A business loan is an agreement between a lender (commonly banks) and a business, where the lender provides the business money, and the business agrees to pay the lender back within a certain amount of time, at an agreed rate of interest. The bank business loan provides medium or long-term finance and is the most common form of loan capital for a business.

A business credit card is intended for use by a business, as opposed to an individual. Using a business credit can help a business build an improved credit profile. It is important to keep personal and business accounts separate, to ensure clear lines of separation for bookkeeping and tax purposes.

From the moment your Limited business needs to pay out or be paid money, you should have a business bank account. It is extremely important to separate your business finances from your personal finances to avoid the headache of tracking everything back when you need to submit your annual accounts. So, unless you’re a sole trader, you must have a separate business bank account. 

A financial forecast provides valuable insights, allowing a business to predict what it will look like financially in the future. Your ability to calculate and articulate financial forecasts is crucial to your business, especially when seeking finance from a lender or investor. Financial forecasting differs from budgeting, where forecasting is a prediction based on past performance, and budgeting is a plan on how money is spent, based on your forecast.

Business insurance is there to cover you in the event of losses and unfortunate events during the running of your business that could potentially damage you financially. Insurance can help to cover you for legal fees, and compensation claims. There are many flavours of business insurance, as they can vary depending upon the industry in which you conduct business.

Crowdfunding is a type of finance where you take lots of small investments/donations from people to achieve your goal, which harnesses the power of social networks. Crowdfunding offers an opportunity to raise vital cash for a business, thereby avoiding bank loans. There are several types of crowdfunding: loan, investment, reward and donation-based and several players in the global market exist.

Capital on Tap provides business overdrafts and credit cards to SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). The Capital on Tap business credit card allows a business to borrow up to £50,000, and provides an effective means to massage cash flow, operating similarly to a line of credit.

Angel investors are often high net-worth individuals that provide capital to entrepreneurs and small businesses to help them succeed. As these investors invest in risky, unproven ventures that cannot obtain funds elsewhere, they are considered "Angels". Angels investors operate in what is known as the 'private equity' market. Angel investors are valuable for a business looking for a smaller amount of investment compared to a loan.

Venture capitalism is when a person or business decides to invest in a business venture and provide capital for a business expansion or startup. Most of the capital is from professionally managed firms seeking high rates of return. In some cases, an investor will seek to play a key decision-making role in future. The main types of venture capital come via a “Venture Capitalist” (high net-worth individual/private company) or VC Fund/Limited Partnership (pooled funds).

A grant is a sum of money given by usually a government or governmental/charitable body that meets specific criteria. Cash grants range from hundreds to thousands of pounds and can even reach as high as £500,000. Business grants are highly-contested as they usually do not require repayment, unlike loans. Grants require a form of a proposal or grant writing as part of the application process.