Palmbrook Funding, a small-business funding broker in Rapid City, South Dakota, follows four steps: a call about the purpose, matching a funding type, a lending partner's underwriting review, and the owner's own decision. This page explains underwriting, how long reviews take, how to compare APR with factor-rate pricing, and the warning signs to watch for.
Step 1: a conversation about the purpose
The first Palmbrook question is always what the money must do. Call (605) 443-7379, or send the short form with your name, email, phone, business name and three quick range picks, and we call you. On that call we ask about the purpose, rough cost, how the business takes in money and what debt it already carries. Nothing is sent anywhere yet.
Step 2: the purpose picks a funding type
The purpose usually picks the product. A temporary payroll gap points to working capital; a recurring one to a line of credit. A fit-out suits a term loan, a planned stock order inventory financing, a machine equipment financing. A merchant cash advance is not a loan and comes last on the list for most owners because of its cost.
We then tell you which documents the relevant partners usually want, so you can gather them once.
Step 3: the partner's underwriting review
An underwriter is the person or system at the lending partner who decides whether to fund and on what terms. Commercial underwriting usually covers:
- Cash flow: bank deposits, revenue trend and existing payments
- Credit: the business's record and, for most small firms, the owner's
- Collateral: what secures the deal and what it is worth
- Character and history: time in business, records on file with the state, any past defaults
- Purpose: whether the money's use fits the product
How long it takes depends on the product and how complete the file is. A short-term product with bank statements only can move faster than a term loan needing tax returns and an appraisal. We do not promise timelines, because the partner controls them.
Step 4: weighing an offer against its total cost
If a partner makes an offer, compare it on total cost. Loans are usually quoted with an interest rate or APR, which annualizes the cost. Merchant cash advances use a factor rate, a flat multiplier that is not an annual figure. To compare the two, total every dollar you would pay back or remit and set it against the timeline. A hypothetical illustration: two offers on the same amount can both look affordable monthly while one costs thousands more over its life.
Turning down an offer is always allowed. Signing is your decision alone.
Red flags Palmbrook tells owners to watch for
- Anyone promising approval before reviewing your file
- Pressure to sign today
- A request for an upfront payment before any offer is in writing
- A refusal to show the total payback amount
- Contract pages you are told not to bother reading
Before the first call
Rough numbers are enough to begin: what the money is for, what it costs, and your average monthly deposits. If you want free advice outside any broker, the Black Hills resource directory lists where to look. Hiring soon? Our first-hire post pairs the Pennington County payroll data with funding choices. More short answers are on the FAQ, and the limits of our role are in the broker disclosures.
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