One of the most misunderstood aspects about commercial loans is how long they take to arrange. There are some types of commercial loans which can be obtained in just a few days while other business loans are likely to take up to 60 days or more.

The primary example of commercial loans that are likely to take the longest to arrange is a commercial real estate loan. Even with the quickest variation of a commercial mortgage, business owners should expect this to take 45 to 60 days (up to nine months is a possibility with some traditional banks for certain commercial mortgages). One aspect that causes this type of commercial loan to take so long is the requirement for a real estate appraisal. This requirement alone is responsible for 30-40 days of the commercial mortgage process. The example requiring up to nine months is likely to involve an environmental review and/or business plan, both of which add substantial costs as well as time to the commercial financing process. However, not all lenders will require either an environmental review or business plan, so business owners should inquire in advance about these extra requirements.

One of the quickest examples of business financing involves a business cash advance based on future credit card receipts (credit card receivables). This commercial financing can be arranged in just a few days and requires very little documentation except for credit card receipt information and is called credit card factoring. Like the example above, some lenders will require more documentation such as tax returns and financial statements. As a result for such lenders the timeline is likely to be several weeks instead of several days.

In both examples above, timing issues will be extended if the initial commercial loan attempt does not result in a successful outcome. Business owners need to realize that with relatively quick-funding possibilities as well as more time-consuming examples such as commercial mortgages, there might still be insurmountable obstacles which result in a declined commercial loan. Although there will frequently be other commercial financing options available even after a lender declines a commercial loan, such "false starts" will result in a more time-consuming process for the small business borrower.

In the end the commercial financing process will be as short as possible if a business borrower does the following before starting their commercial loan search:

(1) Determine whether they need long-term or short-term financing

(2) Perform a preliminary assessment of their cash needs, credit scores and borrowing power based on assets like credit card receivables and equity in commercial property

(3) Review potential lender requirements such as those mentioned above involving environmental reviews and business plans as well as other common lender requirements such as tax returns and financial statements

(4) Commercial borrowers should visit http://www.aexcommercialfinancing.com for an overview of strategies for avoiding problems commonly associated with commercial loans.