| Financially Reviewed by Thomas J. Brock |
BlueVine quickly grew over the last several years thanks to its high service levels and relatively low qualification requirements for loan applicants. Customers can manage accounts with their login through the online portal. Should you need additional help beyond what the website provides, BlueVine offers direct customer service through email and telephone.
What Is BlueVine?
Established in 2013, BlueVine is an alternative lender that helps businesses by providing convenient access to short-term capital financing. Since its inception, the company has provided approximately $14 billion to various types of companies in need of invoice factoring, credit lines, checking, and, more recently, Paycheck Protection Program loans (PPP). Additionally, the company maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
BlueVine financing loans are secured. However, the company is flexible with the amount and type of collateral used. As noted on their website, BlueVine secures loans with a general lien on the business’s assets and is backed by a personal guarantee.
Compared to other lenders, BlueVine differentiates itself through four key points: speed, simplicity, flexibility, and personal service.
Additionally, accounting software packages like QuickBooks users can connect to BlueVine through Intuit’s software. Connecting your account creates added benefits, including potentially qualifying for a higher credit line, pre-filling loan applications with QuickBooks data, as well as syncing invoices to allow for one-click funding with invoice factoring.
Advantages and Disadvantages Of BlueVine
Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of BlueVine.
BlueVine Advantages
- The application process for lines of credit and invoice factoring is quick and simple.
- Funds can be made available in a matter of hours or days depending on the product
- The interest rates are competitive.
- Even though BlueVine primarily operates online, the person to person customer support is first rate.
- BlueVine funding is available to customers with relatively low credit scores
- The online dashboard allows customers to request advances for invoices regularly.
BlueVine Disadvantages
- BlueVine funding is not available in every state, such as North and South Dakota, so check before applying.
- Because BlueVine loan terms extend over 6-12 months, repayments can be high.
- Customers have two weeks from the invoice due date to pay invoices for invoice factoring accounts. Otherwise, borrowers will need to pay back the amount received upfront immediately. If they cannot, borrowers are put on an automatic 12-week installment plan to settle the account.
- Services are only available for B2B companies
- Not all industries are eligible for invoice factoring.
- Rates for lower credit scores can be high.
BlueVine Loan Features
Our BlueVine review covers three major BlueVine loan services: lines of credit, invoice factoring, and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Note that BlueVine discontinued the line of credit until further notice. They are currently processing PPP loan services in coordination with the SBA Coronavirus Assistance Program.
Line of Credit
BlueVine’s line of credit delivers short-term financing on-demand. Customers access revolving credit lines, drawing as much or little as they need, paying only what they use.
On the first draw, clients can borrow between $5,000 and an amount less than or equal to the available credit. Additional draws can be anywhere between $500 and less than or equal to the available credit.
Loan Type | Line of credit |
Term Length | 6 or 12 months |
Repayment Period | Weekly and monthly |
APR Range | Rates as low as 4.78% |
Min-Max Amount | $5,000 to $250,000 |
Invoice Factoring
Invoice factoring allows borrowers to get paid on invoices immediately. BlueVine creates a ‘holding account’ for borrowers. As invoices are generated, BlueVine pays the borrower a portion of each invoice straight away. When customers pay the invoice, BlueVine sends the remainder of the invoice to the borrower, less fees.
For an invoice to qualify for invoice factoring, it needs to meet several requirements:
- The product or service was completed, delivered, and accepted by your customer.
- The customer is based in the U.S. or Canada.
- The customer is a business.
- The invoice face value is higher than $500.
- The payment term is less than 91 days.
- The due date is at least one week away.
Loan Type | Invoice factoring |
Term Length | 1 to 13 weeks |
Repayment Period | Weekly |
Apr Range | As low as 13.00% |
Min-max Amount | Up to $5 Million |
PPP Loans
BlueVine SBA loans are currently offered through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program is aimed at helping companies during the Coronavirus Pandemic. An eligible business can take two draws from this loan and may qualify for forgiveness of the entire amount.
BlueVine is not currently accepting loan forgiveness applications.
Loan Type | Paycheck Protection Program loan |
Term Length | Up to 5 years |
Repayment Period | No payments for up to 10 months |
Apr Range | As low as 1.00% |
Min-max Amount | Up to $2 Million |
BlueVine Interest Rates and Fees
Interest rates are often quoted in weekly terms which is different from most loans which are quoted in annual percentage rates (APR).
Line of Credit
BlueVine has two options for lines of credit: Flex 6, which has a repayment period of six months, and Flex 12, which has a repayment period of 12 months. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance.
Loan Type | Line of credit |
Origination Fees | 1.60% - 2.50% per draw |
Prepayment Fees | None |
Late Payment Fees | Can’t be confirmed |
Maintenance Fees | None |
Interest Rates | 0.30%-1.50% per week (Flex6) 1.50%-6.50% per month (Flex12) |
Invoice Factoring
Loan Type | Invoice factoring |
Origination Fees | None |
Prepayment Fees | None |
Late Payment Fees | 2.00% to 3.00% of the amount due |
Maintenance Fees | None |
Interest Rates | As low as 0.25% per week |
PPP loans
Loan Type | Paycheck Protection Program loan |
Origination Fees | None |
Prepayment Fees | None |
Late Payment Fees | None |
Maintenance Fees | None |
Interest Rates | As low as 1.00% (Forgivable) |
How Do I Qualify For A BlueVine Loan?
During the application process, your business will be evaluated to determine the likelihood you can pay back the loan. Certain industries are not eligible for lines of credit including gambling, political campaigns, auto sales, fire arms, financial institutions, and nonprofits. You can find a full list in the resources section of their website. North and South Dakota businesses are not eligible for lines of credit with BlueVine.
- Credit History: One of the essential factors BlueVine looks at is your business/personal credit history. Borrowers need to have a 530+ FICO score to qualify for invoice factoring and 600+ FICO score for lines of credit.
- Time in Business: BlueVine looks at whether you’ve been in business for 3+ months for invoice factoring and 6+ months for lines of credit.
- Monthly Revenue: To obtain an invoice factoring account, your business will need to generate a minimum of $10,000 a month in revenue. For lines of credit, BlueVine requires at least $10,000 a month in revenue.
Line Of Credit
Criteria | Less than $100,000 loan | More than $100,000 loan |
Minimum Credit Score | 600+ | 600+ |
Minimum Annual Revenue | $120,000 | $120,000 |
Minimum Time in Business | 6+ months | 6+ months |
Invoice Factoring
Criteria | Less than $100,000 loan | More than $100,000 loan |
Minimum Credit Score | 530+ | 530+ |
Minimum Annual Revenue | $120,000 | $120,000 |
Minimum Time in Business | 3+ months | 3+ months |
The BlueVine Loan Application Process
BlueVine’s application process goes through two main steps regardless of whether you apply for a line of credit or invoice factoring account.
First, potential borrowers provide basic information about customers and the business. This process takes about 10 minutes using an online application.
Next, BlueVine reviews the applications for approval in as little as five minutes for lines of credit and 24 hours for invoice factoring accounts.
Those approved for invoice factoring accounts can then submit invoices. This can be done manually or through syncing your Intuit QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks accounting software. You’ll then receive a portion of invoice amount up front and the remainder (less fees) when the customer pays.
Once approved for a line of credit, borrowers can draw funds using an online dashboard on BlueVine’s website. Cash is made available in the borrower’s bank account in as little as three hours.
Borrowers pay back each draw from their line of credit with fixed monthly or weekly payments over 6 to 12 months.
In order to apply, you’ll need the following documents:
- Full details and proof of your annual revenue, such as a profit and loss statement.
- Official proof of the address and phone number of your business.
- Your Tax ID number.
- Information about your Tax ID and Type of Entity.
- Information about the customers that you have and the sectors that they operate in.
- Full bank statements for the previous three months. Alternatively, you can provide a bank connection if you don’t have printed copies of statements.
How Does BlueVine Determine Loan Amount?
For invoice factoring accounts, BlueVine pays out approximately 85%-95% of each customer invoice. The remainder (less fees) is paid upon receipt from the customer. Lines of credit are determined based on a review of your credit score, business, as well as other factors.
BlueVine is highly rated for its transparency. Although the site’s recent overhaul made it more difficult to look into their products and offerings’ details, you can still find information in their resources section, including an FAQ, help center, list of partners, and a business blog that covers a variety of relevant topics.
BlueVine Customer support
Bluevine’s customer service is highly rated and regarded. You can get in touch with the customer care support team from morning (8 am ET) to evening (8 pm ET) from Monday to Friday. Customers can reach representatives through their website contact page as well as Facebook and Twitter for less formal interactions.
BlueVine’s customer service representatives are very responsive, depending on the contact method you choose. Additional help is also available through the FAQ section for general questions on BlueVine’s website. There are two types of FAQ sections available for customers: one for people before the signup process and the other for customers already using the services.
BlueVine Loan Reviews
BlueVine has a robust online presence. Most of the BlueVine reviews online speak positively about the platform. The company garnered an average rating of 4.2-stars on Trustpilot with over 5,000 reviews. On Merchant Maverick, customers rated BlueVine loans and products 4 out of 5 stars.
In addition to a large number of customer reviews on these and other leading sites, major news sources such as TechCrunch, Forbes, HuffPost, PYMNTS.com, Crowdfund Insider, American Banker, and others covered BlueVine.
Merchants give good marks on BlueVine’s ability to help deal with short-term cash flow problems. Their quick turnaround and payments help cover money shortages, especially when larger clients fail to pay on time or unforeseen circumstances crop up.
Overall, customers highlight BlueVine’s timely customer support, transparent advertising, a simplified application process, and quick funding.
Positive Reviews | Negative Reviews |
Customer care support team | High late fee payment |
Simple and intuitive platform | Rejected draws |
No minimum balance required | Notification factoring |
Final Thoughts
BlueVine small business loans work well for short-term funding needs. Their quick application process, approval, and funding help when time is short.
In addition to small business loans, BlueVine offers business checking accounts. Customers can earn 1.00% interest on balances up to $100,000 as well as avoid monthly, NSF, and incoming wire fees. There is no minimum deposit or balance required, and customers gain access to zero ATM fees at over 38,000 MoneyPass locations nationally.
While opening a BlueVine Business Checking Account does not explicitly improve your chances of being approved for a loan, it can be used to build transaction and credit history with BlueVine. This makes the evaluation process for loans smoother and more efficient. Plus, customers with business checking accounts get instant funding when they receive financing approval.
