Business Fuel Review for Potential Borrowers

This Business Fuel review is intended to guide borrowers as they select their preferred small business loan lender. We will go over Business Fuel’s background, their lending practices, and their eligibility requirements. As always we delve into the existing Business Fuel reviews so we can see exactly what customers think of them too.  Read on to learn more about Business Fuel.

Business Fuel Review – Basic Figures for 2022

Logo

ABN

90 135 483 626

Credit License

135 483 626

Loan Amount

$10,000 – $200,000

Loan Term

3 months – 24 months

Unsecured Loans?

Unsecured Loans are Available

Lender Requirements

  • Trading for at least 6 months
  • Turnover greater than $10,000 per month

Required

  • Six months of bank statements
  • Photo ID of directors/borrowers
  • If security is required Business Fuel may ask for documents related to this

Response Time

24 hours.

Easy to Apply

Yes, fully online (expedited application here)

The Nitty-gritty

Online Reviews

Nearly unanimously positive from over 200 reviews (99% positive), praising the professionalism and efficiency of the team at Business fuel

Awards and Recognition

  • 2019 Finalist – Excellence in Business Lending – Australian FinTech Awards “Finnies” high growth companies in APAC for 2018
  • 2020 Finalist – Excellence in Business Lending – Australian FinTech Awards “Finnies”

Minimal Interest Rates

Generally 20-30%. Establishment and draw-down fee applicable but can be included as part of the weekly repayments

Credibility & Company Story

Founded in 2012, Business Fuel is one of the most established lenders in the relatively new Australian online lending industry. To put this into perspective, market leader and industry giant Prospa was founded in 2011.

Like many of the founders of these FinTech lenders, Business Fuel was driven by the belief that for too long Australian businesses have missed out on opportunities that could’ve been game changers if they had better access to cash.

Having grown as a small business itself, Business Fuel knows the challenges that SMEs face and when you can have enough ups and downs in a day that it feels like a year, you at least deserve a financial partner that will treat you fairly and with respect.=

Business Fuel has built its business believing in good ideas and by backing Australian business people with the capital they need to thrive. Whilst Business Fuel may not have grown to the size of Prospa, it certainly seems to do what it does well – clients wholeheartedly believe in the service and 50% of the businesses who use Business Fuel seek funding with the Aussie business lender again.

Looking at Business Fuel today, the firm has built an experienced team of finance professionals who are regularly praised for excellent customer service and taking the time to understand the needs of the small businesses who are seeking finance.

Credibility Score:
5/5

What Finance Options Do Business Fuel Offer?

Business Fuel Line of Credit

Keeping things simple, Business Fuel offers two types of finance – one secured and one unsecured.

Equipment Finance

Funding is available for a range of equipment, including medical and dental, construction, manufacturing and even office equipment and computers. An equipment business loan from Business Fuel Finance can even be used to purchase additional stock too.

Note that Business Fuel Finance doesn’t offer traditional vehicle finance but will take the time to understand each businesses specific needs

Unsecured Business Loans / Cash Flow Finance

Business Fuel’s fast, flexible business loans have been designed to help make money happen for Aussie businesses. Ranging from $10,000 to $200,000, Business Fuel is an effective alternative to traditional lending. Impressively, over 80% of the business loans issued by Business Fuel are unsecured.

Flexibility Score:
5/5

Business Fuel Loans Client Reviews

In Numbers

-TrustPilot Australia – 267 Reviews – 93% Excellent, 6% Great, <1% Average, <1% Poor, <1% Bad – 4.9 / 5 TrustScore

The Feedback:

Currently, at the time of writing (November 2020) Business Fuel has 99% positive reviews on TrustPilot. Meaning 99% of reviewers rate Business Fuel as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’. Some of the feedback left states:

“Such a great experience. Same day I had the funds. No fuss, no drama.”
“Professional, caring and willing to help my business get over the winter blues. Sure they can see from my history that I was a strong business but they fill the immediate gap that banks just don’t care about.”
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This piece of feedback was also left by one of their accounting partners:

“We are a firm of Chartered Accountants in Outer Sth East of Melbourne. We have experience assisting clients who have been dealing with Business Fuel. The test of any Lender is how they react when things go wrong, i.e. Covid-19. We found Business Fuel looks for Win:Win Solutions and in that regard Borrowers are safer with Business Fuel, than with the majority of Banks!”
Analysis of Client Reviews:

Business Fuel has a very solid number of reviews for an online lending company in Australia. In fact, with over 250, they have one of the highest amounts in the industry.

Customers regularly praise the friendly and professional team at Business Fuel, as well as the speedy turnaround for customers to receive their loan. Many customers are also keen to point out through their Business Fuel reviews how refreshing it is to work with a small business lender who actually understands how small businesses operate.

There are three negative reviews that can be found on TrustPilot – one of these actually says the service was good so it would appear they clicked the wrong rating and the other two are quite vague. One of them appears to be one borrower complaining about the interest rate which is a complaint we’ve found across all business lenders. The other states “Read your contract very carefully”. Unfortunately there is no further information on what went wrong but clearly the customer was unhappy if the situation has resorted to Business Fuel having to direct the borrower to their T&C’s. Positively, Business Fuel has responded to the review and directed the borrower to a senior member of the team to discuss the matter further.

Overall, Business Fuel has been providing an excellent service. Their 4.9 / 5 TrustScore even matches the industry leader, Prospa.

Client Reviews Score:
5/5

Business Fuel Loan Compatibility

  • Startup: No, but Business Fuel only requires  that you are a business with 6 months experience.
  • Bad credit: 80% of Business Fuel loans are unsecured but in some cases they may ask for security to increase approval rate.
  • Sole trader: Yes, Business Fuel accepts sole traders.
  • Established business: Yes, Business Fuel will certainly work with established businesses.
Compatibility Score:
5/5

Business Fuel Rates & Pricing

There is very little information that can be found about Business Fuel’s rates. Just this answer in the Business Fuel FAQs:

“There are no hidden fees and interest rates / charges for our business loans. We have no application fees or account keeping fees. We offer a low, up front flat fee and drawdown fee structure that is paid off with your weekly repayments. You can access your monthly statement at no extra cost through your customer portal to keep track of your loan and manage your budget.”

On the basis that Business Fuel has strong client feedback, we would presume their interest rates are no higher than the industry average – if they were we’d expect this to be pointed out by at least a handful of disgruntled customers. One of the negative reviews states “Read the contract carefully” so we would have to think this relates to fees although it doesn’t give us any specific detail. Note that Business Fuel makes no reference to late or missed payment fees so be sure to check these in your terms prior to agreeing to a business loan.

It’s interesting that Business Fuel explains that it takes a “low, up front flat fee”. The standard origination fee by online lenders is usually somewhere between 2.5%-3% of the loan amount. A ‘flat fee’ suggests Business Fuel takes a different approach and perhaps charges a fixed sum, so it’s worth seeing how this stacks up vs the standard 3% origination fee. Of course it could just be that they’re being rather ambiguous with their wording and they do indeed operate in the same mould as every other online lender offering unsecured business loans. If you’re reading this as an existing Business Fuel customer we’d love for you to clear this up.

Interest Rate Score:
5/5
Business Fuel Review Summary

Name: Business Fuel

Summary

Interest Rate / Factor Rate

Generally 20-30%. Establishment and draw-down fee applicable but can be included as part of the weekly repayments

Overall
88%
88%
  • Credibility - 90%
    90%
  • Client Reviews - 91%
    91%
  • Website - 85%
    85%
  • Compatibility - 85%
    85%

Pros

  • Global Experience
  • 24h Response Time
  • Very Positive Client Reviews
  • Clarity for Document Required
  • Award Finalist on Australian Fintech Awards

Cons

  • Min $10,000/m Turnover to Apply