The types of funding available to a business will depend upon how long the business has been trading, whether the business is a limited company or sole trader, what the funding is needed for and how long the business will need the funding in place.
The ABL Growth Funding Escalator is a simplistic but useful tool identifying the types of finance a business may be eligible for at different stages of the business lifecycle. A business does not need to go through each stage in turn in order to access the finance, but it gives a good indication for those looking at potential sources of funding.
Here's a useful little chart that shows the escalation of commercial funding available to SME businesses at the different growth stages.