New Square Loan in 2024

[SPPhotography1]

I’m at a bit of a loss for what else I need to do to be offered a new Square Loan at this point. I’ve been with Square for over 10 years, had 7 loans now that I’ve have paid back early every single time. Metrics are all in green, record sales year. In 2023, record numbers across the board, no refunds, no complaints or issues of any kind in our entire history. Current loan is 80% paid off, but no new offer in site. This is the kind of stuff that causes businesses to find someone else to process through! Please help! I’m sure I’ll get the same old excuses that you guys send to everyone about looking at every aspect of the business. But there isn’t a single aspect that isn’t way up. I’m not sure if there is a new process they are using now, or if there is some kind of issue with my banking or something else I’m not thinking about or aware of. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, because I could really use some new capital to start the year off with and reinvest into my business!

[Stacelyn24 · Accepted solution]

I'm really sorry to hear about your frustration with the loan offers. I understand how important it is to feel valued, especially as a loyal customer. Let me try to address your concerns and provide some clarity.

Loan Offers and Qualification Parameters

Square’s loan offers are based on a variety of factors, and while past trends have shown offers at certain thresholds, the exact parameters can change over time and are not always disclosed in detail. Here are a few points to consider:

• Dynamic Criteria: Square uses a complex set of algorithms that take into account not just the repayment percentage but also your recent sales history, account health, and overall business performance.
• Market Conditions: External market conditions and internal policy changes can also impact when and how loan offers are extended.

Value Beyond Transaction Fees

I understand that a 3% card transaction fee can seem high compared to other providers, but Square offers several features and benefits that help justify this cost:

• Integrated Ecosystem: Square provides a comprehensive suite of tools that work seamlessly together, from point-of-sale systems to online stores, invoicing, and inventory management.
• Ease of Use: The user-friendly interface and intuitive design make managing your business simpler and more efficient, saving you time and reducing the need for extensive training.
• Reliable Support: Square offers robust customer support and resources to help you resolve issues quickly and keep your business running smoothly.
• Secure Transactions: Advanced security measures protect your business and customers from fraud and data breaches.
• Analytics and Reporting: Detailed analytics and reporting tools help you understand your business performance and make informed decisions.

I understand the disappointment regarding the loan offer, please know that Square regularly reviews its criteria and your status. I recommend reaching out to Square’s customer support for a more personalized review of your account and to express your concerns directly.

[TheRealChipA · Accepted solution]

Good news, bad news, eh @cmeshine.  There are a number of reasons that COULD be part of why your new offer was lower.

1. Square might be slowing down on how much loan exposure they want to have on their balance sheet.  They are, after all, a publicly traded company that has to answer to their shareholders and investors.
2. If our sales are flat or at least not growing at a good rate to cover inflation and higher interest, then Square’s algorithm understands that inflation is eating into our available cash to pay bills, etc.  Flat sales (or very slowly growing sales) are always red flags to lenders, Square or not.
3. Sometimes how long it takes us to pay off our current loans can be a factor.  Let’s say that previous loans were paid off with automatic payments in 8-10 months in the past.  But for this current loan it took us 12-15 months.  That tells Square that our card processing volume can’t keep you with higher loan amounts.  Yes, they give us 18 months to fully pay a loan, but they obviously prefer that we pay them off closer to the 12 month mark.
4. If our cash/card ratio drastically changes, and cash spikes or is consistently higher than historical for our business, that is another red flag.  Since Square must only consider card volume when calculating repayment rates this can become a problem.

Of course, I’m not saying that any of these contributed to your lower offer.  I’m just throwing out a few reasons why this CAN happen.

[Twpchair]

I know and I am  sorry unfortunately for over a year now that's the same trend I'm watching and have been for over a year.  Best wishes to you ❤️ and all watching 

[Jjpainting]

As soon as my hopes get better about receiving a good offer, you has to slam those hopes lol. As I read more and more posts, and try to figure out at least how some of the algorithm works for how high of a loan one should expect, the more I think that the algorithm is totally just assigning random amounts 😂. Thanks for sharing though.  I’ll keep everyone posted if I get an offer and details of it.  Currently I’m just below 89% and will be between 91-92% by tomorrow after I complete a job.  Still waiting on if another quote I sent out a couple days ago will be accepted.  I’m thinking and hoping it will, and if that happens, I’ll be up to 98% paid by tomorrow. If a loan triggers before I pay off my loan I’ll take it, if not, I might just begin putting 20% aside for all transactions…and get away from paying $5000 in loan fees per year. But I haven’t decided.  I mainly want this loan to hire a marketing firm to begin marketing my company.  I get more work than I can handle with having a couple employees.   But now after two years and getting used to running my own business for the first time, it’s time to expand, hire more people, and I want to begin getting away from the physical work and concentrate on growing my company. I’d still do all the quotes, obviously constantly checking in on my workers at different job sites and help out a couple hours here and there  and then do a final inspection, but then just work on more marketing and finding leads. Ive been a painter for many years and its starting. To effect me more and more physically as time goes on. But in order for me to do all this and be able to hire and afford qualified painters, I need to increase sales, which I need a loan for. And hoping it’s for $20k+ to pay for that and a down payment for a new work truck for employees to use.  Sorry for the rambling here, just wanted to get my thoughts out this morning as I’m exhausted from working 7 days 10 hours a day without a day off this summer, aside from when I broke my rib I needed to take a couple days off. So come on square. I still have some faith in you that you will send me a solid nice offer this week. Lol

[Twpchair]

It's seems most aren't getting huge offers like prior. Of course, everyone is different, and we are all unique with different types of business. I have seen a few go up 5k or 7k but also the much lower than they anticipated. Good luck, and hopefully, they bump it up. 

[Twpchair]

Congratulations! Nice to see it is moving!

[Twpchair]

Congratulations to him! Thanks for the update and posting!

[harajuku]

Hey everyone. I never post on here, only read but I wanted to post an update since I've been keeping up with this thread and also have been waiting impatiently for a new offer. I made prepayments on my loan to chump it down to 60% (which is normally when I see a new offer). When I didn't see new offer after weeks, I paid it down to 70% and still didn't see anything so I went ahead and paid it down to 80% because that's been the normal lately. It took about 7 days for my last payment to clear and an offer came in today. My account was reviewed around 5 pm but the offer didn't show up until later. The offer is slightly lower than my last one but I'm grateful to even have one. Hope this helps anyone still waiting for an offer. It's coming. 

[Twpchair]

Congratulations! Thank you for the update! It does help others 

[GlitzyCow]

My offer was honestly a relief after a year of stress from square. However it was 5% of my processing from my average year. The pay back went from average 12-16% down to 6.5%. Seeing what hawaiicraves was offered and very similar yearly processing I’m a bid underwhelmed with my offer being 1/4 of that. I’m happy though that I got one. I’d expect to have smaller offers with better repayment terms for anyone wanting insight. 

[Jjpainting]

Yeah I have seen a few posts of people getting much lower offers with a much lower payback amount. Then others not. May I ask what loan number you’re at?  From what I’ve noticed (I think lol) the lower offers/payback percentage ones, are companies that have had a lot of loans and been when square the longest. My memory may be off on this though. I think between loan number 1-4 (maybe 5 or 6) are when you get your largest increases as your business gets more established with square so they can see the health of your business. Like my 3rd offer which was $8500, after 2 months and paying back 66% my offer of 14700 came….like an adjustment of it should have been cause they didn’t know my growth was gonna continue every month of the year. 

So during the early months on here, if you just started your business, that’s when it grows the most as a percentage basis. Like i was going from $2-3k a month processing and within 6 months i was up to as much as $22k some months.  You’re not gonna see jumps in sales that high after later on. Your dollar amount most likely will be a larger increase but the computer algorithm might be more focused on percentage increase. Or it’s all totally random crap that only the one that created the algorithm truly understands lol. I know every businesss is different, but I’ve never seen any consistency at any point from these posts, aside from most people have to wait longer. This discussion was going on last November when I got my.almosf double offer at 66% paid off. But that 4th offer came 13 months after starting with square where they could have a larger full scale picture on my business. My sales are up 35% from last year, which I look at as amazing, bjt  that’s nothing compared to my sale increases early on when I was looking at 1000% increases over a few months. Let me know if this makes sense to anyone lol

[locksmithnick]

This isn’t really accurate. As I stated in my post, my largest loan ever was in November and that was my 20th Square Loan. My father has also had at least 10-12 loans in his time with Square and I believe his offer he received over the weekend was also his largest offer to date. 

[Jjpainting]

Yeah it was a guess. Thanks for the feedback 

[ayazbey01]

HELLO, OUR BUSINESS HAS PAID THE LOAN, 14 DAYS HAVE BEEN GIVEN A NEW OFFER

[TheRealChipA]

Hey @ayazbey01.  Congratulations.  14 days to get a new offer is not bad at all.

[ayazbey01]

I DID NOT RECEIVE A NEW OFFER, THAT'S WHY I WROTE IT

[TheRealChipA]

@ayazbey01 Your original post did not include the word “not.”  See screen shot below. You said “have been given a new offer.” I read exactly what you wrote. If you meant something else, that’s what you should have written.

Also, can  you turn off your caps lock please? Typing in all caps is the rude equivalent of shouting. 

Sorry you haven’t gotten an offer yet. But 14 days is not a lot of time.  Once you are eligible again, you’ll get a new offer. All you can do is wait. Shouting at us here on the seller community will do absolutely no good. 

[TheRealChipA]

 

[Twpchair]

Have you been or haven't been? I'm sorry I'm jumping between pages. Ughhhhh, hun I am so sorry, and unfortunately, I am watching the trends, and July and August were slow, and boom comes September, and it was like every day all day with loans. Believe I'm just like you. I don't work for Square or have that secret algorithm, but I watch the trends. Right now, we have a budget that has to be passed or the government shuts down. 2. Watch the stock market  it's not just square. I promise you, but all lenders and banks are holding tight. I hope to come September like last year, loans were popping every day! Just hold tight and keep pushing on! I'm at 88%, so I'm right there with you! We got this! We can do it!

[Alexis321]

September? I'll have to go elsewhere and I'd really rather not because this is so much easier and honestly for my business cheaper than a bank loan.  😔 

[Twpchair]

I understand 💯 I really do please believe me been there done that and I hate to call out another company but just say Clover had told me at processing then 287k a 50k loan day one isn't true. I looked up their terms and agreements. 6 months before the 1st loan, you start from scratch and work yourself up like square. I promise you 💯 you do what is best for you and your business, but just look up their reviews and reddit, and you will see it's lending all together from banks to pos systems. I really wish you the best, and no matter what, as a small business owner, go out there and kick butt

[PFS36]

There's a local Clover salesguy that keeps hounding us to switch. If he's any indication of what their service is like, stay away. He's sleazy and pushy.

[Twpchair]

If I could I kudos star this 💯 I would! SMH they promise you the world bit please jump on their forums or reddit you start from scratch for 6mths and work up. Look up their terms and and agreements and it's right there! These are sales members promising the world and it's not in their agreements! I look them up monthly and nothing has changed! Remember the grass isn't always greener on the the other side of the fence! All lenders are holding tight right now we need to buckle down and stand strong! We can and will do this! Please don't buy into a 50k loan because many will tell you coming back to square it was a horrible mistake.  WE CAN DO THIS!