Glossary

Refinancing

Paying off existing financing with a new loan or advance, usually to get a lower cost, a longer term or a smaller payment.

Refinancing replaces one deal with another. The new lender pays off the old balance, and you repay the new lender on new terms. For a business carrying a daily-debit advance, the usual goal is a term loan or SBA loan with monthly payments.

Check the payoff on the old deal first. An advance without an early payoff discount is due in full, and a loan may carry a prepayment penalty.

Example: $40,000 left on an advance debiting $400 per business day is about $8,400 a month. Refinanced with a 24-month term loan at 15%, the payment is $1,939.47 a month, and the 24 payments total $46,547.28.

A lower payment is not the same as a lower cost. In the example, the monthly payment falls by about 77% while the total repaid rises by $6,547.28, so compare the total on each path.

All terms