Funding for marine service yards, professional firms, restaurants and contractors from Las Olas to Cypress Creek. Five-minute application, soft pull to start, no tax returns.
Get StartedFort Lauderdale
Boatyards wait on owners, law and accounting firms wait on clients, and hospitality waits on the season. Working capital keeps each of them moving.
Amount to request
$85,000.00
Funding range$25K to $5M
*Sample amounts shown. Your actual offer depends on your business and is reviewed before approval.
Apply in about 5 minutes with roughly three months of statements. No tax returns, and funding in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses.
We consider FICO scores from 500 and look closely at how steadily your business brings in deposits.
Your offer shows the full repayment amount before you accept. Nothing new appears after you sign.
Repayment terms are set out in your offer up front so you can budget each week or month with confidence.
Fast decisions. Applying takes about 5 minutes.
A short application. A soft credit pull to start.
We review revenue, time in business and bank activity, not just a credit score.
You see the amount, the schedule and the full repayment amount before you sign.
Funding in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses.
Updated October 16, 2026. Figures below come from public Census and agency sources listed at the end of this page.
Fort Lauderdale is the county seat of Broward County and had an estimated 188,677 residents on July 1, 2025, according to the Census Bureau. Broward as a whole had 2,013,317 residents and, in the 2022 County Business Patterns, 67,274 business establishments employing 749,126 people. Professional services lead the county count with 12,132 establishments, and legal services alone account for 2,810 of them. In eight core Fort Lauderdale ZIP codes (33301, 33304, 33308, 33309, 33311, 33312, 33315 and 33316), the ZIP Code Business Patterns count 13,400 establishments, with 1,043 law offices among them.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population, July 1, 2025 estimate | 188,677 | Census Vintage 2025 |
| Broward County establishments (2022) | 67,274 | CBP 2022 |
| Broward County paid employees (2022) | 749,126 | CBP 2022 |
| Establishments in eight core city ZIPs (2022) | 13,400 | ZBP 2022 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services in those ZIPs | 2,907 | ZBP 2022 |
| Legal services in those ZIPs | 1,043 | ZBP 2022 |
| Health care and social assistance in those ZIPs | 1,165 | ZBP 2022 |
| Accommodation and food services in those ZIPs | 880 | ZBP 2022 |
| Direct jobs at Port Everglades | More than 13,000 | Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance |
Fort Lauderdale's commercial map follows its waterways and highways. Downtown and Las Olas Boulevard concentrate law firms, accountants, financial offices, restaurants and boutiques. The New River and the 17th Street area host marinas, boatyards and yacht service companies. Port Everglades, on the city's southern edge, handles cargo and cruise traffic; the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance says the port employs more than 13,000 people directly and cites a Martin Associates study estimating nearly $30.4 billion in economic activity. To the north, the Cypress Creek area around I-95 and Cypress Creek Road is an office district, which is part of why ZIP 33309 shows 2,516 establishments, more than any other ZIP in the city.
The marine industry is the city's signature sector. The Alliance, citing the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, puts the recreational marine industry's economic impact in Broward at $9 billion, and the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show anchors the calendar each fall.
Marine service and refit yards buy parts and pay specialized labor before a yacht owner settles the invoice, and big jobs cluster ahead of the winter cruising season. Professional firms carry payroll and rent while clients pay on 30, 60 or 90 day cycles, and law firms working on contingency wait months for a case to resolve. Restaurants and hotels staff up for the winter season and the boat show, then run leaner through the summer. Contractors in a city with steady condo and commercial renovation work fund materials and crews ahead of draws.
Each of those is a timing gap rather than a profitability problem. The useful question is how long the gap lasts. A gap of a few weeks that repeats every month suits a revolving line; a one-time purchase suits a lump sum with a fixed schedule.
The Florida SBDC at FAU serves Broward and Palm Beach counties. Its Broward mailing address is 3200 College Ave, #320, Davie, FL 33314, and appointments are required, available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday except FAU holidays. Consultants help with cash flow planning, loan proposals and access to capital at no cost, which is worth using before you apply anywhere.
The SBA South Florida District Office is at 51 SW 1st Ave., Suite 201, Miami, FL 33130. It serves Lee, Hendry, Collier, Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties and keeps hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed on federal holidays. It is the place to ask about SBA loan programs, lender lists and federal contracting.
Merchant Fund Express is based in Miami and reviews South Florida files the same way it reviews any other: by the deposits. You apply online in about five minutes, and we begin with a soft credit pull.
FICO scores from 500 are considered, and sole proprietors can apply. Amounts range from $25,000 to $5,000,000 depending mainly on deposits and existing obligations, and funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses. Your offer shows the full repayment amount before you accept, and you are under no obligation to accept it. MFE serves owners in English and Spanish.
For recurring swings, compare a Florida business line of credit. For a defined project, look at working capital in Florida. Professional firms can read how professional services firms qualify, and the new law firm funding and accounting firm funding hubs go deeper on those industries. For the rest of the county, see Broward County business funding.
For illustration only: a Fort Lauderdale yacht refit company books three large jobs ahead of the winter season and needs parts and subcontractor deposits paid now. It applies with three months of statements, explains that its deposits arrive in large, irregular payments, and requests an amount tied to the parts orders. The offer shows the full repayment amount before signing. This is a hypothetical scenario, not a client story.
Yes. Merchant Fund Express is based in Miami and funds businesses throughout Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and the rest of Broward County.
Marine service businesses apply regularly. We read your bank statements to understand your season and size the offer to the deposits you actually show.
No. We review about three months of business bank statements along with a short application.
We start with a soft credit pull, which does not affect your score.
Yes. Sole proprietors can apply, and we review your business deposits the same way we do for any other applicant.
From $25,000 to $5,000,000, based mainly on deposits and existing obligations.
Decisions move quickly, and funding can come in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses.
Example uses for illustration only.
These practical moves can help your request get a clearer answer.
One secure application. A soft credit pull to start. No obligation to accept an offer.
Apply for Funding