Unsecured business loans · Method
How the unsecured business loan calculator works
Compare periodic repayments using nominal, effective or flat annual rate assumptions.
What you enter
- Loan amount
- Amount borrowed, excluding fees; £0.01 to £1 billion is a calculation boundary, not an available lending range.
- Annual rate
- Enter a quoted rate or your own assumption, from 0% to 100%. This is not an APR.
- Annual rate convention
- These conventions are different. Select the one matching the rate you enter; no APR is calculated.
- Repayment frequency
- Daily means Monday to Friday, excluding weekends, with approximately 260 payments per year. Bank holidays are not removed. Weekly 52, monthly 12, quarterly 4 and annual 1. Match your provider's schedule.
- Term - number of repayments
- Enter the number of payments, not months unless paying monthly. For daily, count weekday repayments only, approximately 260 per year. Daily: 1–7,300 payments; other frequencies: 1–1,040.
- Upfront arrangement fees
- Paid separately, not financed. Enter zero explicitly if you assume no arrangement fee.
- Other upfront fees (optional)
- Optional. Blank means zero assumed additional fees, not a promise of no charges.
Method and assumptions
For nominal annual interest, periodic rate = annual rate / payments per year. For effective annual interest, periodic rate = (1 + annual rate)^(1 / payments per year) − 1.
Reducing-balance payment = principal × periodic rate / [1 − (1 + periodic rate)^(-number of payments)]. At zero interest, payment = principal / number of payments.
Flat interest = original principal × annual rate × number of payments / payments per year. It is not equivalent to a reducing-balance rate or an APR.
Fees are paid once upfront. Total financing cost is interest plus fees; total cash paid is loan repayments plus upfront fees. Final repayment adjusts penny rounding. Provider schedules, early settlement and variable rates are outside the model.
Unsecured does not guarantee the absence of personal guarantees, director liability under guarantees or other contractual recovery rights.
Status of these figures
Illustrative only, not a binding finance offer. Costs vary by lender and applicant; additional fees may apply and eligibility is subject to assessment. Ocean Capital Exchange is an introducer, not the lender. Unsecured borrowing may still require personal guarantees or other contractual recourse.
Not every commercial finance product is regulated, and regulatory treatment varies by product, provider and borrower. Ocean Capital Exchange introduces businesses to third-party providers and is not a lender.
Questions about this calculator
Is the calculator's annual rate an APR?
No. Select nominal, effective or flat annual interest. Fees are shown separately, and no regulatory APR is calculated.
How do I enter a weekly or quarterly term?
Enter the number of repayments at your selected frequency. The illustration assumes 52 weekly or four quarterly payments per year, not a calendar-day schedule.
How are daily repayments calculated?
Choose Daily (weekdays only) and enter the number of Monday-to-Friday repayments. Weekends are excluded, using approximately 260 repayments per year. Nominal annual interest is divided by 260; effective annual interest is converted to an equivalent weekday-payment rate. Flat interest uses the original loan amount and the number of payments divided by 260. Bank holidays are not removed, and this is not a dated lender schedule or an exact model of daily interest accrual.
Independent background reading
These independent sources explain general concepts. They do not endorse Ocean Capital Exchange or confirm our providers, product availability or terms. Your provider’s agreement takes precedence over an illustration.