December, 2025 | AFM

Beyond Pay Stubs: Personal Loans for Self-Employed with Bank Statements Only

Securing a personal loan can be challenging for the self-employed, even when their businesses are thriving. Traditional lenders often rely on W-2s and consistent pay stubs, documents that simply don’t exist for freelancers, contractors, and small business owners. The good news is that the lending landscape has evolved, and there are now viable avenues to secure personal loans for self-employed with bank statements only, which serve as direct proof of income and cash flow.

The Self-Employed Lending Hurdle

For salaried individuals, lenders assess risk based on two years of W-2s and recent pay stubs. Self-employed applicants face scrutiny because their income is often variable, tied to business expenses, and sometimes optimized for tax efficiency (which can make net income appear low).

Lenders who accept bank statements are looking beyond the tax return’s bottom line. They are focusing on gross deposits and cash flow stability to determine repayment ability.

Types

Business Finance

Cracking the Code: Calculating Break-Even Point for a Multi-Product Service Business

December 1, 2025December 12, 2025 - by Juana Baumgartner

For a multi-product service business, understanding when revenues will finally cover costs is critical for survival and growth. Unlike single-product businesses, which have a straightforward break-even calculation, a service provider with a diverse offering faces a more complex challenge. Successfully calculating the break-even point for a multi-product service business requires accounting for varying prices, cost structures, and sales mixes across different services. It’s a vital tool for strategic pricing, resource allocation, and identifying profitability.

The Core Concept: Break-Even Point (BEP)

The break-even point is the level of sales (either in units or revenue) at which total costs (fixed and variable) equal total revenue, resulting in zero profit.

Fixed Costs (FC): Costs that don’t change with the volume of services provided (e.g., rent, salaries, insurance).
Variable Costs (VC): Costs that vary directly with the volume of services (e.g., materials for a service, hourly wages directly tied to service delivery, commission).
Contribution