What this guide helps you evaluate
SaaS founders comparing non-equity growth capital before a runway, acquisition or expansion decision.
Prepared by the PROFENG Editorial & Engineering Team. This page is designed to help you compare the moving parts, organize due diligence and ask better questions before you commit money, sign a contract or change an operating process.
What to compare first
- Repayment basis: percentage of revenue versus scheduled debt service
- Dilution and warrants: whether equity-linked economics are part of the package
- Covenants and minimum liquidity requirements
- Cash-flow fit under flat, growing and declining MRR
- Prepayment rules, fees and total modeled cost of capital
Step-by-step process
- 01
Build a 24-month base, upside and downside MRR forecast.
- 02
Normalize gross margin, churn, CAC payback and current debt obligations.
- 03
Request term sheets in a common spreadsheet format rather than comparing headline rates.
- 04
Model monthly cash outflow under each structure and include fees, warrants and prepayment costs.
- 05
Stress-test the month with the lowest projected cash balance before choosing a structure.
Common mistakes and risk checks
- Treating a revenue share as cheap simply because there is no stated interest rate.
- Ignoring covenants, minimum payments or a lender's claim on cash receipts.
- Raising more debt than the company can service if growth slows.
How to use and verify this guide
Use the comparison criteria and questions as a decision framework, then verify current prices, legal requirements, technical specifications, service terms and regulatory obligations with the primary or official references listed above. PROFENG explains its source, calculation and review principles on the methodology page.