How much can my business borrow, and for how long?

This is one of the first things people want to know, and the honest answer has two parts: there is the range we lend within, and there is the amount you are actually offered — which is set by what your company can comfortably afford, not by the top of the range. This article explains both, the difference between a one-off Business Loan and a Credicorp Flex limit, what drives the figure we put in front of you, and how repaying on time can grow what's available the next time you come back.

A one-off Business Loan: small amounts, short terms

The standard Credicorp product is a single short-term Business Loan. It is deliberately small and deliberately short — designed for a specific, near-term business need such as covering a supplier, smoothing a timing gap before a customer pays, or handling a one-off cost. Terms run over a short window measured in days, anywhere from 14 to 84 days, and the loan is repaid across that window on a schedule you see in full before you sign.

For the headline range — the smallest and largest amounts, and the shortest and longest terms — see the figures on our main site at Business Loans. We keep the exact numbers on one authoritative page so they are always current. This is short-term working-capital borrowing; for larger sums a mainstream SME lender is usually a better fit, and we will say so rather than stretch a product that is not designed for it.

Credicorp Flex: a limit, not a lump sum

Flex is shaped for a different need. Instead of a single amount over a set term, Flex is a revolving credit limit: an agreed ceiling you can draw against, pay down, and draw against again, repeatedly, without reapplying each time. You are charged only for what you actually draw and hold, not for the headroom you leave unused.

A Business Loan amount

A single sum advanced once, repaid over a fixed short term. When it is paid off, the loan is closed — there is nothing to draw again without a fresh application.

A Flex limit

A reusable ceiling. You can take part of it, repay, and take more again as your needs ebb and flow. The limit is the maximum you can owe at any one moment, not a lump sum you must take all at once.

So "how much can I borrow" means slightly different things across the two products. On a Business Loan it is the size of the single advance; on Flex it is the limit you can revolve within. If you are weighing the two, see Flex vs a one-off Business Loan: which to choose.

What sets the amount we offer

This is the part that matters most, and it is the same principle for both products: we lend up to what the company can comfortably afford, judged against its cash flow — not automatically the maximum of the range. The range is a ceiling; affordability is what sets your figure within it.

When we assess an application we are reading the shape of the business's money: the regular income coming in, the outgoings and existing commitments going out, how steady that pattern is, and how much genuine headroom there is to take on a new repayment without strain. A company with strong, steady cash flow may be offered toward the upper end of the range; a tighter or more variable picture may mean a smaller amount, or a shorter term, so the repayment sits comfortably within what the business can manage.

Because every offer is affordability-led, two superficially similar companies can be offered different amounts, and the same company can be offered different amounts at different times as its circumstances change. Whatever the figure, you see the amount, the term, the repayment schedule and the total cost of the credit in full before you commit — nothing is hidden until after you sign.

How on-time repayment can grow what's available next time

Your track record is part of the picture, and it works in your favour. Repaying on time is the clearest signal a business can give that it manages credit well, and a strong, demonstrated history of affordability can mean a larger amount becomes available the next time you apply. The reverse is also true — a tighter cash-flow picture can mean less — because we are always lending up to what the company can comfortably afford at the time.

Nothing here is automatic or guaranteed: there is no fixed ladder, and every offer is freshly assessed and shown in full before you commit. But a clean repayment record is genuinely the best thing you can do to widen what's open to you. For the detail, see how on-time repayment grows your available amount.

Where your own figures live

This help centre is account-blind by design — we cannot see your application, your limit or your offer from here, and we deliberately keep no account figures in these pages. Anything specific to you — the amount you have been offered, your Flex limit, your remaining headroom, your schedule — lives only in your signed-in portal and on the documents issued with your agreement, where it is kept accurate to your account. If you want to discuss what might be possible before applying, use the General Support Enquiry form.

See also: Can a newly formed company apply?, Can a charity or charitable company apply?, Can a CIC or community interest company apply?.