Oceangate Funding Group, a small-business funding broker in Ogden, Utah, compares six structures here: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances. Each differs in use, security and repayment. Lending partners decide and set terms; the broker matches the request to partners that offer the right structure.
All six in one table
| Structure | Typical use | Usually secured by | How it comes back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working capital | Payroll, materials or rent while receivables are outstanding | Business assets or a general lien; sometimes unsecured | Regular fixed payments, short term |
| Term loan | Build-outs, expansion, a refinance, hiring ahead of revenue | Business assets, sometimes real estate | Installments over a set term |
| Line of credit | Recurring costs of uneven size | Receivables or a general lien; sometimes unsecured | Interest on the drawn balance; repaid and redrawn |
| Inventory financing | Stock bought before it sells | The stock itself, often with a UCC filing | Paid down as goods sell, or on a schedule |
| Equipment financing | Loaders, work vans, ovens, dental chairs | The equipment itself | Loan or lease payments sized to the asset's working life |
| Merchant cash advance | Short needs for businesses with steady card or bank deposits | Not a loan: future receivables are purchased | Remitted as a share of sales or a fixed debit |
Three questions that narrow the list
- How long will the thing you are buying keep earning? A payroll gap is gone in weeks; a loader works for years. Matching the funding term to that life keeps you from paying for something long after it stopped helping.
- Is the cost one-off or repeating? A single project with a quote points to a term loan or equipment financing. Costs that keep returning at different sizes suit a credit line.
- What, specifically, repays it? Contract receipts, card sales, inventory turning into cash, or the savings a machine produces. Partners will ask, so it helps to have the answer before they do.
If those answers still leave two candidates, our four-step process starts with exactly that conversation.
Short-term and long-term, secured and unsecured
Short-term structures (working capital, many credit lines, merchant cash advances) cost less in total interest only if they are cleared quickly; they become expensive when rolled over again and again. Long-term structures (term loans, equipment financing) lower each payment but stretch the total cost over more months.
Security works the same way across all six: the more a partner can rely on collateral, receivables or a personal guarantee, the more structures it may consider. Unsecured does not mean no paperwork. Partners commonly still file a UCC financing statement or ask owners to sign a guarantee, so read those sections of any offer closely.
SBA programs and grants
Searches for SBA loans in Utah are common, and SBA-backed loans are made by participating lenders, not by brokers and not by the SBA directly for most programs. SBA loans are not something we arrange. The SBA's Utah District Office lists its address as 125 S. State St., Suite 2227, Salt Lake City, UT 84138, and says it serves all 29 counties in Utah (legacy.sba.gov/district/utah, accessed 2026-10-16); it is the place to start for SBA programs. We do not offer grants either. How to get a business loan in Utah covers both routes and what lenders ask to see.
Using a business credit card instead? Cards suit small, frequent purchases paid off each month. A credit line usually suits larger recurring costs, and a term loan suits a defined project; balances carried on a card for months tend to be the costliest way to fund a business expense.
Starting out
Owners searching for startup business loans in Utah should know that most partners want to see some operating history and bank activity before they fund. Newer businesses often have more options with equipment financing, where the asset carries part of the risk, than with unsecured working capital.
By Oceangate Funding Group · Updated