Business Fuel Review
This Business Fuel review is intended to guide borrowers as they search for their preferred small business lender. We will go over Business Fuel’s background, their lending practices, and the eligibility requirements set by Business Fuel in order to access a small business loan. As always, we delve into existing Business Fuel reviews so we can see exactly what customers think of them too. Read the following Business Fuel review and see if they’re the right fit for your business.
| 🌐 Website: | https://businessfuel.com.au/ |
| ®️ Logo: |  |
| 📝 ABN: | 90 135 483 626 |
| 📝 Credit License: | 135 483 626 |
| 💰 Loan Amount | $10,000 – $250,000 (Increased in 2022) |
| ⏲️ Loan Term | 6 months – 24 months |
| 💸 Unsecured Loans? | Unsecured Loans are Available |
| ⌚ Lender Requirements |
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| 📃 Required: |
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| ⏱️ Response Time: | 24h. |
| 🌝 Easy to Apply: | Yes, fully online (expedited application here) |
The Nitty-gritty
| 💌 Online Reviews: | Nearly unanimously positive from over 420 reviews (99% positive), praising the professionalism and efficiency of the team at Business fuel |
| 🏆 Awards and Recognition: |
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| 💳 Minimal Interest Rates: | Generally 20-30%. Establishment and draw-down fee applicable but can be included as part of the weekly repayments |
| ⚖️ Advantages |
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| ⚖️ Disadvantages |
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| ⚖️ Compare Business Fuel | Compare Business Fuel with 50+ Australian Lenders on Lend.com |
| Review Table of Contents |
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Company Story & Credibility
Founded in 2012, Business Fuel is one of the most established lenders in the still relatively new online lending industry in Australia. To put this into perspective, market leader and industry giant Prospa was founded in 2011.
Like many of the 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. 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 every small business they finance.
New in 2022
Like OnDeck, Business Fuel has launched its own credit checking tool for SMEs. It’s fast, there’s no cost and does not impact your credit score.
The tool is offered in partnership with CreditorWatch. Credit history, the industry you operate and the time you’ve been in business can all affect your ability to land a business loan. Using a free business credit report can help you to better understand the ‘health’ of your business and receive that finance to scale your business.
Credibility Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Business Fuel Products
Keeping things simple, Business Fuel offers two types of finance – one secured and one unsecured.
Equipment Finance
Whilst Business Fuel does not offer traditional equipment or vehicle finance, a Business Fuel loan can be used for virtually any business purpose. Thus, funding can be used 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 also be used to purchase additional stock too.
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 $250,000, Business Fuel is an effective alternative to traditional lending. Impressively, over 80% of the business loans issued by Business Fuel are unsecured business loans.
Product Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Business Fuel Client Reviews
In Numbers
-TrustPilot Australia – 420 Reviews – 94% Excellent, 5% Great, <1% Average, <1% Poor, <1% Bad – 4.8 / 5 TrustScore
The Feedback
Currently, at the time of writing (February 2023) Business Fuel has 99% positive reviews on TrustPilot. Meaning 99% of reviewers rate Business Fuel as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Great’. Some of the feedback 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.”
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 420, they have one of the highest amounts in the industry. The 150+ Business Fuel reviews left since 2020 are particularly notable. At a time when a number of lenders came to a standstill, Business Fuel continued to issue new loans and help SMEs where it could.
Customers regularly praise the friendly and professional team at Business Fuel, as well as the speedy turnaround 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 third bad Business Fuel review 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 highlight the T&C’s of the loan to the borrower. 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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Business Fuel Loan Compatibility
- Startup: No, Business Fuel requires that you are a business with 12 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: ⭐⭐⭐
Business Fuel Pricing & Rates
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 in its FAQs 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.
Pricing Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Business Fuel Review Summary
Overall
- Credibility - 90%90%
- Ease of Registration - 91%91%
- Website - 85%85%
- Compatibility - 85%85%
Editor's Conclusions
The solution is focused on providing a straightforward small business loan that businesses can use for a whole host of different purposes. This simple approach, combined with its professional and slick service, is what we believe gives Business Fuel such a good book of repeat business. With such a strong vote of confidence from its customer base, we absolutely believe Business Fuel is worth applying with – it’s quick and won’t impact your credit score.
Best For:
✓ Wholesaling
✓ Medical Services
✓ Restaurants