glossary
Business Funding Glossary.
42 terms that show up on applications, statements, and lender emails, defined in plain language. Each one links to the page that goes deeper.
Definitions are educational and general. Issuers and lenders apply their own policies, and the terms of a specific offer control. Where a term is central to how Trovo works, the entry links to the business credit stacking guide.
0-9
- 13-week cash flow
- A weekly forecast of cash in and cash out for the next thirteen weeks, one quarter. It shows whether the business can carry a new payment before the payment exists, which is why it comes before any application. Run a 13-week cash test
- 5/24 rule
- An informal name for one large issuer's practice of declining applicants who have opened five or more new card accounts across any issuer in the past 24 months. It is one of several velocity rules that decide the order applications go out in. How sequencing works
A
- Amortization
- The schedule that pays a loan down to zero through fixed installments of principal and interest. Term loans amortize. Revolving credit does not, which is why a card balance needs a paydown plan of its own.
- Annual fee
- A yearly charge some cards bill for holding the account. Most cards used in a stacking sequence carry no annual fee, and any fee is weighed against the intro APR window and credit limit it buys.
B
- Balance transfer
- Moving a balance from one credit account to another, usually to a card with a promotional rate. Issuers typically charge a balance transfer fee of a few percent of the amount moved, and the promotional terms on the receiving card control.
- Business credit file
- The report a commercial bureau such as Experian, Equifax, or Dun and Bradstreet keeps on a company, separate from the owner's personal file. It holds trade payment history, public records, inquiries, and scores like Paydex. Review your business credit file
C
- Cash conversion cycle
- The number of days between paying for inventory or inputs and collecting cash from the resulting sale. A longer cycle means more working capital is tied up, which changes how much funding the business actually needs. Cash conversion review
- Credit card stacking
- A funding strategy that combines several business or personal credit cards, opened in a planned sequence across multiple issuers, into one larger pool of revolving capital. Each issuer still makes its own approval and credit-limit decision. Read the full guide
- Credit limit increase (CLI)
- A request to raise the limit on an existing card. Some issuers evaluate the request with a soft pull after a period of on-time use, which can grow available capital without a new application.
- Credit mix
- The variety of account types on a credit report, such as revolving cards and installment loans. It is a small scoring factor and never a reason to open an account the business does not need.
- Credit utilization
- The share of available revolving credit currently in use, on each card and across all cards. High utilization is one of the most common reasons a strong applicant is declined or approved for a small limit. The utilization trap
D
- D-U-N-S number
- A nine-digit identifier Dun and Bradstreet assigns to a business location. It is free to request and anchors the company's file with that bureau, including its Paydex score.
- Deferred interest
- A promotion, common in retail financing, where interest accrues from day one but is waived only if the full balance is paid before the promotional period ends. It is not the same as a true 0% intro APR, where no interest accrues during the window.
- Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)
- Cash available for debt payments divided by the payments due. A ratio above 1.0 means the business produces more cash than it owes; lenders often set a floor, and SBA now requires at least 1.10 to 1 on 7(a) Small loans. The debt service floor
- Debt-to-income ratio (DTI)
- Monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income, used on the personal side of an application. Personal-guarantee underwriting looks at it alongside the business figures.
E
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- The nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to a business, issued free at irs.gov. Business card applications ask for it, and sole proprietors may apply with a Social Security number instead.
F
- Factor rate
- A pricing multiplier used by merchant cash advances and some short-term loans, such as 1.3 on the amount advanced. It is not an APR, and because the total cost does not fall when you pay early, the equivalent APR is usually far higher than it looks. Compare funding paths
G
- Grace period
- The days between a statement closing date and the payment due date during which a purchase balance can be paid in full without interest. Carrying a balance or taking a cash advance can remove it.
H
- Hard pull (hard inquiry)
- A credit check made when you apply for new credit. It is recorded on the report, can lower a score by a few points for a limited time, and is visible to other lenders, which is why application timing matters.
I
- Inquiry
- A record that someone accessed a credit file. Hard inquiries follow applications and affect scores; soft inquiries, such as a pre-qualification review or checking your own report, do not.
- Intro APR (promotional APR)
- A reduced interest rate, often 0%, that a card issuer offers on purchases or balance transfers for a fixed number of months after account opening. When it ends, the regular APR applies to any remaining balance. 0% business credit explained
- Issuer
- The bank or financial institution that opens the card account, sets the credit limit, and decides approvals. Trovo Capital is not an issuer, lender, or broker; issuers make every credit decision.
L
- Line of credit
- A revolving facility from a bank or online lender that can be drawn, repaid, and drawn again up to a limit. It usually carries a variable rate and, for small businesses, a personal guarantee.
M
- Merchant cash advance (MCA)
- A purchase of future receivables, repaid through daily or weekly debits, priced with a factor rate. It funds quickly and costs the most of the common options, and stacking several MCAs is treated by funders as a default trigger. MCA compared with other paths
P
- Paydex
- Dun and Bradstreet's business payment score, from 1 to 100, based on how promptly a company pays its reported trade accounts. Paying early scores higher than paying on time.
- Payment due date
- The date the minimum payment must arrive to avoid a late fee and a reported delinquency. It comes about three weeks after the statement closing date, and it is not the date the balance is reported to the bureaus.
- Personal guarantee
- A promise by the owner to repay a business debt personally if the business does not. Nearly every small-business card and loan requires one, so a business-card balance is still the owner's obligation. The personal guarantee reality
- Purchase APR (regular APR)
- The ongoing interest rate charged on purchase balances once any intro period ends, typically variable and tied to the prime rate. This is the number a paydown plan has to beat.
R
- Revolving credit
- An account with a credit limit that can be borrowed against, repaid, and reused, such as a credit card or line of credit. It has no fixed end date, which is what makes utilization and a payoff plan matter.
S
- SBA 504 loan
- A long-term, fixed-rate SBA program for major fixed assets such as real estate and heavy equipment, delivered through a Certified Development Company alongside a bank loan. It is not for working capital. 7(a) and 504 limits explained
- SBA 7(a) loan
- The SBA's primary guaranteed loan program, made by participating lenders for working capital, equipment, refinancing, or acquisitions. $350,000 is the ceiling of the 7(a) Small program, which has its own underwriting standard, but the amount does not fix the processing method: SBA permits a lender to process a request of $350,000 or less under Standard 7(a) instead. What changed for 7(a) Small loans
- SBSS score
- The FICO Small Business Scoring Service, a 0 to 300 score that blends business and owner credit data. SBA stopped using it to prescreen 7(a) Small loans on March 1, 2026, though some lenders still use it internally.
- Sequencing
- The order and timing of applications across issuers so that each one sees the strongest possible profile and no issuer's velocity rule is tripped. Sequencing is the core of the strategy work in credit card stacking. How to sequence 0% credit
- Soft pull (soft inquiry)
- A credit review that does not affect the score and is not shown to other lenders, used for pre-qualification, account monitoring, and some credit limit increases. Trovo's readiness review uses a soft pull you authorize. Check your readiness
- Statement closing date
- The last day of a billing cycle, when the issuer totals the balance and usually reports it to the credit bureaus. Paying before this date, not the due date, is what lowers reported utilization. Set a paydown plan
T
- Term loan
- A lump sum repaid over a fixed period in scheduled installments, from a bank, SBA lender, or online lender. It suits a defined project with predictable cash flow and is compared against revolving credit on cost and flexibility. 0% APR vs term loans
- Tradeline
- Any credit account that appears on a credit report, with its limit, balance, and payment history. Business tradelines build the business file; personal cards build the personal file.
U
- UCC filing
- A public notice a lender files under the Uniform Commercial Code to claim a security interest in business assets. It shows in the business credit file and can affect how other lenders view collateral.
- Underwriting
- The issuer's or lender's evaluation of an application against its own credit policy: scores, utilization, income or revenue, time in business, and existing obligations. Every issuer underwrites differently, which is why identical profiles get different answers.
V
- Velocity rules
- Issuer policies that limit how many new accounts an applicant may open in a period, such as two cards in 30 days or five in 24 months. They are not always published, and they are the reason application order is planned rather than improvised.
W
- Working capital
- Current assets minus current liabilities, the cash cushion that funds day-to-day operations. Most small-business funding requests are working-capital requests, sized by the cash conversion cycle and the 13-week forecast.
Missing a term you ran into on an application? Email hello@trovocapital.com and we will add it. For questions about the process itself, start with the FAQ.
Issuer approval required. Trovo Capital provides independent strategy and coordination. We're not a lender and don't make credit decisions.
ready when you areKnow the terms.
Know the terms.
Now see where you stand.
A free readiness check shows how an issuer is likely to read your profile before you apply anywhere.