Start with the business funding you need
Write down the amount required for the business purpose and when it must be available. Compare proposals against that need. Two offers with the same stated principal can provide different usable cash once fees are deducted, while a larger financed balance may include costs rather than extra money for the project.
Keep four starting figures visible: base advance, opening debt, funds received and any fee paid separately from existing cash. Do not silently assume those amounts are equal. If the proceeds differ, show the gap before describing one option as cheaper.
| $50,000 base example with a $1,000 fee | Funds received | Opening debt | Separate cash fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee paid separately | $50,000 | $50,000 | $1,000 |
| Fee deducted from the advance | $49,000 | $50,000 | $0 |
| Fee financed on top of the advance | $50,000 | $51,000 | $0 |
Swipe or scroll the table sideways to see every column.
These are fee-treatment illustrations, not quotations. At zero interest with no other charges, each costs $1,000 above the funds received once all payments are counted. At a positive rate, financing the fee also incurs interest on that additional debt. A deducted fee can leave the business short of its purchase budget.
Build one comparison sheet from the actual documents
| Item | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Advance and proceeds | Base amount, financed costs, deductions and separately paid costs | Establishes the debt and cash actually available. |
| Rate | Fixed or variable; nominal, effective, flat or factor description; compounding convention | Different rate labels are not interchangeable. |
| Regular schedule | Payment amount, frequency, first due date, count and last due date | Reveals when the business must have cash available. |
| Recurring and event fees | Account fees, transaction/draw fees and charges tied to particular events | Some are in the quoted payment; others are additional. |
| Final obligation | Balloon or other additional final amount, date and any settlement charge | A smaller regular instalment may leave a large cash requirement. |
| Security and guarantees | Borrower, named assets, any GSA, guarantors and obligations covered | Price does not describe the consequences of default. |
| Flexibility and early exit | Extra repayments, redraw, break costs, discharge fees and payout conditions | Future changes may cost money or require consent. |
| Conditions and expiry | What is still subject to assessment and when the quotation/payout expires | An illustration or expired figure is not a settled contract. |
Swipe or scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Count recurring fees and final payments once
Identify whether the quoted instalment already includes an account fee. If a $20 fee is charged separately each month for 36 months, it adds $720 to cash paid. If that same fee is already inside a payment you enter, adding it again would overstate the cost. The same rule applies to a fee already financed into the opening balance.
Confirm whether the stated final amount is additional to the last ordinary repayment or replaces it. Atlas’s monthly loan models treat a balloon as additional to the last regular instalment. A balloon defers principal; it does not remove the obligation. Its effect on regular payments, interest and final cash needs must all be visible.
For a cost-above-proceeds measure, add the required cash payments and separately paid charges, then subtract the funds received. Keep interest, lender fees and repayments of principal separately labelled. A total repayment number includes principal and is not itself the financing cost.
A zero-interest illustration makes the cash movements easier to see: a $12,000 base advance with a $600 financed fee opens $12,600 of debt. Over 12 months with a $3,000 additional balloon, the regular principal payment is $800. A $10 monthly fee makes the ordinary cash payment $810 and the final month $3,810. Total cash paid is $12,720, or $720 above the $12,000 received: the $600 financed fee plus $120 of monthly fees. The balloon is included once. This is a calculation example, not a zero-interest offer.
Check the payment convention before using a calculator
A nominal annual rate applied to a reducing balance is not the same as a flat percentage of the original advance. A factor or total-repayment multiple also needs its timing and fee context before it can be compared with an annual rate. Ask the provider for the full payment schedule and the amount of cash advanced.
Weekly, fortnightly, daily and monthly loans have different payment counts and dates. Dividing a monthly repayment by four is not a weekly amortisation calculation. Four weeks is 28 days, and a year contains more than twelve four-week periods. Compare each contractual schedule on its own stated basis.
Atlas’s two-loan comparison uses equal monthly payments in arrears and constant nominal annual rates. It can illustrate different fee treatment, recurring monthly charges and additional balloons. It does not reproduce weekly or daily schedules, interest-only periods, future variable-rate changes or irregular payment dates. Do not force an unsupported quotation into the monthly model and treat the result as exact.
The quote-rate view on the comparison page works backwards from net proceeds, equal monthly payments and an additional final amount. Include regular fees in the payment where required by that view. Its implied nominal and effective annualised rates are planning measures, not a statutory comparison rate or an assessment of a lender’s offer.
Worked comparison: fees, balloons and the cash you receive
Balloon and fee-treatment comparison (version 2) uses a $50,000.00 base advance for each loan. Loan A finances its upfront fee into the debt; Loan B deducts its fee from the advance. The example rates and costs are illustrative assumptions, not available pricing or lender offers.
Payments are monthly in arrears at a fixed nominal annual rate divided by 12. Each balloon is additional to the final regular payment. Monthly account fees are separate from principal and interest. This does not model weekly, fortnightly or irregular payment schedules, or a statutory comparison rate.
| Assumption or result | Loan A | Loan B |
|---|---|---|
| Base advance | $50,000.00 | $50,000.00 |
| Nominal annual rate | 10% | 9% |
| Term | 36 months | 48 months |
| Upfront fee | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| Upfront fee treatment | Financed into the debt | Deducted from the advance |
| Monthly account fee | $12.50 | $5.00 |
| Additional final balloon | $10,000.00 | $5,000.00 |
| Opening debt | $50,500.00 | $50,000.00 |
| Cash actually received | $50,000.00 | $49,000.00 |
| Regular monthly principal and interest | $1,390.15 | $1,157.33 |
| Regular monthly cash outflow including account fee | $1,402.65 | $1,162.33 |
| Final month cash outflow including balloon | $11,402.65 | $6,162.33 |
| Total repayments including balloon, excluding account fees | $60,045.56 | $60,551.69 |
| Total cash paid including all entered fees | $60,495.56 | $60,791.69 |
| Borrowing cost above cash received | $10,495.56 | $11,791.69 |
Swipe or scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Loan B receives $1,000.00 less usable cash and pays $296.13 more in total than Loan A, despite its lower regular monthly outflow. Its borrowing cost above cash received is $1,296.13 higher. Unequal proceeds mean the loans do not fund exactly the same business need. This is a tradeoff to examine, not a recommendation.
Open this worked example to load the exact assumptions below the tool’s name. Results update when you edit them; Reset to tool defaults returns to the standard starting assumptions. A link that also requests a saved scenario opens that saved scenario first. The model retains full precision internally, so displayed cents may not multiply back exactly to the totals. Security, guarantees, restrictions, unknown charges and early payout remain separate questions.
Compare repayment capacity and payment dates
Test the payment against the cash available after operating costs, tax and owner drawings, while including existing debt commitments. Use the same period for every figure. If your cash forecast already deducts debt payments, do not subtract them a second time through a coverage calculation.
Annual headroom can look positive while one month is difficult. For example, a final $20,000 balloon added to a $1,000 regular instalment makes that month’s obligation $21,000 before any other debts. Record the actual due date and test the source of the final payment; future resale or refinancing is an assumption, not guaranteed cash.
Run a quieter-trading or delayed-customer case alongside the ordinary plan. The debt-service tool checks annual cash against annual commitments; the 13-week planner helps identify nearer-term timing gaps. Neither calculates an approved borrowing amount.
If you might refinance or repay early, compare the exit
Request a payout quote for the date you actually expect to settle. The current principal, remaining scheduled repayments and contractual payout are different figures. Ask which accrued interest, break costs, discharge fees or other charges apply, and how long the quote is valid.
Compare only the future cash consequences of keeping or replacing the loan. Past fees already paid are not future savings. Record switching charges separately and check whether extending the new term reduces the payment while increasing the remaining total cost.
Do not use a calculator’s mathematical balance as a substitute for a lender’s payout figure. Where an actual charge is unknown, mark the comparison incomplete rather than entering zero and implying certainty.
Turn the comparison into questions, not an automatic winner
Before deciding, ask the provider to reconcile any difference between your worksheet and its quotation. Verify the fee basis, payment dates, balloon treatment and total obligation. Keep the written response with the proposal you reviewed.
The lowest modelled cost does not assess the suitability of security, flexibility, support or the risk to a guarantor. Treat those conditions as part of the decision. Atlas’s tools compare assumptions supplied by you; they do not rank a live lender panel, submit an application or guarantee approval.
What to prepare
- Write the amount the business needs to receive, not only the headline principal.
- Record each fee once and identify whether it is paid separately, deducted or financed.
- Obtain payment amounts, counts, dates and the additional final obligation.
- Check whether recurring fees are already inside the quoted instalment.
- Read the rate convention and use a model that supports the schedule.
- Compare ordinary and stressed cash flow with existing debts included.
- Request a dated payout quote if early exit or refinancing is part of the plan.
- Review guarantees, security, restrictions and any conditions still outstanding.
Common questions
Can I compare only the advertised interest rates?
No. First identify the amount received, the rate convention, timing, fees and final obligations. A lower rate with a longer term can still produce a higher total cash cost.
Why are the opening debt and funds received different?
A deducted fee reduces the advance received; a financed fee increases the amount owed. A separately paid fee uses other cash. Record all three treatments distinctly.
Does a balloon replace the last regular repayment?
That depends on the contract. Atlas’s monthly models assume the balloon is additional to the last regular payment. Confirm the actual final obligation and avoid counting or omitting it twice.
Can I enter a weekly quote into the monthly comparison?
Not as an exact contract comparison. The model assumes monthly payments; dividing or multiplying a payment amount does not reproduce a different interest and timing convention. Obtain the schedule and use a model that supports it.
Is the quote-rate result a statutory comparison rate?
No. It is an implied rate for the entered monthly cash flows. Its nominal and effective annualisation should not be represented as a regulated comparison-rate disclosure or a lender offer.
Does the cheapest result determine which loan is suitable?
No. Cash timing, security, guarantees, restrictions and the business purpose also matter. The result describes the assumptions entered, not an approval or a suitability assessment.
Does Atlas display live lender offers?
No. The comparison uses your own assumptions and hypothetical examples. It is not a ranked lender panel and does not submit an application.
General information only. Product terms and availability vary. Check the actual proposal and obtain advice appropriate to your circumstances.