Franchise funding by sector
Chairs, treatment rooms, commission payroll and retail shelves: what a beauty or wellness unit spends money on, and what funds each line.
✓ 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 salon, massage, waxing, brow and lash or med-spa style franchise and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing beauty and wellness owners with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital. We read service and membership deposits at the unit level, count royalty and ad fund drafts as normal costs, and give a same-day decision on a complete file.
A beauty or wellness unit sells time in a chair or a treatment room. Revenue arrives as card payments at checkout, monthly membership drafts for massage and waxing concepts, prepaid service packages and gift card sales that spike before the winter holidays and Mother's Day. On the cost side, the biggest line by far is people: stylists, therapists, estheticians and front-desk staff, often paid a mix of hourly wages and commission on services and retail.
The money pressure comes from three directions. Commission payroll grows with a busy week before those deposits have fully settled. Stations, shampoo bowls, treatment beds and devices wear out or need replacing on a schedule. Retail product has to be bought by the case before it sells by the bottle. Merchant Fund Express reads all of that in the deposits, so a busy salon with a heavy payroll is read as busy, not as stretched.
| Cost line | Timing | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| Stylist and therapist payroll (wages plus commission) | Weekly or biweekly; rises with bookings | Payroll funding or a line of credit |
| Styling chairs, stations and shampoo bowls | Wear-out or a franchisor-scheduled refresh | Equipment financing on the vendor quote |
| Treatment beds, laser or skin devices | Planned purchase to add a service | Equipment financing sized to the device's useful life |
| Retail product and backbar | Case orders ahead of holiday and gift seasons | Inventory funding or line of credit draws |
| Grand reopening or new-service promotion | One-time push | Marketing funding from working capital |
| Royalty and ad fund drafts | Recurring | Counted as an obligation before sizing; not a funding purpose |
Any operating beauty or wellness franchise can apply even if the brand is not listed here: hair salons, massage studios, waxing centers, brow and lash bars and med-spa style concepts are all read the same way, on the unit's own deposits. Name the brand on the application so the reviewer recognizes the royalty and membership drafts.
Terms depend on the business's revenue and history. Tier 1 products (term loans and lines of credit) look for 3+ years in business and a FICO of 650 or higher; revenue-based financing opens at 6+ months and 600+.
Take a hypothetical salon franchise depositing $54,000 a month. Royalty and ad fund drafts, rent and an existing equipment note together come to $13,200 a month, and payroll including commission averages $27,000. The owner wants four replacement styling stations quoted at $16,800 and $7,500 of retail product ahead of the holidays.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
No tax returns for a typical first review; full financials usually only above $250,000. Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, sized from deposits.
Merchant Fund Express funds operating businesses. A first salon or studio with no deposits yet needs an operating history; start with opening a hair salon franchise, opening a spa franchise and the existing vs new owner guide. An owner who already runs one unit and is adding another is reviewed on the current unit's deposits; see funding a second franchise location. For the general industry view, salon funding and salon payroll funding cover the non-franchise basics.
Yes. Merchant Fund Express funds operating salon, massage, waxing, brow and lash and med-spa style franchises from $25,000 to $5,000,000, sized from the unit's deposits.
Yes. Monthly membership and package payments that land in the business account count as deposits, and their steadiness supports a predictable payment.
Yes. Equipment financing is reviewed with the vendor quote and the device as the purpose, which keeps the payment matched to the asset.
As a normal variable cost. The review expects payroll to rise in busy weeks and sizes any new payment after it.
Each LLC with its own account is read on its own deposits. See the multi-unit and separate LLC guides for how owners usually sequence requests.
Scores from 500 are considered, 600+ opens better offers, and Tier 1 lines of credit and term loans look for 650+ with 3 or more years in business.
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.
