Franchise funding
For operators already answering water, fire, smoke and mold calls: what to fund while the claim money is still in the mail.
✓ Merchant Fund Express starts with a soft credit pull. Terms depend on your location's revenue and history.
Updated October 21, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Already running a 1-800 Water Damage territory and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing owners with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital, from $25,000 to $5,000,000. Restoration cash arrives late, so the review reads your deposits next to the receivables you are still waiting on from carriers and property managers, after royalty and other franchisor drafts. A complete file gets a same-day decision, and funding often follows the next business day.
Owners of open 1-800 Water Damage territories, including converted independent restoration companies. The work is emergency mitigation first (extraction, drying, smoke and mold cleanup), then the paperwork that turns a finished job into an insurance payment. The gap between the crew going out and the check clearing is the core funding problem.
See the cleaning and restoration sector guide and our cleaning industry page.
Checked Oct 2026 against official sources: the franchisor's own franchising site, its FDD or SEC filings, or the SBA Franchise Directory. Figures change; confirm current numbers in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Figures we could not confirm from an official source are left out.
Already running a 1-800 Water Damage location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing franchise owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
Technicians are paid weekly, but a mitigation invoice can sit with an adjuster for 30 to 90 days. Invoice factoring on carrier or commercial receivables, or working capital, carries the wages.
A freeze or storm can put every dehumidifier and air mover on a job at once. Equipment financing adds units on a quote.
Growing past one crew needs another outfitted vehicle; financing van and equipment together keeps cash free for payroll.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly payroll while claims age | Invoice factoring or working capital | Business receivables; Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+ | Aging report, statements |
| Dehumidifiers, air movers, extraction units | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life | Quote, statements |
| Outfitted response van | Equipment financing or term loan | Quote; Tier 1 for the loan: 3+ years, FICO 650+ | Vehicle quote, statements |
| Storm-season surge in jobs | Line of credit | Tier 1: about $25K/month revenue, 8+ deposits a month, NSFs max 6/month | Statements, debt schedule |
| Existing advance plus new needs | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: minimum daily balance $800, up to 2 current advances | Statements, list of current positions |
Full financials are requested only above $250,000. Merchant Fund Express offers Spanish-speaking support.
Picture a territory averaging $96,000 a month in deposits, with the costs below. The owner wants a second outfitted response van and extraction set quoted at $58,000.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
A territory with no deposit history needs an operating record before Merchant Fund Express can review it; opening a cleaning company franchise and buying a franchise explain why. Owners adding a territory are read on current deposits (second location); takeovers follow franchise transfer financing.
Yes. Open receivables owed by carriers or commercial accounts support invoice factoring, and your bank deposits support working capital. Merchant Fund Express reads both.
Yes. Equipment financing is reviewed against a vendor quote and the units' useful life.
Yes, if it is operating with deposits; pre-conversion history still shows in the statements.
We read about three months of deposits and the receivables behind them, so one quiet week does not decide the file.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the 1-800 Water Damage name only to identify the owners this page is for; it does not mean the franchisor endorses or works with us.
Merchant Fund Express is independent. Not affiliated with or endorsed by 1-800 Water Damage or its franchisor. Brand names identify the owner audience only.
Merchant Fund Express reviews your location's revenue, deposits and existing payments. Same-day decision on a complete file; funding often the next business day. About five minutes to apply.
