# Beauty and Wellness Franchise Funding for Existing Owners

> Funding for operating salon, massage, waxing, brow and lash and med-spa style franchises: stylist payroll, stations, treatment devices and retail product.

Source: https://mfebusinessloans.com/franchise-funding/sectors/beauty-wellness/ (Merchant Fund Express, updated 2026-10-21)

## The short answer

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.

## How does money move through a beauty or wellness franchise?

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.

## Beauty and wellness money map: what funds each cost line?

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 |

## Which beauty and wellness brands have funding pages?

Great Clips
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.

## How does Merchant Fund Express read a salon or studio file?

Service deposits. Card batches from checkout are the core revenue line; tips paid through payroll are read as pass-through, not profit.
Membership drafts. Recurring monthly memberships show as steady deposits and support a predictable payment.
Gift card timing. December and spring gift card sales lift deposits before the services are delivered, so the review looks at several months together.
Commission payroll. Read as a variable cost that follows bookings, not a warning sign.
Existing positions. Equipment notes and advances are counted; a new structure can lower the payment. See franchise funding with existing advances.
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+.

## Worked example: four new stations and a holiday retail order

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.
Deposits after recurring obligations and payroll: $54,000 minus $13,200 minus $27,000 = $13,800 a month left for product, supplies and new payments.
Stations: $16,800 as equipment financing against the vendor quote, repaid over the stations' useful life.
Retail: a $7,500 line of credit draw in November, repaid from December retail sales; interest runs only on what is drawn.
Combined new monthly cost is tested against the $13,800 margin with the payment burden calculator before anything is signed.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.

## What should a beauty or wellness owner send?

About 3 months of business bank statements, downloaded as PDFs from the bank
Vendor quotes for chairs, stations, beds or devices in the request
A note on membership or package programs if deposits include monthly drafts
A list of existing equipment notes or advances with their payments
Which LLC owns which location, for owners with more than one salon or studio
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.

## What if you are opening a salon franchise rather than running one?

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.

## Keep reading

Franchise funding hub: every product, situation and sector in one place
Great Clips franchise funding: a brand page with a checked fact panel
Franchise equipment financing: stations, beds and devices on a vendor quote
Franchise units in separate LLCs: how multi-salon owners are read entity by entity
Fitness franchise funding: the closest sector for membership-driven studios

## Common questions

### Can an existing salon franchise owner apply?

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.

### Do membership drafts count as revenue?

Yes. Monthly membership and package payments that land in the business account count as deposits, and their steadiness supports a predictable payment.

### Can I finance a laser or skin treatment device?

Yes. Equipment financing is reviewed with the vendor quote and the device as the purpose, which keeps the payment matched to the asset.

### How is commission payroll treated?

As a normal variable cost. The review expects payroll to rise in busy weeks and sizes any new payment after it.

### I own three salons in separate LLCs. Is that one file or three?

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.

### What credit score does a salon owner need?

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.

Apply with Merchant Fund Express: https://merchantfundexpress.com/current-application.html?utm_source=mfebusinessloans.com&utm_medium=franchise&utm_campaign=franchise-funding&utm_content=sector-beauty-wellness