Compare, side by side

Both are SBA programmes and both fund real estate, which is why they get confused.

The same bank will often offer you either.

Express is a 7(a) with the guarantee cut in half in exchange for speed.

These sit at opposite ends of the cost ladder, and businesses compare them because one can fund this week and the other cannot.

Both are marketed for short-term cash flow gaps.

Both convert future money into cash today, and both are available to businesses banks decline.

The same asset, two different transactions.

Both finance long-life equipment.

The mechanics rhyme: a multiple, a revenue share, no fixed maturity.

A line matches a recurring, temporary need.

Both are revolving.

These overlap heavily, and many SBA microloan intermediaries are themselves CDFIs.

Both fund a business purchase.

Buying a business is underwritten on the target's cash flow rather than yours.

One never has to be repaid and is very hard to get.