Revenue-based working capital and merchant cash advances can fund in 24–48 hours. Business lines of credit (once established) fund same-day. SBA Express loans target a 36-hour approval decision. Speed varies by product, documentation readiness, and lender — the fastest approval goes to the most prepared application.
Funding speed varies widely by product type, and most "fast" claims are accurate only for borrowers who arrive fully prepared. Here are realistic timelines by product: Revenue-based working capital / MCA: approval in 4–24 hours, funding in 24–48 hours from completed application; underwriting is bank-statement-based, not tax-return-based, which dramatically reduces the documentation burden. Business line of credit (existing): same-day or next-day draws on an established credit line; initial line setup takes 2–5 business days. Business line of credit (new): 5–10 business days for underwriting, approval, and funding. SBA Express loans: the SBA Express program gives lenders authority to approve up to $500,000 without full SBA review, with a 36-hour SBA turnaround commitment on applications that do reach SBA — overall timeline from application to funding typically 5–15 business days. Standard SBA 7(a) loans: 30–90 days from application to funding, depending on documentation completeness and lender volume. Equipment financing: 3–7 business days once the equipment quote and vendor invoice are provided. The Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey documents that documentation gaps — missing returns, incomplete financials, unsigned 4506-T — are the most common cause of delays across all loan types.
Revenue-based working capital products underwrite on 3–6 months of business bank statements rather than tax returns, collateral, or FICO score (though credit is reviewed). The underwriting process is automated — an algorithm analyzes deposit frequency, average daily balance, NSF rate, and deposit consistency. A completed application typically includes: business owner's driver's license, 3 months of business bank statements, and a voided check for ACH setup. With these documents ready, the process from application submission to approval is often 2–8 hours. The Federal Reserve's 2023 Small Business Credit Survey notes that revenue-based and alternative lending products are among the most widely used non-bank financing tools by SMBs — particularly for businesses that need capital faster than conventional banking timelines allow. Factor rates on these products are higher than SBA or bank products; speed comes at a cost that must be weighed against your use-case timeline.
The SBA Express loan program — part of the SBA 7(a) family — allows SBA-approved lenders to use their own application and credit decision process for loans up to $500,000, with the SBA committing to respond to any applications that do reach SBA within 36 hours. SBA Express loans carry a 50% SBA guarantee (vs. 75–85% for standard 7(a) loans) — lenders accept more risk, which is why they maintain tighter internal credit standards for Express approvals. Overall timeline from initial application to funding is typically 5–15 business days for an SBA Express loan with complete documentation. This is meaningfully faster than standard SBA 7(a)'s 30–90 day timeline — but still slower than bank statement-based alternative products. SBA Express is the right product when you need SBA terms (lower rate, longer amortization) but have documentation ready and a timeline measured in weeks rather than months.
The fastest loan is the one with complete documentation. A revenue-based application stalls if bank statements are missing pages. An SBA Express stalls if the tax return doesn't reconcile to the P&L. Before applying to any lender, assemble: 3–6 months of business bank statements (all pages), most recent 2 years of business tax returns, current P&L and balance sheet, owner ID, and a clear use-of-proceeds description. The lender clock doesn't start until documents are complete.