Salary Delayed At Your Startup? A Payday Loan Can Be Your Saviour

Startups are perhaps best known for having a vibrant energy that makes for a thrilling workplace that fosters skilled talents for stable growth. On the flip side, employees may face financial instability due to the risk and challenges associated with a new and rising startup. They often suffer from a shortage of smooth cash flow, which hampers employee salary payments. In such scenarios, innovation is the need of the hour when it comes to adopting credit-friendly measures that can help to preserve talent and employee morale.

Using a Loan to Pay Employees’ Salaries

A Business Loan can help bridge such short-term revenue gaps and ensure continuous business operations as well as timely staff payments. This crafty financial tool proves essential in several budding startup firms, mainly to preserve talent and sustain momentum during pivotal phases of growth. Sometimes, these are also known as payroll loans (from the employer's perspective) or paycheck loans (when an employee opts for such financial support).  

Such loans serve as a quick remedy for startups and small businesses that face shortfalls in working capital, and face difficulties in covering employee salaries. This short-term funding option can be of several types and offers better financial flexibility. Depending on the lender, approval and amount, these loans come with prompt disbursement, ensuring that you can pay your employees' salaries on time. 

Also Read: Challenges Borrowers Face While Taking a Business Loan

Types of Business Loans You Can Choose From

There are two types of business loans that you can choose from to pay employees at your firm – 

Line of Credit: 

Choosing a startup business loan in the form of a line of credit is comparable to using a business credit card. Unlike a personal credit card, it's linked to the individual's business. One key advantage of a line of credit is the interest-free period for the first few months, as offered by some lenders. 

This provides businesses with the financial ability to kickstart or resume their operations. A line of credit eases the burden of covering expenses in the early stages of a business and allows entrepreneurs to focus on establishing a solid foundation for their venture. 

Equipment Financing: 

Equipment financing for startups involves pledging purchased business equipment as collateral so that they can secure relatively lower interest rates despite increased risk. These loans come with a unique symbiotic relationship as their repayment is linked to the revenue generated by the business. 

Similar to a line of credit, applicants usually need a good credit score to qualify. This method of financing allows entrepreneurs to utilise credits for purposes like paying employees, buying raw materials, etc. This approach helps manage costs efficiently while adopting a balanced approach to business growth. 

You might also like: Tips to Start a Small Business for Young Entrepreneurs

Other Ways to Pay Employees at Startups

Apart from loans, you can consider the following steps to reimburse your employees – 

• Offer Equity Options

Offering company equity can be a wise approach to attract and retain top-tier talent. This tactic is more beneficial for businesses that are backed by investors, likely to go public or about to be acquired. 

Moreover, only those employees are willing to accept low wages in exchange for stock who believe in the business's potential. However, this strategy finds limited utility for smaller ventures. 

Check Out: How Can Small Businesses Deal With Emergencies

• Link Salary to Milestone Achievement

Another alternative to traditional salaries can be diversifying compensation through commissions and bonuses. Bonuses can be awarded for achieving or surpassing certain goals or displaying exceptional performance. Hence, these serve as excellent motivators for employees. 

Similarly, employees who excel in their roles could receive discretionary bonuses. Both these approaches can provide a flexible approach to employee compensation beyond standard salary structures. 

• Hire Interns

Hiring interns can be a strategic and cost-effective method of nurturing and retaining talent within your startup. By bringing promising young individuals, you can access a pool of talent at a highly affordable cost. 

Interns are often willing to work for low to zero compensation as part of their career-building process. This is more common if they see the opportunity to gain valuable experience in your startup. 

• Enable Profit Sharing Plans

Implementing profit-sharing plans can be a strategic move for startups as it helps align employees' performance with the company's success. Here, you distribute a portion of the company's annual profits to employees, after considering factors like performance, seniority, etc. 

By linking employees' financial stake to the company's performance, profit-sharing plans build a sense of shared success. However, remember to assess the company's profitability before initiating such plans. 

• Substitute with Benefits and Perks

Startups can attract top talent by diverse methods like offering certain benefits and perks. While competitive salaries are important, sometimes benefits like health insurance, paid time off, and retirement savings plans are valued more by employees. 

These additional offerings can make a significant impact on employee satisfaction and retention. Startups can strategically leverage such benefits and perks to create a well-rounded package that appeals to interested applicants. 

 

In India, over 39,000 startups face funding struggles, particularly in their early stages. While various private equity and debt options can help, the challenge arises in finding such support for a new startup. Hence, a Business Loan emerges as a smart and hassle-free financing solution. Choose your suitable Business Loan on Bajaj Markets and access interest rates starting from 12% p.a. Benefit from repayment tenures up to 6 years, instant approvals, and amount disbursals of up to ₹50 Lakhs!