How We Match Your Business to a Funding Partner
Most matching services will not tell you how they choose. That is a fair thing to be suspicious of, so this page explains ours: what happens to your details after you submit, how the choice is narrowed, and what we deliberately do not do.
Short version: we check your answers against the lending criteria of the partners in our network, then put you in front of the partners ready to make you an offer, using real approvals from businesses like yours. From there, you compare what comes back and choose who to work with. The full walkthrough is in How TopFunders.ai Works: Business Loan Matching Explained.
What happens in the two minutes after you apply?
Your answers are checked against the lending criteria of the partners in our network. Partners whose criteria your answers do not meet are removed before any introduction is made.
The answers that matter most:
| What you tell us | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Industry | Not every partner funds every industry |
| Time in business | Partners differ on how long a business needs to have been trading |
| Monthly revenue | Partners differ on the revenue they look for |
| Credit range | Partners differ on the credit ranges they accept |
| Business location | Partners are licensed and active in different states, and not every one covers yours |
| Amount requested | Partners differ on the amounts they fund |
| What the funding is for | Some partners fund some purposes and not others |
None of that needs a credit check or a single document. Everything it uses about you comes from your answers.
How are your partners chosen?
Two steps.
First, eligibility. Your answers are checked against the lending criteria of the partners in our network, and partners whose criteria you do not meet are removed.
Second, we use real approvals. We track which partners approve which kinds of business, from the businesses we have already introduced, and we use that to decide which partners you are put in front of. Those results stay private, and a match is not an approval: each partner makes its own decision.
Vetted partners in the network may review your details, and you are introduced to the partners ready to make you an offer, shown when you finish. Vetted means we check that each partner is a legitimate business and holds the licenses the law requires to offer business funding in the US.
The service is free to you. TopFunders.ai is paid by the partners in our network.
The network covers term loans, lines of credit, equipment financing and revenue-based financing, and the partner you meet may offer more than one kind of funding.
Which product you are offered, and on what terms, is the decision of the partner you are matched with, not ours. We do not choose the product and we do not set the price, and nothing about how you are matched promises that any particular product or offer is available to you. Your matched partner sets the actual rate and terms, so review them before you sign.
From there, the partner works with you directly. The application, the questions, the decision and the funding all happen with that partner.
Two more things are worth stating plainly:
We are not a lender and not a loan broker. We do not originate, underwrite, price or fund anything, and we make no credit decisions. Being matched is an introduction, not an approval. The partner reviews your application, sets your amount, rate and terms, and decides whether to fund you.
We never ask for your Social Security number, Tax ID, bank logins or documents. We share your contact and business details with funding partners in our network who may be able to fund you, and with the service providers that help us operate our platform, as our privacy policy describes. We do not sell them to data brokers or advertisers. What a partner does with them once you have applied to it is governed by that partner's own privacy policy, not ours.
Why not a blast to every lender?
You are put in front of the partners whose criteria your answers meet and that fund businesses like yours, not every lender on a list. That is the difference between a short set of real conversations and a week of calls from companies that were never going to fund you.
The trade is worth naming: you see what the matched partners offer, not the whole market. We do not compare rates across partners for you, so read the terms before you sign. See how the main marketplaces compare.
What if the partner is not the right fit?
Not happy with your match? You can always ask us to look again, using the link in our follow-up email. A second match depends on which other partners your business is eligible for. It is not an appeal against a decision the partner has made; it is a second look at the match itself.
What kinds of funding are available through partners in the network?
The network covers business financing only: no personal loans, no credit cards, no mortgages. What is realistically open to you depends on your profile shape rather than on what you ask for.
| Profile shape | Products typically in range |
|---|---|
| Two or more years trading, steady deposits | Term loans, lines of credit, SBA-adjacent products |
| Six to twenty-four months, verifiable revenue | Online term loans, lines of credit |
| Under six months, or uneven deposits | Revenue-based products, secured options |
| Buying a specific asset | Equipment financing, where the asset secures the loan |
| Waiting on business customers to pay | Invoice financing |
These are typical patterns, not a promise. No product is guaranteed to any business, and the partner decides what, if anything, to offer. What applicants actually ask for, and what they report about their businesses, is set out in the TopFunders Small Business Funding Study.
What we never collect
No Social Security number. No date of birth. No EIN. No documents. We do not ask for bank statements, tax returns or paperwork of any kind. Those belong to the partner's application, not ours. The only things about you that matching uses are your business profile and how to reach you.
Alongside that:
- No credit check of any kind at match time. Checking your options doesn't affect your credit. Any inquiry happens later, at the partner, with your separate consent.
- No fee to the business, ever. We are paid by the partners in our network.
- We do not lend, underwrite, price or approve. That is all the partner's.
- We do not guarantee an outcome, and any page or ad that appears to promise one is wrong.
How are the figures on our pages kept current?
Lending criteria change, so the requirements on our industry pages carry a "Requirements last verified" date and, where a figure comes from a published source, a link to it. Where a number is a common market range rather than something a lender publishes, we label it as a typical range rather than dressing it up as a citation.
The distinction matters. "SBA microloans cap at $50,000" is a published program rule with a source. "Online term loans fund in 24 to 48 hours" is what the market typically does, and nobody publishes it as a commitment. We mark which is which.
Frequently asked questions
Does being matched mean I have been approved?
No. A match is an introduction to a funding partner whose lending criteria your answers meet. The partner then reviews your application independently and decides whether to offer you anything, and on what terms.
Who sees my information?
We never ask for your Social Security number, Tax ID, bank logins or documents. We share your contact and business details with funding partners in our network who may be able to fund you, and with the service providers that help us operate our platform, as our privacy policy describes. We do not sell them to data brokers or advertisers. What a partner does with your application once you have applied to it is governed by that partner's own privacy policy, not ours.
Does applying affect my credit score?
No. The only information about you that matching uses is the answers you give us, including a self-estimated credit band, so checking your options doesn't affect your credit. A credit inquiry can happen later at the matched partner, with your separate consent.
Why did I get matched with a partner I have not heard of?
The network includes partners that do not advertise heavily, which is common in business finance. Every partner you can be matched with is one whose lending criteria your answers meet. Brand recognition is not one of those criteria.
What if no partner fits my business?
It happens, particularly with businesses trading under six months or in an industry few partners cover. If no partner in our network fits, you may be shown other funding options to explore instead. Building six to twelve months of documented revenue widens your options.
Do you charge me anything?
No. The business is never charged. We are paid by the partners in our network, which is how the service stays free to you.
How long does the whole thing take?
The application takes about two minutes, and if there is a match it is shown when you finish. Everything after that runs on the partner's timeline, which varies by product: a day or two for online products, weeks for SBA-backed ones.
Related
- Fast business funding: what funds in under 24 hours
- How long does it take to get a business loan?
- How much can you borrow?