The overdraft your bank
took away
A facility sitting ready, that you draw on when you need it and pay for only while you are using it. For the months when money goes out before it comes in.
No credit check to enquire.
How a credit line works
A loan hands you everything on day one and charges you from day one. A facility waits until you need it.
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01 Get a limit4 minute application
Apply once and, if the lender agrees, a limit sits there ready. On the facility we place most often there is nothing to pay to set it up, no annual charge, and checking your limit does not affect your credit score.
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02 Pay from itSame day
Pay a supplier directly, draw the money into your business account, or spend on the card. Then choose how to spread that payment: 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, picked per transaction rather than once for the whole facility.
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03 Repay and it refillsWhen you are paid
Pay it down and the limit is there again. Settle a transaction early and the remaining instalment fees are waived, so clearing it sooner genuinely costs you less.
A facility, or a loan?
Both put money in your account. What differs is what you pay for, and whether you can use it twice.
Credit lineBank overdraftWhat a drawdown actually costs
No interest on a balance. Instead a flat fee charged as a share of what you draw, fixed by how long you take to repay, then equal monthly instalments. Move the slider to see it on your numbers.
Two things this table will not tell you on its own. The fee is a straight share of what you draw: take £10,000 over twelve months and you pay £1,599. But you repay in instalments, so you never hold the full amount for the full term, and as a cost of money over time that is nearer 32% a year than 16%. We only show a yearly rate from six months out, because annualising a one-month drawdown assumes you would take it twelve times over, which nobody does. The second thing: these fees are the lowest published. The lender sets your actual fee on its own credit assessment, so treat them as a floor rather than a price. Indicative, not a quote, and nothing is final until a lender has processed your application and made you an offer.
- Clear the card inside a month and there is no fee at all, and no foreign exchange fee either. That does not extend to bills, supplier payments or transfers into your account, which are charged from the moment you spread them.
- Bills and supplier payments start at £100, and limits run up to £250,000.
- No annual fee, no interest and no setup cost. Settle a transaction early and the remaining instalment fees fall away, for facilities opened since July 2024.
- Limited companies only on this facility, and checking your limit does not touch your credit score.
A higher rate can cost you less
- A loan charges you for the whole year
Borrow £40,000 over 12 months at a low annual rate and you pay interest for twelve months, even if you only needed the money for two.
- A facility charges you for two months
Draw the same £40,000, clear it when your customer pays, and you have paid for the weeks you actually used it.
- So compare the pounds, not the percentage
A monthly rate looks higher than an annual one because it is measured over a shorter period. What matters is the total you hand over.
Questions about credit lines
How is this different from a business overdraft?
It does the same job, but it does not sit with your bank and it is not repayable on demand in the way an overdraft can be. Banks have pulled back from small business overdrafts, which is why these facilities exist.
Does it cost anything if I do not use it?
On the facility we place most often, no: it is free to set up, there is no annual charge, and the fee only applies when you actually make a payment. Not every facility works that way, so we will confirm it for the lender you are offered rather than promise it in general.
Can I pay it back early?
Yes, and on the facility we place most often the remaining instalment fees are waived when you settle a transaction early, so it genuinely costs you less rather than just sooner. It also frees the limit up again.
How big a limit could I get?
The facilities on our panel run from about £1,000 to £250,000. Farm facilities secured on land go considerably further. What you are offered depends on turnover and trading history, and one enquiry tells you where you sit.
Who can get one?
The main facility we place is limited companies only. Others on our panel also take LLPs. Farms of any structure can get a credit line for feed, fertiliser and other inputs through Farmzo.
How fast is it?
Quick, for this kind of facility. The one we place most often publishes a four minute application with an instant decision, and money in your account the same day when you draw before 2pm. Other lenders on our panel take longer, and we will tell you which is which.
What is the difference between a revolving facility and a short-term loan?
A loan is one lump of money on a fixed schedule: you get it all, you pay for it all, and when it is repaid it is gone. A facility is a limit that sits there. You draw what you need, pay for only that, and the limit is still available afterwards without a new application or a new search. For a recurring gap that difference compounds; for a single one-off purchase a loan is usually simpler.
Can I use it for personal spending?
No. It is business credit, advanced to the company on the basis of what the company does, and the agreement will say so. Drawing on it for personal costs puts you in breach of the facility and creates a director’s loan account problem your accountant will not thank you for.
See what you could have ready
One enquiry shows you facilities and loans side by side, with no credit check.
Get my optionsWhere to next
A declined loan, then a facilityThree lenders, one yes, and £40,000 left on the shelf costing nothing.Cash flow finance Back to the hubCovering the gap between paying out and being paid.CalculatorMonthly repayment, total and interest, over every term.Unsecured business loansBorrow against your trading, not your assets.