Financing made easy with Qonto

Each partner has their own eligibility criteria. Generally speaking, your company’s chances of obtaining financing will depend mainly on the following:

• when your company was founded;
• the length of time your Qonto business account has been open;
• your country of residence;
• your annual turnover;
• your financial liabilities.

Other factors may increase the likelihood of being granted financing, such as a strong growth potential or a high level of equity capital.

Please note that Qonto cannot guarantee that you will obtain a loan, even if you do meet all the eligibility criteria. Each partner remains free to accept or reject your application for financing, based on their own assessment.

Most companies need funds to grow or scale their activity. Here are the three main methods of financing that companies can leverage to improve their cash flow:

• Equity capital

Financing with equity capital is a factor in the creation of a company. To cover cash flow requirements at launch, the company’s associates make capital contributions.

This step includes the deposit of share capital, which is required in order to complete the company registration.

As a company grows, it might need to increase its equity capital. There are several financing options open to the associates in this case:

• a capital increase to bring in new contributions;
• injecting funds from an associate’s current account;
• opening up the company’s social capital to other investors.

If your financing needs are linked to investments, you can contact local authorities to obtain investment grants. The main advantage of this method of financing is that companies have no obligation to pay back the sums granted.

• Business loans from banks

Of all the sources of financing, business credit is one of the most common means preferred by companies. However, convincing banks to approve a loan is not always easy for entrepreneurs.

Banks will always seek to minimize the risks in case a business fails. As a result they will usually ask for a significant personal contribution from the borrower, often between 10% and 50% of the amount borrowed.

As well as this personal deposit and a convincing business plan, banks require solid guarantees on the assets held by the borrowing company or its associates before granting a loan. These guarantees might include:

• a joint surety that allows the bank to transfer debt to the directors without having to first act against the company;
• a pledge of a share of the social or business capital.
• Other means of outside financing

If you don’t have enough financial assets and personal contributions to convince banks to lend you money, there are other lines of financing that exist to help you grow your business.

If you wish to purchase equipment or real-estate property, leasing can be a good alternative. For this, contact specialized leasing companies that will buy these assets and then rent them to you. At the end of the leasing contract, you have three options:

• return the asset to the leasing company;
• renew the leasing contract;
• buy the asset at a lower price that takes into account the rent you’ve already paid.

Another less-known solution for companies seeking to improve their cash flow is factoring. This allows companies to transfer their commercial receivables - the money they’re owed by their customers - to a third party known as a factor.

As well as covering your short-term financing needs, factoring shields you from unpaid debts from your customers. It is effectively the factor that takes on the recovery of those debts.

Crowdfunding is another source of outside financing that is becoming popular among SMEs. Opting for a crowdfunding platform allows companies to raise funds quickly from a large audience of individual investors. Rather than being an alternative to bank loans, crowdfunding often complements a business loan.

If your business project has a high growth potential, you can turn to venture capital companies or individuals with investment experience known as business angels.

If you’re looking to launch a new company, you can obtain financing, including a bank loan, to do so. However most banks will typically refuse to meet your financing needs without a personal deposit on your part.

If you can’t provide a deposit, there are other sources of financing that can help you gather the funds you’ll need to launch your business:

• you can find associates and partners, a task made easier if your project has a high growth potential;
• you can seek a non-guarantee loan from specialist organizations (in France for example, there is France Active or l’ADIE).
• you can raise funds from friends and/or family members;
• you can launch a crowdfunding campaign to collect funds from individual investors;
• you can ask for a microloan. These are limited to €10,000 and are a solution recommended for projects with low risk such as an artisanal activity.

As well as these financing methods, you can also receive state support designed specifically for entrepreneurs wishing to create a new business or take over an existing one. Such support varies from country to country but in France it can include:

• The ARCE, which exonerates you from some social charges;
• The NACRE (Nouvel Accompagnement pour la Création ou la Reprise d’Entreprise), which gives you access to zero-interest financing to set up your business.
• The ACRE, which is reserved for people who are eligible for a jobseeker’s allowance (ARE, or Aide au Retour à l’Emploi). This program allows you to obtain 45% of all your remaining ARE allowance in two installments.

There are also support initiatives for female entrepreneurs wishing to launch or take over a company. In France, for example, these include:

• The ÉGALITÉ femmes guarantee, which covers up to 80% of a bank loan within a maximum limit of €50,000;
• The Wom’energy program which provides peer-to-peer guidance and access to a non-guarantee loan of between €15,000 and €50,000.

Despite the required guarantees and personal deposit, there are several advantages to taking out a business loan.

• Keeping control over the business

Asking a bank or other credit provider to finance your company allows you to maintain full ownership of your business because the loan does not count as equity. Borrowing rather than opening up your company capital to others will mean you keep total control over how your business is run.

• Managing the spread of your financial debt

As well as your short-term borrowing needs, a business loan allows you to finance any project for your company, such as:

• investing in equipment or machinery;
• building your inventory;
• paying back VAT credit.

The main benefit of a loan compared to other sources of financing is that you can adapt its duration according to your needs. This helps you keep a clear vision of your repayments and your cash flow.

• Financing the creation of your company at a lower cost

When interest rates are low, business loans carry a low cost to companies and do not weigh heavily on finances.

Also, the interest you pay on a loan is often tax-deductible (in France, for example, this is the case). This means you can make tax savings worth up to 25% of the amount of interest you pay.

Finally, a business loan is generally less expensive than leasing or renting because there are fewer third parties who will need to be paid.