What an unsecured business loan actually is
A lump sum paid into your account and repaid over a fixed term, without a mortgage taken over property. The lender assesses how the business trades rather than what you own, which is why these settle in days rather than the weeks a secured facility takes.
One thing worth being clear about, because it catches people out: unsecured does not mean no security at all. Almost every facility in this category is supported by a general security agreement over business assets and a director's guarantee. What you're avoiding is a mortgage over your home, not personal responsibility for the debt. See our guide on what a personal guarantee actually means for your personal assets, or we'll walk you through exactly what you're signing.
Typical terms across our panel
| Facility size | $25,000 to $25 million, depending on turnover and lender tier |
|---|---|
| Term | Three months to five years |
| Rate range | Roughly 9.5% to 25% p.a., driven by trading history, conduct and security |
| Repayments | Daily, weekly or monthly. Monthly is usually available on stronger files |
| Establishment fee | Commonly 1% to 3% of the facility |
| Security | General security agreement plus a director's guarantee; no property mortgage |
| Minimum trading | Six months registered and trading, twelve months for better pricing |
| Minimum turnover | Generally from around $100,000 to $250,000 a year |
Pricing moves a long way across that range. A three-year-old business with clean statements and no ATO balance sits at the bottom end; twelve months trading with a few dishonours sits at the top. The gap between the cheapest lender who will say yes and the first one is routinely worth tens of thousands over the life of the facility, which is the entire reason to run the whole panel rather than the easy end of it.
What lenders are actually looking at
- Trading history. Most want at least six months of registered trading; the better-priced lenders want twelve to twenty-four.
- Bank statement conduct. Average daily balance, how often the account goes into the red, and dishonoured direct debits. This matters more than your profit figure.
- Revenue consistency. Lenders would rather see steady deposits than one enormous month and four quiet ones.
- Your ATO position. A balance owing isn't a decline on its own. Size, age and whether you're engaged with the ATO all matter more than the number itself.
- Existing lender debits. If two or three other facilities are already debiting the account daily, that shows up immediately and narrows your options.
- Director credit file. Defaults and judgements don't rule you out, but they move which tier of lender will look at the file.
The thing that most often kills these deals
Not weak revenue. Loan stacking. Once several short-term facilities are debiting the account daily, the total repayment burden can exceed the gross margin, and no further borrowing fixes that. If that's where you are, say so on the call. It changes the conversation from a new facility to restructuring what you already have.
What you'll need to send
- Twelve months of business bank statementsEvery trading account. This is the main thing a lender reads.
- Your ABN and GST registrationWe pull most of this from the ABR ourselves.
- Director identificationDriver's licence or passport.
- An ATO integrated client account statementOnly where there's a balance owing.
- Recent financials and BASUsually only above $250,000, or where the lender asks.