Why us
Why we can often say yes when others say no
Thirty seconds on the problem with scorecard lending, and what a whole-business decision looks like.
Read the video transcript
Most finance companies run your business through a scoring machine. One slow month, an ATO debt, a brand-new ABN, and the computer says no. But a busy, real business is more than a credit score. At Alternative Business Loans, real people look at the whole picture: your trading, your plans, and the assets behind you. Clear answers. Fast decisions. Alternative Business Loans. When the usual answer is no.
The problem: lending by scorecard
Most finance today is decided by software before a person ever sees the file. The software is built to approve the easy cases quickly and decline anything unusual. That is efficient for the lender, but it means a business can be knocked back for something that says very little about whether it can repay: a single quiet month in the bank statements, an ATO balance that already has a plan behind it, a credit default from a previous venture, or an ABN registered last year by someone who has worked in the industry for decades.
Once one rule fails, the answer is usually final. Many owners then try a second and third lender, each enquiry is recorded, and the growing list of enquiries becomes another reason for the next model to say no.
What we do differently
- A person reads the bank statements. Deposits, regular customers, seasonal patterns and how the account has been run recently say more than a score.
- We ask why. Why the tax debt built up, why the default happened, why this loan, and how it gets repaid.
- Assets count. Property equity, equipment and signed contracts are part of the story. With property, loans run from $20k to $5m and no valuation is needed before approval.
- One team, not a spray of applications. Your details are not blasted across a list of lenders. We work the file properly.
- Straight answers. If it works, you see every cost in writing. If it doesn't, we say so quickly so you can plan.
Who we usually help
Owners turned away for bad credit, ATO debt, a new ABN, irregular income or late tax returns, and businesses that simply need money faster than a bank can move. Funding can be unsecured ($5k to $500k, sized on turnover) or secured by property by first mortgage, second mortgage or caveat.
Our promises
No credit check to enquire
Find out what is realistic before anything touches your credit file. A check only happens if you choose to go ahead.
Not sprayed to a pile of lenders
Your enquiry is not auctioned or blasted around. One team reads it and works it through properly.
A real person on your file
Someone who understands declined and unusual deals calls you back. Answer the form accurately and we can match you properly first time.
Questions about how we decide
Why do banks and online lenders decline good businesses?
Most run applications through automated credit models with hard rules: minimum months trading, no tax arrears, no defaults, limited recent enquiries and steady revenue. Miss one rule and the application stops, even if the business is busy and profitable.
What do you look at instead?
The whole picture: what the business bank account shows now, the reason for the loan, how it will be repaid, the owner's experience and any property or assets behind the business. A person reads it and makes a judgement.
Does that mean everyone gets approved?
No. Some requests do not stack up, and we will tell you plainly and quickly. What changes is that a decision is made on the real situation, not on one data point.
Is there a cost to find out?
No. Enquiring is free and there is no credit check when you first enquire. A credit check only happens if you decide to go ahead with an application.
Heard no somewhere else? Ask the people who look at the whole business.
One short enquiry. No credit check when you first enquire, a real person reading it, and your details kept with one team instead of being shopped around.
No credit check to enquire
Not sprayed to a pile of lenders
A real person on your file