BoeFly Launches Small Business Lending Tool — bQual™
February 26, 2014
By Bob Coleman
Editor, Coleman Report
“We built bQual to address the questions we’ve heard from some of the thousands of business owners that have used BoeFly since we launched in March of 2010 — “Can I get real-time information and insight before I start the search for financing,” said Mike Rozman, co-president of BoeFly. “With the help of FICO and Equifax we’re solving a long pressing issue in the small business community.”
“One of the keys to success for small businesses is being able to obtain credit quickly and at favorable terms,” said David Vonk, vice president at FICO. “Since we launched our small-business scoring program in 1993, we have seen the tremendous benefits it can bring, helping small businesses get credit faster and with less paperwork. BoeFly’s bQual takes this to the next step: helping business owners understand how lenders see them, just as we provide credit scores and information to consumers through myFICO.com and the FICO Score Open Access program. This is a major advance for American businesses.”
“I applaud BoeFly on the launch of bQual,” said Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report. “The ability for a small business owner to secure their own small business credit score comes on the heels of a new Small Business Administration rule requiring all loans under a certain dollar amount to receive a FICO LiquidCredit SBSS score. Applications scoring below 140 are required to receive more extensive underwriting. All small business owners seeking financing are well served to get their bQual before fully applying for a loan.”
BoeFly has also created a special version of bQual to meet the needs of franchisors and their current and future franchisees, known as ZeeQualTM. Jake’s Wayback Burgers, an 80 unit franchise brand, is just one of the fast growing brands incorporating ZeeQual into their new franchisee process. “The number one question we hear from our franchise candidates is, ‘Am I fundable?'” said John Eucalitto, CEO of Jake’s Wayback Burgers. “ZeeQual is exactly the solution our franchise candidates need to ease anxiety about financing. I expect BoeFly’s ZeeQual to transform the franchise development process for us and the industry.”
“The IFA has been proud to partner with BoeFly in a strategic alliance since early 2012,” said Steve Caldeira, President & CEO of the International Franchise Association. “Knowing BoeFly and the very talented executive team as well as I do, I expect bQual to be a valuable tool for both existing and prospective franchisees seeking financing education.”
bQual is also an important innovation for lenders looking to engage with prospective borrowers earlier in the process. “My bank is actively seeking out quality business owners,” said Doug Cullinan, SVP of Cornerstone Bank in Atlanta, GA. “As an active player on BoeFly’s loan marketplace I am delighted at the opportunity to prequalify prospective borrowers early in their search. And I’ll be able to do just that thanks to the independent data and scores featured in bQual.”