Franchise funding by sector
How membership drafts, equipment cycles and trainer payroll shape a gym owner's funding request.
✓ 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
Fitness franchise funding should follow the club's draft rhythm: monthly ACH membership drafts arrive in clusters, while equipment, build-outs and trainer payroll are paid on their own schedule. Merchant Fund Express reviews operating gyms and studios on about 3 months of bank statements, counts royalty and ad fund debits as normal obligations, and sizes working capital, lines of credit, equipment financing or revenue-based financing from $25,000 to $5,000,000.
Most club revenue arrives as monthly ACH membership drafts, often grouped around one or two draft dates. A bank statement therefore shows a few large deposits each month instead of daily card batches, with smaller card income from enrollment fees, retail and personal training packages in between. Merchant Fund Express reads that pattern as normal for a club, but it does mean the monthly total matters more than the daily count.
Draft income also moves in ways a restaurant's does not. Freezes and cancellations reduce the next draft with little warning, January sign-ups lift it, and summer often softens it. Failed drafts (declined cards, closed accounts) show up as a gap between the scheduled draft and what actually settles. Read what deposits count as revenue for how draft processor settlements are treated.
| Cost line | Timing | What usually funds it |
|---|---|---|
| Cardio and strength replacement | Rolling cycle as machines wear | Equipment financing with a vendor quote and useful life |
| Urgent equipment repair | Unplanned, when a machine goes down | Working capital; see fitness equipment repair funding |
| Membership draft gaps | Freezes, cancellations, failed drafts | A line of credit drawn between draft dates |
| Trainer and front desk payroll | Weekly or biweekly | Working capital or line of credit |
| Studio build-out at an existing club | Planned project with a bid | Term loan for Tier 1 files; working capital or revenue-based financing otherwise |
| Royalty and ad fund debits | Recurring, automatic | Counted as an obligation before sizing; not a funding purpose |
Each club entity is read on its own account. Membership drafts are counted as revenue when they settle into the business account; the review looks at the monthly total, the trend across the 3 months, and whether failed drafts are growing. Royalty, advertising fund and technology fee withdrawals are subtracted as recurring obligations, and payment capacity is sized after them.
Because draft income arrives in a few large deposits, the deposit count rule matters for Tier 1: 8 or more deposits a month alongside $25K a month in revenue. Card settlements from retail and training packages usually help meet that count. Existing positions are counted, and a new structure can lower the payment instead of stacking another one. Full thresholds sit on the requirements page.
Take a hypothetical club whose deposits average $78,000 a month, mostly from membership drafts. Royalty and ad fund debits, rent and an existing equipment payment total $21,000 a month. The owner plans to replace 12 cardio units with a vendor quote of $54,000 and wants a $15,000 cushion for the summer draft dip.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
Brand pages carry checked fact panels and brand-specific problems; this page stays with shared club economics.
Opening your first club needs an operating history before Merchant Fund Express can review it. See opening a gym franchise and the existing vs new owner guide.
Any operating fitness franchise can apply, listed or not. Merchant Fund Express funds existing owners with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital; see every product for franchise owners.
A typical first review needs no tax returns; full financials usually only above $250,000. The application takes about 5 minutes with a soft credit pull.
Yes. Merchant Fund Express reviews operating gyms and studios for equipment financing, working capital, lines of credit, term loans and revenue-based financing, sized from $25,000 to $5,000,000.
Yes, when they settle into the business account. The review reads the monthly total and the trend, and notes whether failed drafts are rising.
Yes. Equipment financing is reviewed with the vendor quote, the equipment as the purpose and its useful life.
A single soft month is expected in a club. A steady decline across the 3 months matters more, and it may shape the size or structure offered.
Same-day decision on a complete file; funding often the next business day.
Yes. Sole proprietors are eligible, and ITIN applicants are accepted with Spanish-speaking support available.
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.
