Revenue-based financing

Revenue-based financing for creator businesses: funding the next launch.

Course and digital-product businesses earn in launches. A revenue-based advance can fund the build and the ads, then be repaid from the launch itself.

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How can creator businesses use revenue-based financing?

Short answer: Creator businesses often earn most of their revenue in a few windows, such as a course launch, a cohort intake or a seasonal promotion, with evergreen sales and memberships between. Revenue-based financing funds the next launch and is repaid as a share of revenue, so the spikes repay quickly and the quiet months pay little.

Key facts

Revenue arrives in launch windows
Memberships and evergreen sales form the base
The pattern must repeat to be read
Payments follow revenue spikes

Launch-shaped revenue

Creator businesses often earn most of their revenue in a few windows: a course launch, a cohort intake or a seasonal promotion. Between launches, revenue comes from evergreen sales and memberships. The account therefore shows big spikes and quieter months, which is fine as long as the pattern repeats and the quieter months still cover fixed costs.

Payment plans are common in this space. A student paying in three instalments spreads revenue across the following months, which smooths deposits but also delays cash.

What gets read

Payouts from course platforms and payment processors, and the delay before they reach the bank.
Refund rates after launches, which appear as reversals.
Ad spend in the run-up to a launch compared with revenue that followed.
Evergreen and membership revenue that arrives between launches.
Any revenue from sponsorships or affiliate income, which is often lumpier.

Using the capital

Paid acquisition ahead of a launch where you know the historical return on ad spend.
Production of a new course or a re-record of an old one.
Hiring a support team for a cohort before revenue arrives.

Because revenue arrives in bursts, a share-of-revenue structure is safer than fixed instalments: the payment is large when the launch pays and small when it does not.

Risks to plan around

A launch that underperforms is the obvious risk. Size the advance against your average launch, not your best one, and keep the evergreen revenue covering overheads on its own.

A worked example

Illustrative arithmetic: a course business averaging $40,000 monthly deposits

Advance: $25,000. Repayment cap: $25,000 × 1.22 = $30,500.
Cost of the capital: $5,500, fixed in dollars from the start.
Payment: 10% of monthly revenue. At $40,000 a month that is $4,000, so about 7.6 months to reach the cap.

Every figure on this page is illustrative arithmetic in Canadian dollars. It is not an offer, a quote or a promise of approval.

Where Canadian files usually start

Monthly revenueTypically from around $20,000 a month in deposits for Canadian files. The exact line varies by funder and by file.

Time in businessTypically about 12 months. Newer businesses can be reviewed, but the options narrow.

Account healthLimited low-balance or negative days. Funders read the last few months of bank statements for this.

CreditScores from 500 are considered. A score of 600 or higher opens more options and better offers.

DocumentsA signed application and recent business bank statements, typically the last four months.

Existing advancesFiles with an existing advance can be reviewed, including second position.

Next step: apply once with a signed application and your last four months of business bank statements. The file is read for rBF for online course and creator businesses and matched to the structure that fits, whether that is revenue-based financing, a merchant cash advance or a smaller first advance that builds history. Questions first? Call (305) 384-8391.

Sources and review

Statistics Canada: Subjects (business and industry data)

Reviewed by the Merchant Fund Express team on October 12, 2026. Official pages checked as of that date.

Common questions

Can a creator business qualify?

Yes, if it is an operating business with deposits into a business bank account and enough history to show the pattern.

Do payment plans count?

Instalments count as deposits when they arrive.

What about sponsorship income?

It counts when deposited, but it is read as less predictable than product sales.