Franchise funding by sector
Trucks, tools, parts on the shelf and a phone that rings hardest in July and January. How home service franchise owners fund each one.
✓ 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 plumbing, HVAC, electrical, painting, handyman, lawn or pest control franchise and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing home service owners with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital. We read job deposits at the unit level, count royalty, ad fund and technology drafts as normal costs, and give a same-day decision on a complete file.
Every home service concept is a fleet business. Each technician needs a stocked van, a set of tools and diagnostic equipment, and a phone or tablet running the brand's dispatch software. Revenue comes from completed jobs, paid by card in the driveway or through financing the homeowner arranges, plus recurring maintenance plans for HVAC, lawn and pest customers.
Demand is seasonal and weather driven. HVAC calls spike in the first heat wave and the first cold snap; lawn and pest units are busiest from spring through early fall; painting slows in wet months; plumbing jumps when pipes freeze. Owners who want to catch the peak have to buy the van, hire the technician and stock the parts before it arrives. Merchant Fund Express reads that pattern across several months of deposits rather than judging a slow February on its own.
| Cost line | Timing | What fits |
|---|---|---|
| Additional service van or truck | Before the peak season | Vehicle funding; down payment funding |
| Van upfit: shelving, ladders, racks | With each new van | Equipment financing on the upfitter's quote |
| Diagnostic tools, jetters, sprayers, mowers | Replacement or a new service line | Equipment financing sized to useful life |
| Parts stock: condensers, water heaters, breakers | Bulk buys ahead of season | Inventory funding or line of credit draws |
| Technician hiring and training | Six to eight weeks before the peak | Working capital |
| Local ads and lead buying | Shoulder seasons | Marketing funding |
We have not yet published individual brand pages for home service concepts, and you do not need one. Any operating plumbing, HVAC, electrical, painting, handyman, lawn care or pest control franchise can apply today. The review reads the same things for every brand:
| Owner situation | Product | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC owner, 4+ years open, adding two vans before summer | Vehicle funding or a term loan | Weekly payments; term loan is first position only |
| Lawn or pest owner with a dead winter | Line of credit | Draw in March, repay by August; interest only on draws |
| Plumbing owner, 8 months open, card-heavy jobs | Merchant cash advance | Sized on sales; a purchase of receivables, not a loan |
| Painting owner with uneven months | Revenue-based financing | Payments sized to revenue |
Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
A hypothetical HVAC franchise has run five years and deposits $118,000 a month averaged over the year, with June through August near $160,000. Royalty, ad fund and software drafts, rent and three existing van notes total $24,000 a month. The owner wants two more upfitted vans at $58,000 each and $20,000 of condensers and coils on the shelf by May.
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 needs no tax returns for a typical first review; full financials usually only above $250,000. Industry basics are on plumbing and HVAC funding, landscaping funding and painting contractor funding.
Yes. Merchant Fund Express funds operating home service franchises from $25,000 to $5,000,000, sized from deposits after royalty and existing payments.
Yes. Send the dealer quote and the upfitter quote; both are reviewed with the vehicle as the purpose.
No. Seasonal deposits are normal for lawn and pest units. A line of credit drawn before spring and repaid in summer fits that cycle.
Yes, when the financing company deposits the job payment into the business account it counts like any other job deposit.
Yes. Working capital covers recruiting, training and the first weeks of wages before the new technician's jobs start paying.
Yes. Existing notes are counted as obligations and the new payment is sized after them.
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.
