Franchise funding
A reference for operators and multi-unit groups already running Papa Johns stores: what a review reads, which product fits which need, and what to send.
✓ Merchant Fund Express starts with a soft credit pull. Terms depend on your business's revenue and history.
Updated October 21, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Already running a Papa Johns location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing Papa Johns owners: business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital. Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000. The review sizes funding from each store entity's bank deposits after royalty, advertising and existing payments. Apply with about three months of business bank statements; a complete file gets a same-day decision, and funding often follows the next business day.
Papa Johns develops mainly through multi-unit operators and groups, so the typical reader here is not a first-time owner. It is an operator with two, five or twenty stores, often held in separate entities, who needs capital for one store without disturbing the others. This page is for that operator and for the controller or accountant who prepares the file.
If you are still evaluating the brand or have no operating store yet, skip to the last section: Merchant Fund Express funds operating businesses, and a pre-opening purchase follows a different path.
Checked Oct 2026 against the franchisor's own published materials. Figures change; confirm current numbers in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Figures we could not confirm from an official source are left out.
A pizza unit cannot sell without its ovens. A failed deck or conveyor oven, or a make-line cooler that will not hold temperature, is a same-week problem. Equipment financing ties the cost to the vendor quote and the useful life of the unit, so the replacement does not drain the store's operating cash.
More orders mean more drivers, more mileage reimbursement each pay period and more insulated bags and heat racks. That spending lands before the extra sales clear the bank. Working capital or a draw on a line of credit covers the gap while the new driver hours turn into deposits.
Groups that commit to new stores carry construction, hiring and opening costs on top of running the existing ones. The new unit is reviewed separately; the operating stores' deposits are what support funding today, entity by entity.
Already running a Papa Johns location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing Papa Johns owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
Compare them side by side in MCA vs business loan, or read the pizza franchise guide.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oven, make-line or walk-in replacement | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life of the equipment | Quote, statements for the store entity |
| Driver payroll and mileage during a growth push | Business line of credit | Tier 1: 3+ years, FICO 650+, $25K a month revenue with 8+ deposits | 3 months of statements, debt schedule |
| Bulk ingredient or paper-goods buy | Working capital | Deposits after royalty, ad fund and existing payments | Statements, supplier invoice |
| Store refresh or second-store support for an established group | Term loan | Tier 1; term loan sits in first position only | Statements per entity, ownership chart |
| Younger store with steady sales | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+, $800 minimum daily balance | Statements, processor reports |
Merchant Fund Express also looks at negative days and NSFs per account, which is why one weak store is easier to fund than a group account that mixes every store's cash. The existing positions guide explains the counting.
Picture a three-store group. Store A deposits $78,000 a month, Store B $64,000 and Store C $71,000, for $213,000 combined. Store B needs a replacement conveyor oven quoted at $36,000, and the group wants $14,000 to cover added driver hours and mileage before a delivery-area expansion pays back. Total request: $50,000, or about 23% of one month of group deposits.
If an offer showed a total repayment of $58,000 over 52 weeks, the payment would be $58,000 / 52 = $1,115 a week, about $4,830 a month, or roughly 2.3% of combined deposits. Splitting it, the oven goes to equipment financing on Store B, and the driver cash comes from a line held by the strongest entity. Test your own numbers with the payment burden calculator.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
Merchant Fund Express does not fund a first franchise purchase or a store with no operating history. If you are buying an existing unit, read franchise transfer financing; if you already operate stores and are opening another, read opening another franchise location, where the review rests on your current stores' deposits. Existing vs new owners sets out the difference.
Yes. Operators with deposits running through a business account can apply in about five minutes with a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors are eligible too, though most Papa Johns operators use an entity.
About three months of bank statements per store entity, a store and ownership list, and quotes for any equipment. Tax returns are not needed for a typical first review.
Yes, equipment financing is reviewed with the vendor quote, the equipment's useful life and the store's deposits. Delivery equipment such as heat racks and insulated bags can sit in the same request.
Each store entity is read on its own account, and the request can name the entity that needs the money. A strong store can support a request without folding every location into one file.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the Papa Johns 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 Papa Johns 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.
