To get a business loan in Arizona, register and license the business (an Arizona Corporation Commission filing, any TPT license and a city license), organize bank statements and financial records, match the funding type to the purpose, then compare offers on total cost. Rockstone Lending, a small-business funding broker in Yuma, Arizona, connects owners with lending partners, who decide. Call (928) 436-5545 or apply online.
Step 1: Make sure the business is set up on paper
Before a lending partner looks at your numbers, it usually wants to confirm that the business legally exists, who owns it and that it is allowed to operate where it does. In Arizona, that paperwork typically comes from three places.
Your entity filing with the Arizona Corporation Commission
LLCs and corporations are formed through the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). Its guide, 10 Steps to Starting a Business in Arizona, walks through formation and the registrations that follow. Keep your articles of organization or incorporation, any operating agreement or bylaws, and a list of owners where you can find them; partners often ask for them to confirm who can sign for the business.
A state TPT license, if you have taxable activity
Arizona's sales tax on businesses is the transaction privilege tax (TPT), administered by the Arizona Department of Revenue. The City of Yuma states that it requires an Arizona TPT license when you apply for a city business license to conduct a retail, wholesale or other business with taxable activity. Applications are handled through AZTaxes.gov.
A local business license
The ACC's guidance is to register the business with the city where it is located, or with the county if you are in an unincorporated area. For Yuma County owners, that usually means:
- City of Yuma: licenses are handled by the Business License and Sales Tax Office at Yuma City Hall, One City Plaza, (928) 373-5074. The city also states that businesses located outside city limits that want to do business inside Yuma need a City of Yuma license, which matters if you are based in Somerton, San Luis or Fortuna Foothills and work in town.
- City of San Luis: the city says business licenses are reviewed by several city departments, including for zoning, before approval. Allow for that review if you are opening a new location.
- Other towns and unincorporated areas: check directly with your town, or with Yuma County if you are outside city limits.
Step 2: Get your financial records in order
Most lending decisions start with the money moving through the business. Partners commonly review recent business bank statements, business tax returns, and a profit and loss statement and balance sheet. For larger or longer requests, they may also ask for the owners' personal tax returns.
A few habits make those records easier for a partner to follow:
- Run business income and expenses through a business bank account, separate from personal accounts.
- Keep your books current, so the profit and loss statement matches what the bank statements show.
- Write down every existing loan, lease and merchant cash advance, with the payment amount and how often it is taken.
- Be ready to explain anything unusual, such as a large one-time deposit, a slow stretch or a period of overdrafts.
Our business loan documents checklist explains each document and what partners look for in it.
Step 3: Match the funding to what the money is for
The purpose of the money does more to determine the right kind of funding than the amount does. A general guide:
| What the money is for | Funding type to look at first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A short gap between paying bills and getting paid | Working capital | Sized to the gap and repaid over a shorter period |
| A planned, one-time investment such as a remodel or second location | Term loan | One lump sum repaid in regular installments |
| Needs that recur but are hard to time | Line of credit | Draw what you need, repay, and draw again up to a limit |
| A work truck, oven or machine | Equipment financing | The equipment itself usually secures the financing |
| A short-term need in a business with steady card sales | Merchant cash advance (not a loan) | A funder buys part of future sales; compare its total cost with loan options first |
Write a few sentences that explain the need: what the money will pay for, how it helps the business, and where repayment will come from. That short explanation is often more useful to a partner than the number on its own.
Step 4: Know what lending partners generally weigh
Each partner sets its own criteria, and Rockstone Lending does not set them. In general, partners consider some combination of:
- How long the business has been operating
- Revenue and cash flow, usually checked against bank statements
- The credit history of the business and, for many products, of the owners
- Existing debts and advances, and the payments already coming out of the account
- Collateral, such as equipment, and whether owners will sign a personal guarantee
How much each factor counts differs by partner and by product. For how they shape the amount, see how much business funding you can get. If credit or a short track record is a concern, read how partners look at credit and funding a newer business.
Step 5: Apply, then compare offers on total cost
A partner that reviews your application may make an offer, ask for more information or decline. If you receive an offer, compare it on more than the payment:
- The total amount you will repay over the full term
- The interest rate, and the APR if the offer states one
- Every fee, including any deducted from the money you receive
- How often payments are taken, and how
- Prepayment terms, collateral and any personal guarantee
- What counts as a default, and what happens then
The business loan payment calculator lets you check the payment and total interest on an offer's numbers. If one of the offers is a merchant cash advance, read how an MCA differs from a loan first; its cost is stated differently and is easy to underestimate. Our pre-signing checklist lists what to ask about any offer.
Free Arizona and Yuma resources
- Arizona Western College SBDC: the Small Business Development Center at 1351 S Redondo Center Dr. in Yuma, (928) 317-6151, offers no-fee advising that includes financing and capital needs and financial analysis and budgeting. It states that it cannot provide legal or tax assistance.
- SBA Arizona District Office: there is no SBA office listed for Yuma. The Arizona District Office at 4041 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1000, Phoenix, includes Yuma County in its service area. Our guide to SBA loans and other options explains the SBA programs in general terms.
- Arizona Corporation Commission: entity filings and the 10-step startup guide.
- City economic development offices: the City of Yuma and City of San Luis both have economic development pages for businesses establishing or growing locally.
Where Rockstone Lending fits
Rockstone Lending connects you with lending partners; partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms. We are a broker based in Yuma, not a lender and not an SBA lender. Our part is to talk through what the money is for, explain which funding types fit, and put your request in front of partners that offer them. We can't promise an approval, an amount or a cost, and no one should before a partner has reviewed your business.
See how the process works, browse the other guides and calculators, or start an application.
By Rockstone Lending · Updated
