit history is less important than your business’s sales history. Your business needs to have been established for at least one year—or, if you’re a home-based business, three years.

You’ll also need a business bank account that you make at least seven deposits into per month. If you’re planning to pay back your financing with a portion of credit/debit card sales, you’ll also need at least $5,000 in monthly credit card volume.

Of course, if you’re interested in their invoice factoring product, you need to be a business that invoices customers, which should be either business-to-business or business-to-government. 

Lendr is unable to work with businesses that have liens exceeding $40,000 or 40% of the funding amount, or businesses that have filed for bankruptcy less than a year ago. Additionally, they do not work with businesses that are publicly traded, located in Alaska or Hawaii, or that fall under one of the following industries:

  • Adult entertainment
  • Auto
  • Credit restoration
  • Direct sale or multi-level marketing
  • Financial or lending
  • Gambling
  • Lawyers
  • Oil and natural gas
  • Religious

What You Need to Apply

The type of financing you’re seeking from Lendr will determine what you need to apply. For their merchant cash advance, you’ll need:

  • Three months of bank statements
  • Government-issued ID
  • Voided check
  • Business license
  • Bank verification
  • Current financials

For their invoice factoring product, you’ll provide:

  • Completed factoring application for all majority owners
  • Two years of corporate tax returns and two years of personal tax returns for all majority owners
  • Copy of driver’s license for all majority owners
  • Articles of incorporation
  • Operating agreement
  • Workers compensation certificate
  • Year-end financial statements for past calendar year
  • Year-to-date AR aging report, profit and loss statement, and balance sheet
  • A copy of any current invoicing

How to Get a Loan With Lendr

If you’re considering either Lendr’s merchant cash advance or invoice factoring product, here’s how the application and post-funding processes will work.

Application and Underwriting Process

To get started with Lendr, you fill out their online questionnaire. It’s just 10 questions and asks basic business and personal information. After receiving your questionnaire, a Lendr funding specialist will get in touch with you for additional information.

Should you have questions about your loan status, there is an online portal where you can check your loan progress. You can also call or email Lendr.

Lendr will do a soft credit pull and review all of your documentation. If you meet their requirements, then they will present you with an offer in as few as six hours. You then have to sign the loan agreement before receiving the funds. Before closing on the deal, Lendr will require a personal guarantee from enough owners covering at least 70% of the business.

Post-Funding Process

Should you decide to accept Lendr’s funding offer, the funds will reach your business bank account within 24 to 48 hours.

Repayment will begin the next day after you receive funding. There are two different options for repayment, one of which you will choose before you sign your financing agreement. You can either choose to have Lendr debit a fixed amount from your business checking account, in which case the loan functions more like a short-term loan. Alternatively, you can structure the financing like a traditional merchant cash advance, and Lendr will deduct a fixed percentage from your daily credit card or debit card sales.

Lendr also has a concurrent funding policy. They might approve you for more money than you need right away, and they’ll keep that extra money on the table for 90 days. During that time frame, if you find that you need more money than you initially expected, you can then tap into the additional funding.

Once you’ve paid back at least 60% of your loan, you’re eligible for a renewal, typically with better terms than your first advance.

Fees and Collateral

Lendr charges a 2% origination fee on their merchant cash advance product. They don’t have a prepayment penalty if you’re able to pay your balance off early; however, you also won’t save money on interest since it’s a non-amortizing loan. 

While they do require a personal guarantee, Lendr won’t file a lien on your business unless you default on payment.

It’s also worth noting that Lendr doesn’t report loan payments to the consumer or business credit bureaus, so while your credit score won’t be negatively affected if you miss a payment, you also won’t be able to build your credit score through consistent, on-time payments.

Lendr Customer Service

Lendr is located in Chicago, Illinois, and can be reached via phone, email, or through their mobile app. Their customer service reps are available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

Lendr Customer Reviews

Lendr has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2016 and has an A+ rating. They’ve received just two complaints in the last three years, which the company has addressed. 

Overall, Lendr’s customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Customers appreciated the ease of the application process, how quickly they were able to receive funding, and felt like Lendr was transparent about pricing and other terms. Additionally, customers sing the praises of the sales team and customer service, often calling reps out by name to share how helpful and accommodating they were.

On the other hand, some customers found that daily repayment was too hard on their cash flow. This is common for any funding option that requires daily repayments, and—as Lendr even says on their site—MCAs are often a solution only when you can’t qualify for a bank loan or need funding fast.

Top Alternatives to Lendr

Lendr

Fundera Score

4

Rapid Finance
CAN Capital
BlueVine

Rapid Finance

CAN Capital

BlueVine

Fundera Score

3

Fundera Score

4

Fundera Score

5

Products Offered

Merchant cash advances; short term loans

Products Offered

Term loans; merchant cash advances

Products Offered

Lines of credit

Interest rates

Factor rates starting at 1.11

Interest rates

1.15 to 1.48 factor rate

Interest rates

Starting at 4.8%

Minimum credit score required

550

Minimum credit score required

No minimum

Minimum credit score required

600
Rapid Finance

Rapid Finance

Fundera Score

3

Products Offered

Merchant cash advances; short term loans

Interest rates

Factor rates starting at 1.11

Minimum credit score required

550
CAN Capital

CAN Capital

Fundera Score

4

Products Offered

Term loans; merchant cash advances

Interest rates

1.15 to 1.48 factor rate

Minimum credit score required

No minimum
BlueVine

BlueVine

Fundera Score

5

Products Offered

Lines of credit

Interest rates

Starting at 4.8%

Minimum credit score required

600

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lendr in Fundera's Network?

Lendr is not in Fundera’s Lender Network. The Fundera team carefully vets all of the lenders in our network, and have determined that Lendr either doesn’t have the technology to work with Fundera or does not offer a financing product that competes with the other lenders in its product class. We suggest considering another lender in this product class.

See if you qualify for similar products in Fundera’s Lender Network.

Christine Aebischer
Editor at Fundera

Christine Aebischer

Christine Aebischer is an editor at Fundera.

Prior to Fundera, Christine was an editor at the financial planning startup LearnVest and its parent company, Northwestern Mutual. There she wrote and edited on topics such as debt, budgeting, insurance, taxes, investing, and retirement. She has written for print and online on topics ranging from personal finance to luxury real estate.

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