Our verdict: fast and long-running, but the price and the product vary by state
National Funding scores 2.9 out of 5 on our funder method. It is a San Diego company that says it has funded more than $7 billion for over 100,000 businesses since 1999 [1]. Its products are business only: working capital, short-term and term financing, and equipment financing and leasing, made or arranged under a California Financing Law license [1].
The company says you work with it directly and that this means "no broker markup" [4]. That is mostly true for the deals it funds. But its own footnote says that if it cannot offer you financing, it may try to match you with one of its partners [1], so a decline can still send your application elsewhere.
Three things decide it. First, where you are: in 16 states, New Jersey among them, the only financing offered is sales-based financing [1]. Second, the price, which you will see only in an offer. Third, whether you want the mail and calls that tend to follow, which is what most BBB complaints are about [8].
Pros
- Publishes a worked factor rate example in dollars
- Early payoff discount terms disclosed before you accept
- Six months in business can be enough
- Equipment financing and leasing up to $150,000
- Checking options does not affect your credit score
Cons
- New Jersey and 15 other states get sales-based financing only
- No rate range or APR published
- Declined files may go to partner lenders
- BBB complaints dominated by mailers and opt-out trouble
What National Funding costs: the one example it publishes
National Funding explains its pricing with a single example. If you receive $50,000 at a factor rate of 1.25, you repay $62,500 over the term, for example 12 months, so the funding costs $12,500 [2]. It does not say what factor rates it actually charges or how they vary.
| Item | Working capital | Equipment financing |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $6,000 to $500,000 [2] | Up to $150,000 [3] |
| Term | 4 to 24 months [1] | 2 to 5 years [1] |
| Payments | Daily or weekly by ACH, Monday to Friday [1] | Monthly [1] |
| Pricing shown | Factor rate example: 1.25 [2] | Not published |
| Time in business | At least six months [2] | At least six months [3] |
| Credit | Most customers 600+ FICO [3] | Most customers 600+ FICO [3] |
| Revenue | Consistent revenue; no minimum published [2] | No minimum published |
| Speed | As fast as next business day [1] | As fast as next business day [3] |
| Early payoff | Discount possible, disclosed before acceptance [1] | Discount possible, disclosed before acceptance [1] |
What does the example mean as an APR? Our arithmetic: $62,500 repaid in 52 equal weekly payments is about $1,202 a week. The yearly rate that makes those payments worth the $50,000 received is about 45.7%. Paid daily over 252 business days, it is about 46.3%. This uses the company's example, not a quote; a shorter term at the same factor pushes the APR much higher.
Equipment financing works more like a car loan: you own the equipment at the end, or with a lease you can renew, return or buy it, and the equipment itself is the collateral [3]. For a big purchase, compare that offer with a bank or SBA equipment loan, and see our equipment financing guide.
Applying starts with a few minutes online, and National Funding says checking your options does not affect your credit score [1]. A Funding Specialist then calls to talk through your needs, and you will usually send a few months of bank statements [2]. For equipment, have the vendor quote ready [15]. Funds can land as soon as the next business day after you accept, depending on your bank [1].
New Jersey: sales-based financing only
This is the fact most New Jersey owners will not see on the ad. The site footnote says that in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont, "the financing offered is limited to sales-based financing" [1].
Sales-based financing is repaid out of your sales, like a merchant cash advance, rather than as a loan with interest. Read literally, the footnote also means the equipment loans and leases are not offered in those states. Ask on the first call which product you are being offered and whether the contract is a purchase of your receivables, and if it is, ask how the payment is reconciled when sales drop. Our page on New Jersey MCA law covers the rules that apply.
Get the payoff discount in the contract
National Funding says early payoff discount amounts and terms are disclosed before acceptance and funding, and only apply if you pay the full balance and stay current and in good standing [1]. One Unprompted reviewer said the early payment option they were told about did not exist [7]. If the discount is not in your agreement, assume you owe the full amount.
After you sign: what borrowers report
We read the three newest pages of National Funding's Trustpilot reviews: 61 reviews, of which 22 were labeled Unprompted, 37 Verified and 2 had no label [7]. Among the 22 Unprompted, two described trouble after funding. One said weekly charges were never explained and that penalties and charges still applied after unused funds were returned. Another said the early payment option they were promised did not exist [7]. That is 9 per 100 organic reviews.
The BBB reviews are harsher. All 12 average 1 star, and the ones shown range from unwanted mail to a reviewer who said weekly payments became unaffordable, the company sued, and it was now threatening to levy their bank account [9]. Those are one person's accounts, not court findings, and we found no regulator action naming National Funding in our search of FTC, CFPB, New York AG and New Jersey AG sites.
- Ask whether payments are daily or weekly and get the exact amount in writing before signing [1].
- If you plan to pay early, find the discount clause in the agreement and note the date it expires.
- Ask what happens if your sales fall; the site does not publish a hardship or adjustment policy.
- After payoff, request a written zero-balance letter and confirm debits have stopped.
Trustpilot, BBB, mailers and who sees your data
| Source | What we found |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot headline | 4.6, about 2,200 reviews, 146 in the last 12 months, 87% five-star [7] |
| Our Trustpilot sample | 61 reviews; 37 Verified (61%), 22 Unprompted, 2 unlabeled |
| Unprompted average | 4.36 stars (19 five-star, 1 three-star, 2 one-star) |
| BBB rating | A+, accredited since 2013 [8] |
| BBB complaints | 28 in 3 years, 11 in the last 12 months [8] |
| BBB reviews | 1 star average across 12 reviews [9] |
The gap between a 4.6 on Trustpilot and 1 star on BBB is wide, and the complaint topics explain much of it. Of the 10 BBB complaints shown, nine are about pre-approved offers mailed to the business, sometimes in another person's name, that kept arriving after the owner asked to stop. Two said the phone opt-out asked for a full Social Security number [8]. National Funding's replies say it removed each person from its list.
On data, the privacy policy lets National Funding share identifiers, records and inferences with affiliates and "nonaffiliated third-party lending partners" in connection with its services [5]. Combined with the partner matching footnote [1], expect that a declined application may lead to offers from other lenders.
Support is by phone at 888.733.2383, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, which is 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the East Coast [6]. Each applicant gets a U.S.-based Funding Specialist [2]. Reviewers in our sample mostly praised their specialist by name; one Verified reviewer said there was no easy online way to check payments or balances after funding [7].
Alternatives to National Funding
- Headway Capital: a line of credit for New Jersey owners with no draw fee in the state and no fee to repay early.
- Forward Financing: revenue-based financing with a written promise to adjust payments when revenue falls.
- OnDeck: publishes its average APRs, so you can price it before applying.
- Balboa Capital and Taycor: equipment specialists to price against a National Funding lease.
- Best equipment financing and best small business loans: our scored lists.
If you have a National Funding offer, Batch Capital, our funding team, can put it next to other offers in dollars and estimated APR. The offer comparer does the same math on your own.