This business loan cost calculator estimates the monthly payment, total interest and total amount repaid on a loan from the amount, annual rate and term you enter. Crestford Lending, a small-business funding broker in Waterloo, Iowa, provides it for planning only; lending partners make credit decisions and set actual rates and terms.
What to enter
- Amount: the sum you would borrow, not including any fees taken from it.
- Annual rate: the interest rate from an offer you are considering, or one you want to test.
- Term: how many months of installments, entered as a whole number.
The calculator assumes equal monthly payments on a fully amortizing loan. It returns the monthly payment, the total interest over the term and the total repaid, which is the amount plus that interest.
Checking the arithmetic
Try a rate of zero first. Borrowing $12,000 over 12 months at zero interest gives a payment of $1,000 and total interest of zero, which confirms the basic math. Then enter a real rate from an offer and watch how the total interest grows as you lengthen the term.
Doubling the term roughly halves the payment but can more than double the total interest. That is the trade-off most owners want to see.
What the calculator does not include
Fees charged by the lender, payments made weekly or daily, balloon payments, variable rates and prepayment terms all change the real cost, and this calculator does not model them. Add known fees to the total by hand, and ask the partner for the full repayment figure in writing.
A merchant cash advance is not a loan and is priced with a factor, not an interest rate, so it cannot be entered here.
Comparing two offers with the calculator
- Enter the first offer's amount, rate and term; note the payment and total repaid.
- Enter the second offer's figures and note the same two numbers.
- Add each offer's fees by hand to its total repaid.
- Compare the totals, then check whether each payment fits your weakest months.
Two offers with similar payments can have very different totals if one runs longer. Total repaid, with fees added, is the fairest single comparison.
Why a Black Hawk County, Iowa owner might run these numbers
With 44.3 percent of the county's employer establishments under five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023), a single loan payment can be one of the largest monthly bills a business carries. Running the figures before talking to anyone shows whether the payment fits the weakest months, not just the average ones.
Using the result
Compare the monthly payment with the cash your business reliably has left each month after costs. If it does not fit comfortably, look at a longer term, a smaller amount or a different route. Business term loans explains amortization and balloons, and the six routes compared shows the alternatives. More guides are in the resources page.
By Crestford Lending · Updated
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