Accounts receivable financing: This type of loan is obtained by borrowing against your company's accounts receivable. The loan is then paid down as the receivables are collected.

Annual fee: A fee that lenders will sometimes charge to cover the administrative costs of a business loan.

Business credit card: A credit card that is issued in a business's name and is used for business purposes.

Collateral: The property that is used to secure a loan. The lender uses this property to guarantee that they will be paid back the loan. If you do not pay the loan as agreed, you are at risk of losing the property that you put up as collateral for the loan.

Commercial real estate loan: A loan that is used to secure real estate that is to be used for commercial purposes.

Credit history: Your credit history is what your lender uses to determine the risk of lending you the funds you are requesting. The better your credit history, the better your chances of being approved for the loan you are applying for and the lower your interest rate will be.

Debtor: The person and/or entity borrowing money.

Equipment lease: An equipment lease is different to a business loan in essence that the leasing company is purchasing the equipment and then you are leasing the equipment from the company, much like a rental.

Fixed interest rate: A fixed interest rate is an interest rate that will remain the same and will not go up or down throughout the term of your loan, as opposed to an adjustable interest rate that can fluctuate with current interest rates.

Interest rate: The amount of interest you pay on your loan. This is what the loan costs you and how the lender makes their money by giving you the loan.

Inventory financing: With inventory financing, you borrow money on the basis of your finished inventory. As that inventory is sold, the loan is paid off.

Lender: The person and/or entity loaning the funds to the debtor.

Line of credit: Used much like a credit card, a line of credit is money that is available to a business to borrow as it needs it. As money is borrowed the credit available decreases and as the money is paid back, the amount of credit increases.

Loan term: The term of the loan is the length of time that a business will have available to repay the amount borrowed. A loan's term can range anywhere from two to ten years, and sometimes more.

Maturity: The loan's maturity is the end of the life of the loan. All amounts owed become due at the loan's maturity. A loan maturity usually only applies to term loans and does not normally apply to revolving lines of credit.

Personal guarantee: A personal guarantee is a guarantee by the primary owner of a business that the loan will be repaid as per the terms of the loan. The primary owner of the business becomes responsible for the loan if for some reason the business cannot repay the loan in full.

Revolving credit: Much like a credit card, a revolving credit (also referred to as a revolving line of credit) allows businesses to borrow funds as they need them. As money is borrowed, the line of credit decreases and as the money is paid back, the amount of credit available increases.

Secured loan: A secured loan is a loan that is secured with collateral. The lender can seize this collateral if the loan is not paid back in accordance with the terms of the loan.

Term loan: A loan for a specific amount of money to be paid back over a specified period of time. Unlike a revolving line of credit, when money is paid back on a term loan more money cannot be borrowed against the loan.

Unsecured loan: An unsecured loan is a loan that does not require any collateral to be used for the loan. Oftentimes personal loans are unsecured loans.

Variable rate: A variable rate is an interest rate charged on a loan. This interest rate will fluctuate based on the current prime rate.