Oceangate Funding Group, a small-business funding broker in Ogden, Utah, works in four steps: you describe the cost, we match it to a structure and to lending partners that offer it, a partner reviews and decides, and you choose whether to accept. Partners set every rate and term. Comparing offers on total cost and payment rhythm is the last step.
Step 1: You describe the cost
By phone or through the short form, which asks only for your name, email, phone and business name; we ask about the purpose when we call. We want to know what the money pays for, roughly when you need it, and what will repay it. Nothing needs to be uploaded at this stage.
Step 2: We match the structure and the partners
We decide with you which of the six structures fits: working capital, a term loan, a line of credit, inventory financing, equipment financing or a merchant cash advance, which is not a loan. Then we identify lending partners that offer that structure, and tell you what they usually ask for.
Step 3: A lending partner reviews and decides
The partner underwrites the request. It may ask for bank statements, tax returns, financial statements, quotes or a contract, and it will usually check business and owner credit. Ask what kind of credit inquiry it plans before you authorize it. The partner approves or declines and sets the rate, term, security and any fees. We cannot change that decision.
Step 4: You compare and choose
If an offer arrives, compare it on these points before anything else:
- Total cost: the sum of all payments, or for an advance the total to be remitted, minus the amount received.
- APR versus factor rate: loans carry an APR or note rate; advances use a factor rate. A factor rate is not an annual rate and cannot be compared with one directly.
- Payment rhythm: daily, weekly or monthly, and whether it moves with sales.
- Security and guarantees: what liens are filed and what the owner personally signs.
- Early payoff: whether paying early saves anything.
You can decline any offer.
Broker, bank or credit union?
Going directly to a bank or credit union means dealing with one lender's products and criteria. Credit unions do offer business loans, often to members, and some owners do well there, especially with an existing relationship. A broker's value is breadth and preparation: we know which partners offer which structures and can steer a request away from places it is unlikely to fit. The trade-off is that you are working through an intermediary, so ask any broker, including us, how it is paid and whether that affects which partners it suggests.
For free, independent advice with no funding attached, the SBA and the state's small business development network are listed in northern Utah small business resources.
Red flags to watch for anywhere
- Approval promised before any lender has seen the file.
- Upfront fees requested before an offer exists.
- Pressure to sign the same day, or to sign documents you have not read.
- An advance described as a loan, or a loan whose total cost no one will state.
More answers are on the owner questions page, and the relationship is set out in the broker disclosures.
By Oceangate Funding Group · Updated